Outfection

By Craig Stucko

The world’s most powerful syndicates are hunting down a man only known as The Ghost. As they do their best to find him, the elusive Ghost takes on a more active role in changing the world and bringing life back to those lacking hope.

John Thimes is harboring a family secret that is allowing him to defy the odds and allude capture while pulling people back from the brink. As he takes the battle to those who will do anything to maintain their empires, John journeys throughout the United States and eventually falls in love with the beautiful Emily Bronson while scaling mountain peaks, exploring caverns of ancient cultures and surviving perilous car chases through city streets. Nowhere is safe. While the FBI watches John, only time will tell if they will help or hinder his important mission to rescue humanity, before it is too late.

In this action-packed tale, powers beyond comprehension bring together a man and woman who fall in love and then risk everything to save those who cannot be saved.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Apr 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781982244002

Craig Stucko

Craig Stucko is a man of many talents whose writing is inspired by his unique creative product development skills in the manufacturing industry as well as his extensive esoteric studies. He currently resides in Commack, New York. Outfection is his debut novel.

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Copyright © 2020 Craig Stucko.

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue

in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-4399-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4398-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4400-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020904207

Balboa Press rev. date: 03/12/2020

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The Lay of the Land

Chapter 2 Diner Food

Chapter 3 From West to East

Chapter 4 The Cost of Doing Business

Chapter 5 Take it on Faith

Chapter 6 Battle on Two Fronts

Chapter 7 Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Chapter 8 Overnight Stay

Chapter 9 Running Solo

Chapter 10 Every Dog Has His Day

1

THE LAY OF

THE LAND

It is 3:02 a.m. when the gray sedan pulls into the parking area just west of the hospital. John gets out, gives a quick look around the lot and then looks over towards the main entrance. There are two large sliding doors at the center of the entrance and automatic revolving doors on either side. The only other activity besides John’s slow, quiet walk towards the entrance is a man in front of the leftmost door, near the curb. It looks like he is waiting for a ride.

John can see into the lobby. It is a large one-story edifice with glass walls on three sides. It extends out of the larger eight story building behind it. Even the roof of the lobby is made of glass. On the far side of the lobby there is a central corridor that goes straight through the building to the opposite side where the emergency room is located. There are four elevators, two on either side of the central corridor. The elevator doors are far enough into the corridor that they are out of view of the security guard who is manning the reception desk just to the left of the entrance to the central corridor. The reception desk faces out towards the lobby. During the day there would also be a receptionist, but from midnight to 5:00 a.m. it is left to the front desk security guard to handle incoming visitors. The lobby only has a few sleepy people sitting around on some high backed, leather upholstered chairs that are scattered about in groups around a few sturdy, low to the floor, rectangular tables.

John starts walking a little faster as he sees a taxi pulling up at the curb to pick up its waiting fare. John passes behind the cab and heads into the lobby through the revolving doors on the right. They start moving automatically as he enters. John has his phone out and starts texting as he walks towards the entrance to the central corridor. Out of the corner of his eye John sees the security guard looking his way, so he immediately plops himself down into a chair. He continues texting and sees the guard get back to viewing the monitor that is scrolling through the live feeds of the surveillance cameras placed around the hospital. The guard assumes that John is just waiting for someone.

The corridor to the elevators is only about 20 feet away from him, and once in the corridor John will be out of the view of the security guard. So now he just needs to wait for a moment when the guard gets distracted. John chooses a chair that faces northwest so he can see out the front of the lobby and also the reception desk if he turns a little to the right. After sitting for a few minutes John notices that the lobby is quite inviting. It isn’t lit by white fluorescent bulbs, but rather by a softer, yellowish, warmer, incandescent light. If sitting inside, he figured you would also get a great view of the sun setting between the mountains off in the distance. Opportunity knocks. The security guard is answering a call and typing into a keyboard when his cell phone rings. As he stands up to reach into his pocket for the ringing cell phone, John is already up and stepping into the corridor.

John presses the up button for the two elevators on the north side of the corridor, and then hurries over and hits the up button for the elevators on the south side. He then steps to the center of the corridor to watch the elevator displays showing what floors the elevators are on. On the north side one elevator is already moving as the display goes from 5 to 4. The one next to it and farther back is on sublevel 3. On the south side the front elevator displays a 7 and the other a 3 turning into a 2. Two of the four elevators are already moving and more likely to have passengers on them, so the one coming up from sublevel 3 is the best bet, but it wouldn’t arrive first. With that John stands directly in front of the elevator coming up from the sub level and as he waits three people get off the elevator behind him. As they exit the elevator and head towards the lobby he spins around and heads straight into the elevator they had just left. He sees a camera in the back left corner so again leans down into his cell phone and as he enters the elevator, he spins around to put his back to the camera and hits 3, and then the close doors button. As they close, John can see the doors to the elevator that was coming up from sub level 3 open and it is crowded with two janitors and their cleaning equipment. John thinks to himself, This worked out okay.

