From the side of the road, the Gooney Bird looks rather unimpressive. It’s easy to visualize the three pitches of rather low-angle climbing to reach a not-too-pointy summit of this dopey, beer-bellied summit. But, if you ride past it on a bike enough times, you just kinda have to climb it. So, to kick off our week-long desert roadtrip, Jen and I decided to give it a go. I have to say, it was harder than I expected. Each pitch had some don’t-fall-or-you’re-going-to-the-hospital climbing, and the wideness at the beginning of the second pitch was pretty tough. Regardless, the rain held off and we got to top it out.
After our climb, Jen and I decided to spend a few days biking before heading down to the Creek. We took Jasmine out to Klondike, drove to Fruita and rode at a very cold and nearly empty 18 Road, and then we came back to Moab after the water inside our van froze solid and got on the Slickrock Trail. Despite all my years riding in Moab I had not done the most famous trail there, and I figured it was about time. Finally, we decided to take a rest day, but we suck at rest days.
So, instead of chilling out like we should have, we climbed a short tower in Arches called the Devil’s Golf Ball. I froze on the summit and did jumping jacks to stay warm while the people in the parking lot thought I was waving and eagerly waved back. Jen freed/jugged the pitch to clean it, but she forgot her aiders and had to improvise some foot loops with the slings she cleaned along the way.
