Ben Lomond

In our quest for more forgiving dolorite, we completed our traverse of the east coast and headed inland to the isolated mountain-park of Ben Lomond, where the volcanic geology took the shape of towering vertical columns fractured by long, parallel cracks. This was Tassie's Indian Creek.

Our guidebook directed us to a stone hut tucked away from the main (dirt) road in the forest, an adventure to find in the dark. Despite our isolation, we shared the hut that night with a personable Aussie bicyclist, Damien, and 4 local climbers. Thanks to their beta and enthusiasm, we were able to navigate our way through the gloomy morning mist to a stellar multi-pitch 17, Ben Lomond's classic route, which Alex burled up using Utah-inspired crack skills. Our cycle touring friend was conveniently traveling with harness and shoes - we were happy to tie him into our ropes and share the climb.










This gesture paid off later, when Dorothy refused to start. Damien raced to the nearest farm and found us a willing truck driver with a pair of jumper cables. It was a lesson in driving to remote places in an old car.