At the third floor there is a nurse’s station. It is just a little to the right and on the opposite side of the corridor. There is no one there. John steps out of the elevator and looks right to see two nurses rolling some sort of diagnostic equipment into a patient’s room at the far end of the corridor. He looks left and the corridor is clear. He heads that way and then takes another left onto the corridor that runs parallel with the front of the building. John is looking for room 311. Room 305 is on his right, so he continues down until he arrives at 311. Instead of going in, John walks over to room 312 which is almost directly across from his destination. It is dark in room 312 and as John stands at its doorway, he pulls something out of his inside jacket pocket. It is a small mirror, about the size of a car rearview mirror. It is curved in a way that makes things look bigger. The mirror is mounted on a short post. At the other end of the post is a small flat disk, about the size of a half dollar coin, that the post can pivot on. The disk is magnetic, and John attaches it to the top of the door frame of room 312. He makes a small adjustment to the mirror and then steps backwards away from the mirror towards room 311, making sure the mirror is lined up correctly.

Room 311 has only one bed, and once inside John can see an older woman sleeping, with wires connecting her to various monitors that are beeping sounds and pulsing lights. There is an intravenous drip going into her right arm. John looks at his watch, 3:07. He flips up her chart to confirm that it is Rosemarie Anne Lincroft, and then walks to the head of the bed to see her up close. Her chart says she is 48 but she looks much, much older, very tired and very worn. Her battle with pancreatic cancer is coming to an end. John walks to the far side of the bed, close to the window. After a quick scan outside he unlocks the bottom of the window and it swings outward. He checks how far it will open, recloses it, then sits down in the chair next to Mrs. Lincroft. John shifts the chair slightly to allow for a clear line of sight with the mirror which shows the corridor he has just walked down. John leans back into the chair and focuses on the mirror.

Memories of his grandfather come rolling in as he thinks about visiting in the summers at grandpa’s cabin in the mountains. They had great times. Grandpa Pete was in good shape, only in his late fifties back then, but he hiked up the side of a mountain like a man in his twenties. Fishing, hiking, camping, climbing, rappelling off steep cliffs, cooking over an outdoor fire were all great memories. John remembered them paddling upriver to their favorite fishing spots. His mind then wanders back to the times when they would float down that river with snorkels and watch the lives of the river’s inhabitants unfold below them as the current slowly carried them along. Grandpa Pete told him that you needed to blend in, almost be a part of the river so that the animals would not be startled by your presence, and let you see them doing the things they naturally do. John remembered his grandfather repeating, Let the river take you. It was always amazing, you could see the trout either hidden behind a submerged stone waiting for the current to bring something to eat, or else they would swim only ten to twelve inches down waiting for an insect to touch the surface. Then with a quick flash of their tail, they would dart up to retrieve their meal. Watching snakes swim across the river was fun, as their entire bodies would be just under the water with only their heads held above the surface. John’s favorites were the snapper turtles slowly swimming along below him. They always seemed to notice his arrival and would quickly swim into the algae covered plants that grew along the bottom as he passed above them.

Movement in the mirror. John looks at his watch and sees that it is 3:45. A nurse just turned the corner from the central corridor and is heading down the hall stopping in every room to check on her patients, waking some up to deliver their medications. John waits another two minutes, then takes a glance outside, opens the window and lowers himself down to the roof of the lobby below. As he looks up, he sees the nurse pull the window shut above him. He proceeds a short way along the roof to the far end and swings down over the side. John hangs there for a second. His feet are a good 12 feet above the ground. He needs to push out a little to avoid landing on one of the rhododendron bushes that line the sides of the building, left and right of the lobby. John hears an ambulance, and as it heads around the back of the building towards the emergency room, John heads back to the car.

When he gets back to his hotel room John sets the alarm on his phone for 1:00 p.m., then falls onto the bed exhausted. The last thing he sees before falling off to sleep is the light of the rising sun just starting to make its way through the drawn cloth curtains.

John starts to dream. He is standing on some steps in front of a large stone cathedral in a big city. There are lots of people going in, all well-dressed. Next John is at the back of the church and he can smell burning candles mixed with the scent of burning frankincense. He thinks he might be at a funeral, but he looks up and sees a couple taking their vows at the altar. Then everything changes and he is at a birthday party with young children. It is at a beach house, but no smell of salt air, the house is on a large lake. It is a beautiful summer house, raised up off the beach. The exterior is white wooden planking with a large wooden deck at the back. Some children are doing crafts and playing games on the deck, and others are playing on the beach in bathing suits and party hats.

When the alarm goes off John gets up and heads straight into the bathroom for a shower. As he gets dressed, he turns on the television to catch the weather. He puts on casual clothes and adds a sweater. The local weather said sunny but cool throughout the day. He opens the curtains wide, not so much to let in the light, as to be able to see into the room upon his return.

