Buttermilks Climbing Area

So since the last post we’ve done some climbing, met some lovely people, eaten some good food (some not so good) and been subjected to a barrage of TV designed solely to kill brain cells. My favourite program so far is ‘deadliest space weather’.

The climbing out here is amazing, sometimes high, sometimes sharp but always good. My favourite area is the Buttermilks. During the last ice age several massive (and I mean massive) granite boulders, some larger than a three story house, were dumped on the granite talus slopes below Mt Tom in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This area is geologically really interesting as there is a large volcanic tableland nearby, created during one of the planets greatest pyroclastic events, when the Long Valley Caldera erupted with the force equivalent to 500 times the force of the 1980 MtHelens eruption!

Granite bouldering,The Buttermilks

Bouldering at the Volcanic Tablelands

All this geology is what makes this area a world class climbing destination. Another benefit of this area being very geologically active is the hot springs that you find all around here. Some are rivers with pools dug out, some are muddy holes and some are built like jacuzzis with temperature control taps, but all of them are like sitting in a hot bath surrounded by amazing mountain vistas.

Hot spring sunset.

We’ve met some very interesting people in the hot springs, lots of locals just chilling out but a few characters. One guy was convinced we’d been sent to America by the queen on a diplomatic mission and another wanted to discuss crop circle conspiracy theories with us!

When we were here last one of our friends told us that he’d seen a massive paw print signifying that there may be some mountain lions in the area. Apparently you do get them in these parts but they are seldom seen and avoid humans unless they are hungry. We were a tad sceptical and thought that his imagination must have been getting the best of him perhaps it was a big dog or something. Then we saw this….

It was MASSIVE, easily the size of my hand, we’ve been keeping an eye out ever since but have only seen the back end and ear tips of Jackrabbits (Californian Hares) as they bound away through the sage bushes.

We planned on visiting a ghost town in the area called Bodie but the tourist information told us, yes it was open but only accessible by skidoo. This put a bit of a spanner in the works so instead we went to Laws Railroad Museum. It’s isn’t a ghost town exactly but they have moved buildings from all over the area and restored them, so it has a very ghost town feel. It was really interesting lots of artefacts lying around, a saloon, school, gold mine and full size train, all of which you can go into and see what things were like when this was the proper Wild West!

Special shoes for special occasions…

Tom’s train

We’ve made some culinary discoveries recently too, cornbread is a bit like cake, a biscuit is basically a savoury scone and a corndog is a hotdog encased in cornbread, who would have thought to combine meat with cake!

Until next time…