Life Update- Indian Creek (05.05.2025)
Hello friends & family!
I thought this might be the best way to send intermittent updates (hopefully I can figure out how to add more photos) to a bunch of people now that I am off the social medias. I would love to know what you think!
For those of you that don’t know, I purchased a Ford F-150 and Ovrlnd camper shell in March- thank you to everyone who helped research and listened to me talk endlessly about trucks! I moved into the camper full time in April. For those wondering (mostly my mom) I have internet, solar panels, a power bank, an “electric cooler” (mini fridge), 30L of water, and a camp stove, so I am able to live comfortably and work remotely from my camper. I would like to go into more detail on each of these items at a later date, because some of them rock and some really don’t.
After finishing the “build” (screwing a chuck box I found on FB marketplace to a bench made of 2x4s), I drove to Indian Creek- a “world-renowned” crack climbing area ~1 hour away from Moab, UT (where I have been living for the last 9 months). To my surprise, I spent April learning to love crack climbing. Anyone that has climbed with me has heard me complain about crack climbing (and Indian Creek) “the movement is all the same”, “Indian Creek is not a destination”, “it’s like sport climbing”, “it’s so simple”, I said it all, probably because I sucked at it, but this new found psych came as a surprise.
I have been climbing (and buying my own shoes) for 15 years, so it was hard for me to admit that I did not know what I was doing, but after buying 3 incorrect sizes/styles of shoe I admitted defeat. I stopped by IME to ask for help the last time I was in SLC and I am really glad I did. Shingo, one of the awesome folks who works at the shop, spent 45 mins helping me find the right shoes. I really don’t believe I would’ve ended up in the “right” shoes without his help. I ended up buying a size 37 Mythos (I normally wear a size 38.5 – 39, Skwama, Theory, and Miura). It was very unintuitive to me to size down so much in what is supposed to be a “comfy” shoe, but they are inherently floppy and do stretch quite a bit!
In addition to my new shoes, I had a really supportive (patient) boyfriend and met some really lovely female climbers who encouraged me to get on smaller cracks which tend to be rated “harder” but are much easier for my smaller hands than the classic 5.10s my male friends were psyched on (Blue Sun-never again). After 6 years of climbing in the creek on and off, I conceptually understood that grades “don’t really matter”, but it was hard for me to ask to get on something “harder” than what my clearly stronger male partners were climbing and submit to the learning process (getting scared on rampy 5.9). Shoutout to Drew for being so patient and going to chocolate corner with me more times than I would like to admit. I am glad I found such a supportive crew and am very excited to go back for all the 1s and 0.3s.
My friend Danny – one of the first friends I made when I moved to SLC in 2019 – made the drive down to climb with me! He also spent an hour helping me relace my Mythos. Great shoe, but you will need endless patience, a bike tool, and a crochet hook, because you will be replacing your laces weekly. You have been warned.
I left the Moab area a few days ago and it was honestly really sad. The last year was incredibly challenging, but it felt like the community in Moab went out of their way to make it easier. The food scene isn’t great, summers are hawt, OHVs are loud, the boulders are sandbagged, and flying anywhere is a multi-day event, but the people in Moab were so kind and welcoming. It felt like I was building community and I was really sad to leave it.
I don’t exactly know what is next, but I will keep you all posted!
Favorite song: "Sing like Madonna" by Sebastian Schub
Current read: Learning to Fly by Steph Davis
Coffee Order: Annika influenced me into ordering my first Americano