The hotel is at the north end of town, right on the main street. It is a small town, mostly one-story buildings, spread out across a flat valley with rugged mountains to the east and the west. John figures that if he needs to stay another day he may head up and do some hiking. There is a row of small metal newspaper vending machines in front of the hotel office, and John looks through the plexiglass windows of each until he finds the one with the local paper. He would usually drive to a coffee shop, but the fresh air feels good, so he folds up the paper he just purchased, slips it under his arm, crosses over to the other side of the street and starts walking into town. John isn’t much for breakfast, early or late in the day, but over the past few years he has surely come to love his coffee.

About three blocks into town John finds a little mom and pop diner. It is a store front seated between the local hardware store and drugstore. It has an odd appearance. The front of the diner has full-length glass windows that slant outward as they go up from the sidewalk to about 10 feet. The door is to the left side and is also made of glass. It is inset slightly to compensate for the slant in the front windows. The diner reminds him more of an old-fashioned TV repair shop than it does a place to grab a bite to eat. He steps in and takes a seat at a booth by the front windows. John isn’t in a hurry, but he notices that there is no one there to take his order. He gets up to head over to the counter where an older couple are having lunch. They are having matching BLTs on wheat toast with bowls of tomato rice soup. They haven’t gotten to their sandwiches yet, and the toothpicks are still pressed down into the toast to hold them together. The man working the grill turns, smiles, and says that the waitress has called in sick, but he would be over in a minute to take his order. With that, John returns to his seat.

The grill man is in his early sixties, full head of dark brown hair, just slightly graying on the sides. A big guy, easily 6’ 2, maybe 220 lbs, with just the beginnings of a belly, in pretty good shape. USMC is tattooed onto his upper arm. He goes over to John and introduces himself, I’m Dan, the owner/cook/cashier and today, waiter. Dan puts out his hand which John reaches up to shake while replying, How are you doing? I’m John. John proceeds to order a cup of coffee and is going to leave it at that, but Dan recommends a slice of the homemade lemon pound cake with sugar frosting. John loves lemon pound cake, especially lemon pound cake with sugar frosting. He tells Dan, That would be perfect. Dan proudly responds, I made it myself this morning. Although my wife did help a little."

John starts going through the paper as his order arrives. Dan smiles, puts the coffee and cake down and says, The slice is on the large size to make up for the wait. As Dan is walking away, he stops, turns and says, Make yourself at home, stay as long as you like, dinner crowd won’t be in for a couple more hours. Then he spins around again and continues on his way, stopping one more time by the older couple, patting them on their shoulders and giving them both a little hug before heading back behind the counter. John doesn’t realize how tired he still is until he takes that first gulp of coffee; it perked him right up. He continues sipping coffee and eating pound cake as he goes through the paper from cover to cover. The cake really is good, he is glad the piece Dan served was twice the size of a usual order. Nothing in the paper yet, so he goes back to thinking that he probably would be doing that hiking up in the mountains the next day. John looks over towards the counter and sees the older couple pleasantly chatting away with Dan who is cleaning up around the grill. John can tell they are more than just regulars, more likely neighbors who have known each other for years. Maybe their kids had gone to school with Dan. It is a pleasure to see people relaxed and joking as Dan is describing to them the lovely people he and his wife had met when visiting Australia on their last vacation. Dan says that he especially likes that the Australians all say they are from down under. He likes it so much that he repeats it out loud one more time, just to hear it said.

John takes the last sip of coffee, gets up and heads over to the counter to pay his bill. Dan smiles and asks how he liked the pound cake as he hits the keys on the cash register which makes a loud ka-ching sound when the drawer opens. John replies that he will definitely be back for more. John then heads back towards the booth to leave a tip and Dan announces behind him, I know I’m doing wait service today, but I’d be obligin’ if you didn’t tip the owner. John grins and changes direction towards the door, then swings back and asks, Dan, do you know of any good hiking in the area? Dan replies, There are some great trails up in the mountains to the west. Just head south through town and make a right at the first light outside of town, then go about six miles to the foot of the mountains and you’ll see cars parked on the side of the road. There is a main trail heading up right behind that parking area. Can’t miss it, nothing else there. The trail splits off in a few places as you head up so be sure to keep heading due west. There are some nice falls that way, about four miles in. And with that John heads out.

He makes one stop along the way back and picks up some things for dinner at a grocery store that is about halfway between the diner and the hotel. John will be eating in tonight. He wants to get in a little more rest before his hike tomorrow. The store has that comfortable general store kind of look and feel to it, with wooden plank flooring and rough-cut timbers holding up the slanted roof. There are pegs sticking out of the support timbers with all kinds of small souvenirs and novelties hanging on them. Near the entrance there are various loose candies displayed in large baskets. There is even an old balance scale where you can pick from various little metal weights of different sizes that are set up in a stand in front of the scale. They are marked 2-ounce, 4-ounce, 6-ounce, etc. You pick the weight you want and put it on one side of the scale which drops that side of the scale down, then you put your bag on the other side of the scale which is now up. Next you start filling up the bag with candies using the little shovels placed in each basket to scoop out what you like. You then pour them into your bag, and as the weights start to match, your bag of candy drops down and the weight on the other side comes up. When they are equally balanced you know exactly how much candy you have. Further back in the store there is a little sporting goods section, mostly clothing and some fishing gear. John loves these old-fashioned stores, they bring him back to his childhood when everything was a wonder, and every turn in the road leads to another adventure. He drops a 4-ounce weight onto one side of the scale and fills up a small paper bag with root beer lollipops, slowly dropping in the last few as the scale balances out almost perfectly.

