First Bite

And second, third, and fourth…

After just one day in the Red (AKA the Red River Gorge), we came back with an understanding of how it became known as one of the best places for sport climbing in the US. Unfortunately, we also came back with a few ticks.

While eating breakfast the second morning, I saw what looked like a mole on my leg. Closer inspection revealed that it was a small, black tick, which I quickly – and carefully – removed with tweezers. Understandably shaken, we did thorough inspections of ourselves and discovered not one, but three more ticks… two ticks apiece.

The first tick we found, just below my knee. I suppose it’s fortunate that this one was so visible, because it prompted the search that found the other – slightly less obvious – ticks.

Naturally, we immediately started to do a lot of research. On the bright side, it seems that Lyme’s Disease is almost non-existent in Kentucky. However, the three ticks that are found here carry their own wonderful ailments. We are keeping an eye on the bites to see if they develop into anything, so keep your fingers crossed for us. We’re also researching in-network urgent care facilities nearby so that if something does go wrong, we won’t get saddled with a bill like the $12,000 one John is facing for his three hours in the ER.

Looks promising for us in Kentucky.

Despite the ticks (and spiders the size of my fist), we’ve been having a blast at the Red. A liberal use of bug spray has left us tick-free for a few days, and we have been climbing so hard that our fingertips are raw and our tendons ache. The climbs vary from overhung jugs to slightly less overhung walls on slightly smaller jugs. The ‘slab’ wall is vertical, but named such because it has fewer jugs, and actually requires balance.

John at one of the many overhung walls at the Red

For the first time in a few weeks, the grades are softer, which is doing wonders for my self-esteem. I made it up a 12a with only two takes, although we both agreed that it should have only been an 11b/c.

The Red is also well known for a vibrant climbing community. Everyone camps at Miguel’s Pizza, where the camping is only $2 per person per night, and evenings are spent eating pizza, drinking, and mingling with fellow climbers. Of course, our isolationist lifestyle as of late seems to have tampered with our already meager social skills. We had to walk past the crowded tables a few times before mustering the courage to join conversations (thanks in part to alcohol).

One of our new British friends climbing at the Solarium, with a massive moth nest in the foreground.

On a positive side note, they apparently caught the guy who broke into our van in June and he’s going to trial soon. We had to write up a victim’s report, and John may have included some subtle hints about how the guy was lucky we weren’t there when he broke in.