California...the first weeks...

So I´ve been in here, that is San Francisco, the Bay Area, El Cerrito, to be increasingly precise for a three weeks now and they have been rad! The season is different, I decided not to solely make this a bouldering trip but also a generally relaxing experience, so I tried to have an equal measure of bouldering at local crags, training at Bridges and going on a lot of hikes...I have so far twice hiked the coastal trail from Ocean Beach to Embarcadero which checks in at a good 14 miles, have reconnected with my sea lion friends, have been to the Bay Area Aquarium and Ocean Beach for the waves, the sound of the great Pacific Ocean...I´m having a great time! On the bouldering front I´ve been slowly uping my game recently...one day trip to Castle Rock with my good friend Austin got me some humbling experiences on slopey top outs and Tree Route, an amazing V4...hopefully I can get another Castle trip done...locally I´ve been focusing on Mortar Rock and Stoneface Park and I should be able to get all my projects there done before the end of my trip! Highlight of the trip so far beyond doubt was my reconaissance trip to the Valley and Camp 4 the past two days...I just love the Valley...it´s the most amazing place I´ve been as concerns the whole package and going there with no crowds around was even better than being there in August/September 2009...again I´m highly indebted to Austin who made the trip possible! Boulderingwise my goals were pretty clear, Chocolate Bunny at the Le Conte Memorial and another V6...Chocolate Bunny was an epic...I linked it like 10 times to the last pinch punch move...only to always slip off...when I sat down after like 25 tries I told myself this was gonna be the last go, breathed in and sent...with Austin videoing it...Yay for I-phones! The next day I got myself a video of the prolly best highball I´ve done so far, Ahwahnee Arete and then dispatched my second V6...2nd. go...in CAMP 4! I would have never expected doing a Camp 4 V6 second go...So rad! But for some reason, my early morning hike yesterday morning still beat all bouldering and taught me an important lesson...it´s just climbing and that´s just a game...in the end, we´re in this world for a finite moment of time...so open your eyes, see the beauty and realize how amazingly priviledged we are...as I did yesterday morning casually strolling from the Valley Visitor Centre back to Camp 4, with the sun kissing the Valley awake.
Here are some pics of the trip so far...