John then heads towards the deli counter on the right side of the store. The woman behind the counter has been watching him weighing out his candy and as he gets up to the counter she says, You know our candy sales have gone up 300% since we added that old balance scale. Men love tinkering with that thing. She has the look of a mom with grown kids, definitely the owner, and with that infectious smile that most of the locals seem to have. She is a little round-shouldered. John looks through the glass and sees the wooden cutting counter, and it is sunk down at the spot she is standing over. She probably got those rounded shoulders from leaning over that very spot and cutting how many thousands of sandwiches? Over how many years? John figures that her family is probably good friends with Dan and his family. She asks, So, what can I do for you sir? John smiles and says, I’m John. And she responds back, I’m Alice, what can I do for you John? I was going to order some kind of healthy salad but changed my mind. I think I’ll have a BLT on a roll instead. Alice asks if he is visiting to do some hiking or some climbing as she gets to work making his order. She follows up with, You look more like a climber. John finds himself smiling again as it has been a long while since a stranger took the time to observe him, size him up, and then start a conversation based on their observations. It reminded him of Grandpa Pete, when they would go into town for supplies and grandpa would start up conversations with everyone they’d meet. He always seemed to know the right thing to say to get any stranger’s attention. John had forgotten how much he enjoyed those trips into town with grandpa. John says, I was planning on doing some hiking but what made you ask? Alice had already laid down the bacon and was about to get to the lettuce and asks, Would you like anything else on this? John says, A little salt and pepper maybe. And as Alice reaches for the salt and pepper shakers she says to him, Well, you’re not a local and this town is known for its trails and rock climbs, and most hikers wear floppy hats and have looks on their faces that say, I want to explore the world. But with climbers, their faces kinda look like they might want to change the world more than just explore it. That’s my take on it anyway. Also, a strong upper body is a pretty good tell, if you know what I mean?" Alice gives him a polite wink of the eye as she hands him his neatly wrapped dinner.

John just smiles back as a confirmation of the compliment Alice gave him, and heads over to the produce table where he grabs some apples. Next, he heads down a small aisle to get a 12 pack of bottled water and some energy bars that he will pack for the hike. He sees that they sell an IPA from a local micro-brewery by the bottle. The label has a picture of two people paddling a canoe. The label says, Bad Day Fishin’, 8.5% alcohol by volume. He smiles as he takes two from the shelf. Then a can of salted peanuts and he is ready to go. Alice is waiting for him at the checkout counter and as she rings him up asks, John will you be visiting for a while? He replies, Just a couple of days. Alice smiles and asks, Have you already checked out the falls? John says, Dan over at the diner just told me about the falls and I’m planning on checking them out tomorrow. Alice says, Hold on a minute. She walks over to the sporting goods section at the back of the store. She comes back with a foldout map and says, This shows all the local hiking trails and rock climbs. I had taken them off the magazine rack because the tourist season is over, and the locals don’t need’em. John smiles and proceeds to pay the bill in cash. She hands him his change and he says, Thank you Alice. And heads out the door.

As John walks up the drive to the hotel, he checks his watch and it is only 3:52, still lots of time to kill. John had taken note that there were two other cars, not counting the one he was driving, in the parking lot on his way out earlier. Now there was only one other car and it was the same white SUV with Colorado plates that was there before. He had left his car about three rooms down, away from the main hotel office. He stops to get out his room key and peers in the front window to see that the room is just as he had left it. He goes in, puts his groceries in the mini fridge, turns on the television and sits down in the chair in the front corner of the room so that it is easy to watch the television. The seat also has a good view of the parking lot.

John drifts off to sleep and starts dreaming. First about a young couple and their two kids, a boy and a girl. They look close in age. They are all on a train, looking out of the train window as they pass through grassy plains that seem to go on forever. They are in a private compartment and the children look very excited and the parents very content. The dream then shifts back up into the mountains and John sees Grandpa Pete pulling climbing ropes out of his backpack and he shows John how to properly secure ropes to boulders at the top of a cliff. They put on their harnesses, and grandpa reviews all the safety procedures one more time about how to safely get over the cliff ledge in preparation for the rappel down the cliff face. They start their descent and John has trouble using his legs as springs to keep his body away from the cliff face. His feet keep slipping down, causing his chest to bang into the rock face. Grandpa Pete is at his side and helps him readjust. He tells him that the speed comes later and to focus on his center of gravity and go down in slow increments, without moving his upper body forward and back. John starts to do a little better and continues down the cliff. Grandpa says to hold up and points over his shoulder and when John looks, they have the most incredible view over the whole forest below. Two hawks are circling at the same height that they are at and only about 50 yards out. Grandpa Pete smiles and says, So now you have an idea what it’s like to be a hawk. Who has it better than you? They continue down and just as they are about to touch down at the bottom John is awakened by the headlights of a car pulling into the hotel parking lot.

