Book Six

The Penultimate Truth is one of the better Philip Dick books that I've read. I thought I had read it on my iPad, because it seemed so familiar, and I found the word, "leadies" in the iPad book (which figures prominently in the PT. It turns out that I had read a short story where he uses the same set-up. In the book, he takes it further, and it ends up being more satisfying. I can't say which of his books is my favorite. Maybe Ubik, or The Man in the High Tower. His books do tend to blend a bit. This one was just as good as any of them, even if I already knew one of the revelations, having read the short story that preceded it. Hopefully, I will have read all of his books before I die.
__
Yesterday, we went to this odd little place called Area 74. It is right off a corner of the road, and looks a lot like a roadcut, with paved sidewalks beneath. Not very aesthetic. I guess that's fine. I mean, it's better than Taylor's Falls. It is not, however, anywhere near the quality of the ranch, or the little crags at Cowell, for instance.
I did three problems, but don't know their names or grades. It was fun to check it out, but, again, nothing to write home about. The problems I did were probably in the v4 to v6 range or so.
Today, I got up around 10 in the morning, and decided that I really wanted to get outside. So I took off and went to Cowell. I wanted to try this v8 called Electralica, as well as a v5 nearby. I lost the strap that I was using to connect my pads, so it was a pain to hike down to the cliff carrying all four pads. I must have looked like one of those spoofs where the husband is carrying a hundred bags for his wife while she maxes out the credit cards in department stores.
The v5 was really cool. It started with this powerful move where you stand up to a sloping undercling, then up into these edges, and onto a face with pockets. Fun and tall.
Electralica was totally awesome. Among the best problems I've ever done on any trip. You start on good holds, and climb through a couple of jugs before you get into this amazing crux. From good holds below a roof, you turn around, and get this little pocket with your right hand. Then you drop in with your left, and catch a good edge. That's probably the crux. After that, you work your feet carefully, and power up to a good pinch that you use to dyno to the finishing slopers. The top out is really fun, and not as desperate as it looks. I think it helps that I've been doing a lot of v4s that are composed almost entirely of thrutchy topout lately. I worked out each of the three sections, and then did it clean, on my first try. Not a flash or onsight at all, but it's satisfying to do stuff quickly.
It was awesome, and didn't feel all that hard, so, with my confidence buoyed, I went over to check out Ab Lounge, this 4 star v10 that I had never seen before. It looked hard, but possible. I could see some of the footwork right away, and there were no monos anywhere on it, so I decided to give it a try. Within a few minutes, I had worked out the first couple of moves, and soon I was getting all the way to the crux. It's a little nerve-racking up there without a spot. It's hard to tell where you are going to land, as the moves start to get violent up high.
I worked it on and off for a couple of hours, and got so that I was on what I think is the crux crimp, going for the last holds, which are much better than anything else on the problem. You can't really rehearse the upper section because there's no way to get to it without a boost or a ladder, so it's hard to tell if I'm doing it the right way or not. It's also tough to tell whether I am really close to being finished on it. I think so on both counts. I'm tired and out of sorts when I get to the crux, but I don't think it's any harder than any of the other moves. If I can get up to the crux with energy left over, I think I can finish it up. And I have gotten to know the problem pretty well, now. So there's a chance that I could do just that.
I am stuck in the cruxes of three v10s here: Glass Bowl, Flash Gordon, and now Ab Lounge. Time is running out.
I am glad I got to do the problems I did, but I hope I get to do at least one of these three before I leave.