Belay slave and a snake run

Brad was supposed to climb Mount Rainier last weekend, but a poor weather forecast postponed the trip. Instead, we decided to camp at Smith Rock State Park in Central Oregon and do some rock climbing.
After Saturday's parade, family reunion and birthday party, we drove to the climbers' bivouac at Smith and found a spot for our tent. The ground was muddy, and wet gear was strewn around the campground. We overheard conversations about the "epic rainstorm" earlier in the day and were glad we'd missed it.

It rained overnight but was dry when we got up early Sunday to eat and head over to get on the popular routes before the crowds arrived.

Brad first set up a top rope on Night Flight for me to try.
I hadn't climbed since our last trip in March 2010 with Jacob and Lindsey and was very rusty. I sucked it up. I felt mentally strong last time (rock climbing is really more mental than anything else), but it was so long ago that I was really shaky and scared. I guess going every year-and-a-half isn't good for improving.

About halfway up Night Flight, my left shoulder popped. I pulled something while self arresting on Colchuck Peak earlier in the month, and the climbing aggravated it. Unfortunately, that was the end of my weekend rock-climbing adventure.

SO... Brad lucked out and got a belay slave for the day!

He was able to lead some routes he'd been wanting to try, including Snuffy Smith and Chalk Wave. And I got to practice my belay skills ;)
We took some very cold showers at the campground and then drove into Bend for dinner. Brad got a great chipotle chicken burrito at a taqueria. I got fish tacos that smelled and tasted like an aquarium. YUCK. We eventually found a Baja Fresh that satisfied my craving for a grilled veggie burrito (I may never eat fish tacos again!)

Monday was supposed to be another climb day, but my shoulder hurt just putting on my jacket. It's a mild pain, but not good for rock climbing. Brad didn't want to make me belay all day again, so we went running in the canyon instead.

It was already getting warm and muggy, but we were in and out of the shade and breeze so it was tolerable.

We did 6 miles in 30-minute intervals. 12:02, 11:53 and 10:20 - negative splits!!
My overall average was 11:53, not bad for the rolling, off-road course.

Plus, I'm blaming the snakes for slowing me down. Two reptiles slithered across the trail in front of me, and I decided I needed to run a little slower so I could spot them before I almost stepped on them. Fortunately, neither was a rattler. Yikes.

One of the best dirt tans I've ever had:
After my brief but sucky climbing, I was really glad to have a good, solid run. Success is much more fun than failure :)