John watches the car pull in just to the right of his room, and a man and woman get out and walk towards the main office. They look like travellers making a stop for the night. There is a small trailer attached to the back of their Jeep, so John figures all is good and pulls the curtains shut and heads over to the mini fridge to take out his dinner. While eating his BLT, John watches the local news and catches the weather report that says tomorrow will be another sunny, cool day. The next report is about a murder in the northern part of the state, so John starts flipping through the channels and stops at a game show where he tries to answer the questions that are being asked to the show’s contestants. He gets five answers correct in a row and smiles triumphantly as he finishes up his dinner. He had never gotten more than four in a row.

After dinner John cracks open an IPA and unfolds the trail map onto the small coffee table in front of his window seat. He studies the map carefully, checking out all the trail types, their lengths and time required to complete. Wow, he says to himself, then continues, This town has some serious hiking trails along with some tough rock face climbs. He finds the waterfall that Dan had mentioned, and he notices an expert climb about three miles north of the falls. The folder describes an incredible view at the top that is well worth the effort and the two-hour climb, if you are qualified for it. Decision made, John has his climbing gear in the trunk of the car, and it has been too long since he has taken on a serious climb. John polishes off the IPA, thinking it is a little too hoppy for his taste, but doesn’t let that stop him from grabbing the second beer and can of peanuts. He heads back to his chair to watch a local basketball game before hitting the sack.

John is at the base of the mountain before sun-up. He is pulling his climbing gear out of the trunk and putting it into his backpack along with three bottles of water, two energy bars, an apple and the small bag of lollipops. The hike so far has been pretty easy and John estimates he has less than a mile to go and just as he has that thought, he hears the sound of water washing over rocks. With the sun at his back John climbs a rise in the trail and as he crests the top, the waterfall comes into full view in front of him. It is spectacular, the spray that pushes up around the falls has the colors of the rainbow flashing through it, caused by the morning sunlight.

John takes a seat below the falls, gets out an apple and takes a bite as he leans back to enjoy the view. The falls are much more tall than wide, but the rock wall behind the falls slants inward slightly at the top so that the water from above spreads out across the rock as it comes forward and down to the bottom. At the top, the stream that feeds the falls is only about three feet wide and maybe a foot deep, but the water tapers out to about 40 feet by the time it gets to the small lake at the bottom. It makes the falls look like a giant triangle made of a moving wall of water. John finds it interesting just how symmetrical the shape is. Besides the spectacular sunlit view, the cool moist air feels pretty good as well.

John checks his watch, 7:50, time to go. He notices a beautiful trail to the south that skirts along a stream that flows out of the lake and passes downward through stands of junipers and pines. There are also many low-growing bushes and grasses coming up through the rocks and John realizes that southward would be more scenic than the way he is heading, but he wants to do that climb. The north trail runs along a solid rock slab, one giant continuous rock. Occasional shallow depressions are filled with rainwater, some of them as large as small ponds but nothing growing in them. John figures that there isn’t enough rain to keep them wet all year round, so they dry up before anything can take root. The only plant growth is the occasional wind-swept juniper tree. They are shorter than you’d expect, and all lean to the left due to steady westerly winds that come across the valley and up through the gaps in the mountains. These scattered trees only coming up out of the few cracks in the rock that had collected enough windswept sand and leaves to sustain life.

John arrives at the base of the cliff face at around 9:00. He stops about 20 yards back so that he can study the rock face and determine the best path upward. This is a pretty serious climb. Straight up the center of the cliff face is a vertical gap about ten feet wide and in the shape of a half cylinder. John steps a little left and then back over to the right, squats down, then gets up on his toes, then steps back a little trying to see if there are any openings or outcroppings of any kind to grab onto and use as hold points. Nothing; the curved wall of this gap is almost perfectly smooth, not even a crack to work with. The cliff face is rougher both left and right of this cylindrical no-climb zone. Two spots in particular look like places where John would need to jump the gap. The first is about 150 feet up, and is a swing from right to left, and then another up at about 220 feet where he would have to swing back over from left to right. Grandpa Pete had taught him how to first climb above a swing point to set a rope anchor, then drop back down on a rope and use his body weight and a short run along the wall like a pendulum to make the jump over the gap to the other side. As a kid he always enjoyed running sideways along a vertical face while hanging at the waist by a rope. He always felt the need to lift his head up to maintain his orientation. It felt strange, but very cool, running sideways. This was going to be fun. Maybe he’d try the second gap jump without a swing rope?

John pulls a lollipop out of his backpack and pops it in his mouth. He takes out a bottle of water, puts on his rope harness and slides the water bottle under one of the elastic straps on his harness. He places his larger hiking pack up against the base of the cliff. Then he puts on his climbing pack, cinches up his helmet, chalks up his hands and starts up the right side of the rock face. The first 50 feet have holds that allow him to always have at least one hand and one foot planted while moving the other hand or foot up to the next grab or hold point. But next there is a hands-only spot with a crack in the rocks that angles up to the right at about 20 degrees.

