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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 20, 2016 - 09:33am PT
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FOUR ON THE MOUNTAIN
Before the Buggerers, before the Stonemasters and to the day, exactly one year after the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue was released, I was born in Sierra Madre California, within spit-shot of the rugged San Gabriel Mountains, August 17, 1960. Doug Munoz came just four days later.
We were a gang of two for what seemed at the time our whole lives, seeking nursery school adventures and playing army man in back yards, side streets and vacant lots.
Munoz and Tarbuster, 1964:
Doug's parents, Andrew and Ellen, one hot afternoon in summer 1968, took us hiking in the local San Gabriel Mountains. First Water was the designation of a hefty goal for a children's hike. Steep trails cut through scrub oak and manzanita, and after a mile and a half, the path led us down into Little Santa Anita Creek.
Andrew and Ellen sat on the cool rocks beneath an oak tree, talking, handing out Wonder Bread sandwiches and enjoying the shade. Doug's sister, Diane, whom his parents called Sissy, joined us as we slid through a natural waterslide in the creek, formed by a tube-shaped impression scoured over thousands of years into the bright white granite of the watercourse.
The next year, Doug, Erick Dickson (the boy next door), and I decided to stretch out a bit and hike the entire Mount Wilson Trail, 7 miles and over 4500 vertical feet, to the summit of Mount Wilson, at 5,715'. We were all nine years old. It was in fact, Doug's idea. Doug's dog, Boo-Boo, one of those crouton-sized muts, people friendly and with long white and gray hair covering its eyes, would be our protector.
Between us we had a quart of water in a stale aluminum canteen, one baloney sandwich, and a single dollar. Doug's mother did not expect us to make it all the way to the top of Mount Wilson. We did.
When we got to the summit, we were totally blown out. The water had long been finished and our stomachs bore no memory of the 1/3 sandwich which we'd each consumed. We took the dollar to the summit snack shop. Between ourselves and the dog, we split a single chocolate doughnut four ways.
With the change from the doughnut purchase, we phoned home. Doug's parents, Andrew and Ellen, drove the twisty Angeles Crest Highway in their sky-blue 1964 Chevrolet Impala. They picked us up at the base of some giant radio towers on the summit. They were impressed with our fortitude and we were completely flagged.
A modern website describes the hike: "Oaks rule on the trail that goes all the way to Mt. Wilson: (It's very strenuous, so you'll want to work up to that)." But, without the internet and at nine years old, who knew?
It was easy to get car sick on that Angeles Crest Highway. About halfway down the mountain, Boo-Boo vomited his 1/4 doughnut out of the window of the Impala.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kind_of_Blue
http://www.summitpost.org/mt-wilson-trail/459826
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L.A. Woman
Social climber
Pasadena, CA
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Apr 20, 2016 - 12:15pm PT
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WOW Roy, you are on a roll. The entire time I was reading about Walter I was thinking I want to meet this guy, I'd really like him, awesome human being, to find out he is no longer with us. Eloquently written. Thank you. The post about you and the boys, hiking in the SG's, Andrew & Ellen, memories as kids doing nothing and everything, all outdoors (no devices) brought back floods of incredible memories. Bouldering in Snow Creek Village at the base of San Jacinto by the time I was 8 years old in our backyard at a cabin my dad built in the late forties. Thanks to our parents who allowed it and our generation who raised our kids to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Many memories of vomiting on the ACH also...."hey dad, can you pull over?" Delighting in the pic of you and Doug ; ) Thanks Roy for the posts and the great oratories. Aloha, Vikki (1960)
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Apr 20, 2016 - 01:25pm PT
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Roy,
Your portrait of Walt Shipley is vivid and excellent. I wish I could have gotten to know him.
I met Kathy D during the summer of 1978 when Sutton and Burton were building houses in Idylwild. I too was working in construction, but as a laborer, helping a guy build a cabin. Kathy and Gerry became friends, as they were both working toward their nursing licenses that summer.
Rick
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Apr 20, 2016 - 01:32pm PT
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Great story Roy. I, too, was born in Sierra Madre (1958) My grandparents lived in Arcadia. They had a flawless light blue '64 Impala SS that I bought during high school. First hike was Henninger Flats.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Apr 20, 2016 - 01:48pm PT
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The real trick was NOT to have a regular climbing partner and to climb with as many people, groups of people, and on as many types of rock as possible.
