All good things..

So the American leg is rapidly approaching its end; in a week's time the pacific ocean will be gently lapping our feet as we wander off into the sunset on a Fijian beach paradise :)

America has treated us well, and our credit cards have treated Wilson's Eastside Mountain Sports very well indeed. Shipped home my trad rack today, and invested in some more quick draws. It'll be sport climbing and bouldering only from now on. Me and Sarah also shipped home a large box with the majority of our clothing. Six weeks of on the road experience shows that you really don't need all that much. 8 pairs of socks? Haven't worn socks yet, as my sun-stencilled feet will testify. I could feature in a Chaco advert, for sure.

Bishop's been a 'way cool' place to hang out, and it's rapidly filling up with climbers and skiers -- Mammouth mountain opened for the season about a week ago, which seems a little bit weird from where we're sitting. Although nights are cold, and the peaks are snow-capped, days are still hotter than the Med in the summer.

The bouldering has gone better than expected, and I only wish I'd had another month to apply the new-found confidence and strength. We'll see if the improvements will hold once we hit the next bouldeing mecca in a few weeks, Castle Hill, New Zealand south. It's funny though, we have Owen's River Gorge next door, an excellent sport climbing location, but we haven't even been remotely tempted to check it out as the Buttermilks bouldering in particular has been so good.

On the camp front, Bruno has showed some good skills with the fishing rod, and we've had fresh Rainbow Trout on the barbie several times. The rivers and lakes are teeming with them.