John hangs by two hands as he slowly removes his left foot from its last hold position. Both of his feet now hang below him, but he feels quite safe as his fingertips go into the crack all the way to the second knuckle. John proceeds by putting all his weight on his left hand and sliding his right hand to the right, feeling his way along the crack to about 18 inches out. That feels pretty good, so he brings his right hand back towards him about six inches and gradually allows his weight to shift onto his right hand while keeping his left hand in place, just in case. This is the spot where his left hand will land once he moves his right hand to the spot further out. Always better to check this out now then find out it is a poor hold when he swings over. He thinks to himself, Small increments today and live to see tomorrow. This spot supports his weight just fine, so he repeats the process and moves his right hand out and to the right again.

The crack continues up this way for a good ten feet, after that it starts becoming shallower. Now John is hanging from only his fingertips. There is still enough rock edge, but the crack is starting to slant down towards him making it harder to grip. He thinks to himself, This isn’t good. Leaning his head back, John can see that the crack deepens again about 32 inches to the right, but also 12 inches higher up. This will require him to hang from his left arm while swinging back and forth to build up enough movement to swing out, and as he lifts his weight up with his left arm, simultaneously grab onto the deeper piece of ledge further up with his right hand. John thinks, Okay, this is doable. He alternately chalks up his left hand, then his right. He lowers his right hand and uses it to get his body swinging. On the third swing right, John pulls up hard with his left arm and reaches up and over with his right. His right hand finds its hold. John’s arms are now stretched out left and right, and as he puts more weight on his right hand and is about to release with his left, the rock under his right hand gives out and his right hand and a nice chunk of rock come down, causing him to swing back down to the left. John hangs on tight with the finger tips of his left hand and as his body is still swinging, he reaches up with his right hand to get both hands onto the narrow rock ledge again. As he hears his heart pounding in his chest John also hears that piece of rock crashing into bigger rocks below.

He regains his focus and leans back to take another look. There is now a bigger opening in the rock face and the grab point is now about three inches lower because of the missing piece of mountain. His arms are getting a little tired; time to try again. Next attempt goes much better and as John puts all his weight onto his right hand it is quite secure, so he swings his left hand up next to his right for a nice solid grab. There is also a foothold for his right foot which allows John to lift himself up the cliff face another foot or so. John takes the opportunity to rest his arms. He pulls out a lollipop and turns around to check out the view. Not more than 30 yards out is a red-tailed hawk circling over the rock trail John had taken to get to the climb. He can also just make out light sparkling as it reflects off the water going over the top section of the falls, three miles south. He says to himself, Nice!

The cliff face surface is rougher with more places to grab onto here, allowing for an easier climb where John can alternate his hold points. Left hand up, right foot up, right hand up, left foot up. John continues this way until he is about 150 feet into his climb. Above this is all smooth rock, time to swing over to the other side of the gap. There is a deep horizontal crack right at John’s eye level, about two inches wide. A great place to press in a rope anchor. The anchors are attached to Velcro loops on his hip. He pulls at one to break the Velcro hold and places the back-wedged end of the rope anchor into the crack, as far to the left as possible, putting it within one foot of the gap’s right edge. The anchor has an eye bolt at the front but at the back end is a horizontal spring-loaded wedge that creates a T-Shape. Once the wedge is pushed into a crack it isn’t coming out. John holds himself in place by holding onto the installed rope anchor with his left hand, and pulls the end of his climbing rope out of the side of his pack and loops it through the metal D-ring sewn into the right side of his harness with his right hand. Then the end of the rope is looped through the rope anchor and John pulls about 40 feet of rope through the rope anchor. Next, he knots the free end of the rope onto the D-ring, and where the other end of the rope is already passed through the D-ring John creates a knot that can be pulled loose if needed. John then pulls half of the freed rope back towards him through the rope anchor, giving him 20 feet of rope on each side of the rope anchor.

Now that he is secured, John quickly bounds back down going hand under hand along the doubled-over rope. When he gets to the full 20 feet, he holds the rope with both hands, brings his feet up against the cliff face one at a time, then straightens his legs so that he is standing perpendicular to the rock face, looking towards the gap and hanging by his right hip. He then straightens his back and chuckles as he feels his head tilting up, instinctively trying to get back to a normal vertical view of the world. He is thinking, Some things never change.

He gets closer to the gap to see how he’ll land and also to see what holds are available to grab onto so that he doesn’t wind up swinging back. About two feet beyond the far gap edge is a vertical crack in the rock face with plenty of places to grab on. That vertical crack is wide enough where he will be able to wedge himself into it. That will set him up securely on the other side. Then he will only need to work his way up inside of that crack to get to a ledge at about 160 feet. John checks all his gear to make sure everything is fastened safely, and he starts stepping back quickly, bending his knees a little more with every backstep. When he gets about eight feet back, he starts quickly stepping forward towards the gap while staying in the semi-crouched position.