That about sums it up Roy. One found partners in Humbler Park, Stoney Point, Intersection Rock parking lot or at one of the few "climbing shops".
Really love the stories....and looking back now I realize just how good we had it in our own little world of climbing. I have friends, and after 43 years at this, who I still get out with on a regular basis.
Do you remember when E had a very clapped out Ford Econoline Van? The one with low compression. Everyone had to exit and push it up that steep part right before Humbler Park?
Fun Times.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 20, 2016 - 02:07pm PT
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Ha ha, good one Guy.
I had forgotten about E's van. A dirty white paint job IIRC.
I'm really glad you have stayed with us on this thread Vikki.
You were a real part of all of this.
Thanks Ricky! (Walt Rosenthal, not Walt Shipley)
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Apr 20, 2016 - 03:29pm PT
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As I said before, we were there in the Josh Golden Years
It was like God rewarded us with heaven on earth
The real trick was NOT to have a regular climbing partner and to climb with as many people, groups of people, and on as many types of rock as possible.
That's what helped me become a real climber.
After my regular partners started losing enthusiasm (Kevin Watts, Matt Montgomery, Fernando Corona, Jim Dody).
I had to go on my own.
All I had to do was drive out there and hook up with a pack of locals.
The locals would sometimes car pool, but gas was so cheap back then that you could do a weekend on $10 which included food.
We would pack as many cars in a camp space that we could, we would all hang and party together, have big campfires after coming back from dinner in town, do hours of hacky sac, big boulder sessions, night walks or do some horror show like the great chasm w/o lights.
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L.A. Woman
Social climber
Pasadena, CA
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Apr 20, 2016 - 03:43pm PT
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Yeah Roy, it's hard to stay away with the feel good memories that are better than an endorphin rush LOL.
Especially the fun times that Craig mentioned; hangin, partying, campfires, hacky sack, night climbs....I think my first climb was at night...didn't see enough to be scared. Especially the ones with E...
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Apr 20, 2016 - 04:48pm PT
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Especially the ones with E...
More details required.
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Apr 20, 2016 - 05:03pm PT
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Truth be told
It was more of the hotty scene I describe, on the main loop.
Those Sheep Buggers and other assorted low life's were banished to the back loop
and would bug us from the "other side" with their incessant sheep calls, notably one red headed melon
Guyman and E were part of the hotty scene as well.
E got mixed up with the Sheep Buggers because they were all from the San Gabriel Valley, so he no choice except to interbreed with them.
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E
Ice climber
mogollon rim
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Apr 20, 2016 - 05:37pm PT
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I think the car that we pushed was my green VW squareback
the van was a 1970 ford E100 6cyl which was yellow and the next one was a 1978 datsun longbed truck which was the dirty white one.
all had bad compression and I think I pushed all those vehicles...alot
EE
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Bushman
climber
The state of quantum flux
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 20, 2016 - 05:43pm PT
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I should have known this thread was going to take off the way it did. I'm still waiting for that 'fish origin' story if anyone is so inclined.
Wait...don't tell me?
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Apr 20, 2016 - 05:57pm PT
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The E100 1970 6cyl....the one I was driving, on Acid in Sequoia during a heavy snow storm with Floyd Blasting on the stereo, and I backed into a car-hard-in the Moro Rock parking lot. We took off when we realized the owner was nowhere to be found and with a foot of snow on it you couldn't see any damage......
...then you got the VW witch somehow lost the front hood...IIRC.
And Crag is sort of correct about the inner loop vs the outer (dirt-bag)loop, but by the later part of the 70's there were a lot of climbers going out and one of the smartest rangers ever started to let all of the climbers pack into the camping spots between the Old-Woman and the Blob....
he tossed out the stupid two car rule and let us stack park our collection of old cars - as many as we could fit. The only rule was this... "don't come running to me demanding to have cars moved because yours in packed into the middle..." so people started putting car keys on the tires.
The Blue Truck ..... 1992 or so.
Good Times
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AKDOG
Mountain climber
Anchorage, AK
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Apr 20, 2016 - 07:34pm PT
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Roy, nice writing!
