It'd be nice to write a romantic finish to this saga but alas, we've been home long enough for you all to know the truth.
Back at the base of Lurking fear with tired legs (but with replacement water), we prepared to sleep. the last time we'd do so on solid ground for a couple of days. Yet Yosemite valley had one more thing to throw at us, the smoke.
The Tioga pass was burning and someone had laughingly remarked that usually even a small fire on the valley rim causes horrific air quality in the valley most years, but not this year. Well, the wind had changed and it started snowing, although the white flecks that fell weren't so much snow but instead ash. Huge flecks of ash and thick smoke filled the air.
We went to sleep setting the alarm for 5am (first light).
When we awoke there were no signs of daybreak, the smoke filling the valley was shrouding what little light you'd expect at sunrise. Instead we set the alarm back one more hour. Again we awoke and it was still pitch black. Ash still fell from the sky and everything from the trees to our sleeping bags were covered in a thin film of dust.
Things started getting lighter (barely) an hour or so later and I began jummarring up the first of our lines distinctly unhappy. Visibility was poor and the air had a horrible acrid taste. I stopped every few movements and voiced my concerns to Nat, this wasn't pleasant and it wasn't going to get better. She, convinced that we'd be happy once we re-gained our high point put a positive spin on things and I pushed on for a few more moves before voicing my concerns again.
The day was generally grim. I was unhappy, the last of the enjoyment of the route being removed by yet another set-back and despite making excellent time to our high-point and then one pitch more, that fact wasn't changing. I'd reached the point of mental exhaustion and had zero will to climb let alone suffer.
Unlike before, at this anchor we had three bolts at our disposal allowing for a much neater asymmetric hang of the ledge (no dropped pole this time) and the bag within reach (it's amazing what you learn). Excellent. It was 4 pm and the sun had only just broken through the smoke one hour earlier so we took the time to enjoy our ledge.
This short glimmer of optimism didn't last long. Nat had been convinced that reaching our high-point would change my mind on the route but as the sun started to set, the smoke returned in force and so too did my bad mood. I went to sleep but not before telling Nat that she needed to force me to climb the next pitch in the morning. Once the traverse was done retreat would involve a lot of hassle and we'd likely just keep going upward.
During the night it rained. We considered putting up the outer fly but as this involved basically unclipping the entire ledge we both thought better of it, instead, rolling over and willing it to stop.
In the morning we awoke to yet more smoke and I finally cracked, laying out my honest feelings about the route and how much I was hating this experience. I can still remember the feeling now, simply put I didn't want to be anywhere near Yosemite, it was time to leave. Many of the first ascent stories in the guidebook tell of partners both keeping similar thoughts to themselves instead of sharing it with their partner for fear of looking weak but that's somewhat harder to do when you're climbing as a married couple and can tell by the way one person opens a power bar!
Back at the base of the route we agreed our next holiday (Morocco it turns out) wouldn't involve ropes, or climbing. Nat was crushed and I felt a strange mix of relief and anger.
Climbing for this trip pretty much ended here. Yosemite continued to burn until most of the entrance roads were closed and Colorado (our departure airport) flooded.
We spent the remainder of our time in Vegas / Zion hoping for the bad weather to pass but it never did (and when it did the National Parks all closed for the Government shut-down). Instead we concentrated on enjoying a few more touristy sights, the Hoover Dam, Bryce Canyon and The Virgin Narrows slot canyon.
Two days before we were due to fly home we sold our van to a band (Cold River City) from Boulder, CO intent on touring across the West coast.
...and that was that.
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