Just as his right foot touches the right edge of the gap, John leans forward and pushes off the rock face edge with his right foot, while also stretching out his body away from the rock face. His left foot is out front and touches down on the left rock face. He is still moving left but the arc of the swing rope is starting to take him more vertical. His right leg is trailing behind him and he bends his left knee to get closer to the face. He reaches out his left hand and his fingertips touch down on the edge of the right side of the crack in the left rock face. He says to himself, Great, made it first try! Then he swings his left foot around to catch the right side of the crack. He slowly works his left leg around and into the crack up to his knee. Next, he gets his right hand up over his head and grabs the right-side edge of the crack. Next, he gets his left arm around the edge up to his elbow. He then pulls with both hands and his lower left leg and swings his torso into the crack.

Now John is in a good place. He pushes his forearms forward which presses his upper back against the left side of the crack that he is wedging himself into. This braces his upper body. Then he pulls up his knees until they press against the right side and pulls up his feet until the soles of his shoes press up against the other side. Now his lower body is braced in position, so he pulls back his forearms, straightens his back upwards to gain a couple of inches, and pushes his forearms forward again. He repeats this motion, gaining a few inches with every cycle. John thinks to himself, This will take a little time, but it is safe and easy.

As John gets up to the same height as the rope anchor, he braces himself with his legs and releases the knots attached to his harness with both hands. He lets go of the end of the rope and it swings freely across the gap. John then holds the rope close to where it came out of his pack with his left hand, and pulls the loose rope that leads to the rope anchor with his right hand. A couple of tugs and the rope falls clear of the rope anchor. John then retrieves the rope, coiling it into a loop as he does. He then slides the rope back into its place in his pack. The rest of the inchworm-style shimmy up the rock ledge goes smoothly, and John easily pulls himself up onto a 10 inch deep horizontal ledge that runs about two feet from where it starts at the crack he just climbed up, to within a few inches of the gap. A very nice perch. Time for a drink of water and the reward of an already enjoyable view. As he takes everything in, John gets out one of the energy bars he had purchased the day before. He unwraps it and puts the wrapper into a small pocket on the side of his pack. John stretches a little and then leans back against the rock face which is now warmed from the morning sun. He rubs his shoulders back against the rock and thinks to himself, That feels good. He breaks off small pieces of his snack and takes in the view of the whole valley below him while he eats. He tries to make out the different buildings in town, but they are a little too small. Although his hotel at the north end of town is clear, as it is the largest building in town, and has no other buildings around it. And the darker green color that it is painted stands out against the tannish background of the surrounding land. He wishes he had brought his binoculars.

Okay, 60 feet to the next swing. The crack he had traversed up to this point veers off to the left and is no longer an option for his ascent. John stands up, takes a look up along this left face to determine how to proceed. The rock face slants away as it goes up. That is good, it will help support his weight. He just has to keep as much of his body in contact with the rock as possible to maximize the friction between him and the rock face. There are lots of thin cracks for fingertip grabs and places to get in the tips of his toes. The first 20 feet are pretty easy. There are even a couple of wider cracks to grab onto, but the last 40 feet are all about staying close to the rock, moving slowly, maintaining support positions from three limbs before moving a fourth limb to advance the climb.

Progress is slow but John has no slips up to within six feet of the next good hand hold. Unfortunately, the rock face is slowly becoming more vertical, increasing the chances of slipping. John slows his pace and alternates moving his limbs up along the rock face very slowly, only a few inches at a time. As he gets to within about two feet of a solid ledge coming out of the cliff face, he feels that he will slip if he tries to go any further. He presses the left side of his face against the rock to spread out his weight just a little bit more. In the position that he is in, John can no longer look up, so he slides his right arm along the surface of the rock and gradually gets it up over his head. He is feeling for the next hand hold which should be right above him. The tips of his fingers touch the underside of where the ledge protrudes out about three inches. He thinks, Almost there. He stretches up his right arm and can just feel the top of the ledge. He starts bending the tip of his middle finger and luckily the top side of the ledge is flat. Rather than put any of his weight onto his right arm, John lets the pulling of his finger stretch out his arm just enough to get the tip of his index finger over the edge, so now he has two finger tips on the front lip of the ledge. That will be enough support. John happily lifts his face from the rock, trying not to think about what would have happened if that ledge was a quarter of an inch higher up.

The two-fingertip hold allows John to pull his body upward as he simultaneously swings his left arm out to the left, and then up and above his head to get his left hand fully onto the ledge. John now repositions his right hand and has a good grip with both hands. With his elbows pressed against the rock, he starts to bend them lifting his entire body up, putting his chin a couple of inches above the ledge and his biceps right up against his forearms. His feet are now dangling below him. From here John can see another ledge about three feet up and a little to the right. John lowers himself by unbending his elbows a little and then with all his strength, pulls himself up quickly and launches his body towards the next ledge, swinging both arms up to grab on. He then pulls himself up again at the elbows, allowing him to get his left foot onto the previous ledge. After about 20 minutes of hugging the rock face John is finally back in a comfortable position.

