Smilin' Through the Rain

Some days, the only way to win is to lose, to accept that there are un-winnable battles, knots that cannot be untied and adversaries too dangerous and unstable to face, and on those days you must swallow rage and disappointment and pride and sorrow and simply walk away, no matter how much you love something, believe in it, need it and/or want it to succeed. 

"Keep on smilin' through the rain
laughin' at the pain
goin' through the changes
'til the sun comes out again..."

A Ronin Looks at 50

Mother mother mountain
you have seen it all
wanted to climb
your stony reaches
since I was just three feet tall

You've seen it all...
you've seen it all.

Watched the crowds who climb you
go from outcasts to mainstream
without a clue of your hidden treasures
your forests and your valleys and streams
livin' the dream, just living the dream

Yes I am a ronin
four hundred years too late
The world's gone crazy
the climbing crowd is lazy
I'm the pioneer they all love to hate,
Cuz their egos got bent
one hundred fifty first ascents!


And I have been climbing
for over thirty years
aided, drilled and fallen
been through lots of tears and beers
But my ass has been draggin'
Gotta go craggin'
Get back to the source again
With just a few friends
just a few friends...

Mother mother mountain
After all my years I've found
that the dreams I've chased
across a thousand faces
were all answered back down here on the ground
Sometimes things come around
Things come around...

Home projects

A side bar from the usual rants about politics and the world of climbing; took today to begin painting a tree in the corner of the nursery my expectant step-daughter and her husband have set up in their country home, here in Grant County, WV.

Living on the Road

This is the video I made shortly before we left the Apache Trail campsite where we were maintenance staff.  It shows just how compact life gets after two years in motion.

Father's Day

Belated, but only because I didn't bother getting online yesterday, choosing instead to share my Father's Day wishes with my Father, Gilbert Gray. 

Today, I will tell the world that, no matter how much we may disagree on some things, and no matter the errors of the past, he is a comfort, a loving soul, a teacher and an inspiration, who came from a place most people could not imagine, who rose above his own beginnings to be something more, who saw the far side of the world, lost friends and lived in many worlds, loved and raised and provided for a family, fought fires and floods and flew planes, taught children and served as a shining example for many adults. 

Thank you, Dad, for all you have done and been, you have been and will always be the best.

Weekend fun

More rock climbing and good times over the weekend with friends Simon and Mike.  Some good old lines, a brutal steep project, and a fun new route to end the day.

The Doctor, Mike Fisher, styling his new 5.8 line Buckaroo

Working title

Busy day yesterday hiking to all the crags with a GPS unit to waypoint their locations and record the trails.

SO many great climbs done, so many more to do!