Who are these guys? :-)
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 20, 2016 - 07:37pm PT
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I never rode in the yellow Econoline. That's the one I was thinking was dirty white.
The white Datsun. Seemed like the carburetor was never right on that thing.
Another LSD inhabited anecdote:
E and I headed out to Christmas Tree Pass in the Datsun and the stuff kicked in right about the time we arrived. I think Nick Badyrka might have been with us, kind of foggy on that one.
The dirt road was rough and got rougher the closer we came to the crags. With the climbs in view, we hit a gnarly ditch and something busted loose in the bed of the truck and a whole bunch of our water bled out into the desert sand.
Fully blazing, E led a couple of those routes and I followed. I thought the colors were really cool, but the crystals in the rock were pretty big and in places they were coming off like popcorn!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 20, 2016 - 07:43pm PT
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Doug said:
who are these guys?
Derek Olin, E, and Tim Sorenson!
................................
That Goldline photo is pure, well ... gold.
Probably our first trip to Joshua Tree in 1975.
Goldline and mountain boots. Not even PAs yet.
I weighed about 115 pounds. 15 years old.
The Bell helmet hat, not a riff on Henry Barber or Allan Bard, but a holdover from my motorcycle (riding) & sports car racing (spectating) experiences.
At one point I had Polaroids of us in Bailey Canyon in 1974.
All gone now.
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L.A. Woman
Social climber
Pasadena, CA
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Apr 20, 2016 - 08:18pm PT
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Tim,
LOVE the painting of the Hawaiian outrigger canoe with Mauna Loa in the background and Pele flowing her lava hair into the ocean. That's where I live the Big Island.....
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L.A. Woman
Social climber
Pasadena, CA
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Apr 20, 2016 - 08:38pm PT
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Tim, shhhhhhh sex on the beach....
I remember the time I ran a stop sign out onto Topanga Canyon Blvd. in my Carina that was full of sheep buggerers....the Fish, Moon, Manx?, E and myself. Totally sober. It was Russ' loud sheep call that distracted me and a massive auto crash ensued. Got hit by a VW bug. Any larger vehicle would have killed me in the driver seat. We were heading out to Stoney Point. Don't remember if we made it are not.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
from Poofters Froth, Wyoming
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Apr 20, 2016 - 09:10pm PT
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Even though I don't remember the Lawoman.... I remember this event.
This cray cray woman was driving her turd colored car through the porn capital of the world and then just flat out leaked out onto Topanga Canyon Blvd at full speed.... blowing the stop sign like it never existed. Dude in a VW bug T-bones us (me, the Moon, and E as passengers) The impact pushes us across Topanga and into the center divide, minimum. I'm thinking, yeah... this ain't too bad.... at least we lived.. then the guy gets out of the bug and drops to the tarmac clutching his arm. At that point I knew there would be a delay to our bouldering outing.
So, cops. the whole deal. We eat the lunch we are packing on the opposite curb while the cops do their thing. Stoney is in the distance and we can even see it... After the report is given I kick the drivers door off the steering wheel to return its function and then we continue to Stoney to boulder. We crush them all...
After we leave, it starts raining.... I don't think we had a windshield but we were booking it on the freeway anyway heading home. I think I drove.... We dumped the rig at the CrayCray house and ran before her dad came out to investigate.
As an aside... there were no buggery noises or anything of the like to distract the driver. She was just CrayCray bro. Nothing more.
Good times!!!
Edit: I'd like to inject more facts to this thread, but I'm away from my pics and actually working from early AM to about now. Sad to say... yer kinda low priority right now.
Edit #2: hey, is that pic a ways up really the MoonChero™™™ or someone else's ride? That thing is sweet!
Edit #3: Hey! Check out Yabo doing the ButtonHigh!! (give it time to load)
http://www.fishproducts.com/movies/yabo_buttonhigh.mov
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L.A. Woman
Social climber
Pasadena, CA
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Apr 20, 2016 - 09:57pm PT
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I CLEARLY remember the very distinct sound of the Fishes voice bleating with an abnormally loud sheep call just before impact distracting me. Why am I cray cray Fishy?? Big hugs, V
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