Getting up to the next swing point will be a little easier as there are more ledges and protrusions to work with all the way up to about 220 feet. John sees a nice outcropping of rock across the gap just above the place where he will swing over. He can rest there before heading up to the top of the climb. So now with both hand and foot holds available John gets to the swing point in a few minutes. He finds a good crevice to drop the next rope anchor into and follows the same procedure as before, but this time he attaches the rope to the harness D-ring on his left hip. The gap is only about eight feet wide here, but the rock face on this side is only three feet wide, so John won’t be able to get much of a running start. He is convinced that the people who had made the trail map were quite accurate in describing the skill level of this climb as expert.

Over on the other side of the gap there is a recess in the rock that will be within easy reach of his right hand once he swings over. Keeping his knees slightly bent, he steps back the full three feet. John then takes two steps forward putting his right foot on the left edge of the gap. As he starts to push forward with his right leg, he also puts his left foot next to his right and sort of leap frogs out and over the gap, landing gently on the other side and with his weight still moving him forward John plants his feet, bends his knees, and leans forward while reaching out with his right hand to grab onto that next hand hold. As John’s fingers start to wrap around the edge of the recess there is a loud screech, and something hits his hand as he sees a bird come flying out of the recess. It scares the bejesus out of him. He loses his grip and swings backwards trying to grab onto something. With nothing to grab, John swings into the gap and his back slams into the left side knocking the wind out of him. It is painful and very awkward hanging there by his hip, trying to catch his breath.

It takes a good 30 seconds for John to collect himself. Then he reaches up with his left hand and pulls himself up on the rope and then pulls himself hand over hand up to the place where the rope rolls over the left edge of the gap. He then swings his left leg over the edge and gets himself back onto the left rock face. He climbs down the left side again to get to the end of the rope. Deja Vu, he chuckles as he steps back to try again. This time it goes off without a hitch and John then easily scales his way up to the rock outcropping where he can stand and lean against the rock face. He unfastens the rope, pulls it in, loops it up and puts it away in his pack. John estimates that he is at about 210 feet and the trail map said that the climb was 263 feet, but he can’t see the last 20 or so feet from the base of the climb. John looks up and the rock face ends at about 240 feet. The only way to find out what is above that is to climb up and see.

On this part of the climb there are two vertical cracks in the rock face about four and a half feet apart. This is all arm work. John will need to reach out with both hands and grab the inner edges of both cracks and then swing his body. With each swing to the right, he would slide his right hand a little further up along the edge of the crack on the right side, and as he swings left, he would do the same with his left hand. By alternating back and forth he would slowly make his way up the 30 feet to the point where the rock face cuts back. John thinks, There must be some type of ledge up there?

John is only gaining a couple of inches with every swing, and he is already feeling the burning in his arm and back muscles from the lactic acid that is building up from the strenuous effort. John thinks that he will need to drink more water to minimize the damage. A little past halfway up he knows he’ll have to will himself the rest of the way. The pain in his arms is getting unbearable. He closes his eyes and focuses only on the present moment, blocking out thoughts of the increasing pain. After another 50 or so swings, his right hand clears the top. He grabs the ledge with his right hand and lets his body swing under his right arm as his left arm swings up, and he places his left hand on the edge next to his right hand. He pulls up, swings his left foot up over the edge, gets his left knee up and over, then his left elbow, and he rolls up onto a flat ledge screaming, Man that hurt! He rolls onto his back and starts rubbing his biceps and triceps. Without getting up, he grabs the water bottle and chugs down the second half.

After a few minutes John is recuperated enough to get up and check out the last part of the climb. This is an interesting spot. The top of this right rock face is flat, and only about nine feet wide at the front, but it widens out as you head back to about 25 feet. The back is all straight vertical walls. John estimates they are about 16 feet high. John looks off to the side where the gap had been. The left face came to an end about 20 feet down, so that would be of no help. He then looks over the other side and that is a vertical drop straight down at least 50 feet. The only way up is the back wall. There is a cut into the wall seven feet wide and three feet into the vertical face. It is near the right back edge close to the vertical drop on the right side. John figures if he gets a running start he could jump up and hit the right wall of that cut out with his right foot, pushing him up and towards the left wall. He’d have to spin 180 degrees, hit the left wall with his left foot projecting him up more, while heading back towards the right wall spinning back 180 degrees the other way so that he could hopefully have enough speed maintained to hit the right wall again and then, if he is high enough? Grab onto the back wall somewhere during his spin back to the left.

John thinks to himself, Okay, I need at least three kicks to get high enough to reach the top. He heads over to the left side of the little plateau. As he starts running, he realizes that he is pretty much heading almost straight towards a cliff edge, so he makes sure to angle in to catch the right wall of the cut out in the rock face. First kick off good, second kick off good, nope, not enough speed