Chapter 14: Life at the Pleasant valley Pit campground

Rest days are soo hard to take when you are on the road mainly because there is nothing to do. When you finally give in to your body's screaming complaints and decide to rest, the day usualy starts with sleeping in and a slow breakfast. From the camp site, you watch the cars as they leave one by one. The show is not too bad till they are all gone. Then, boredom sets in really fast.

Well that can't be said for this year in Bishop. The life in the Pit is like when you go see a play: Actors are telling you a story where something cool and unusual will happen. The various actors living in the Pit are so funny, colorful, filled with ideas - not always good - and energetic that you actually look forward to rest days. Read on to find out who makes my life soo interesting and why:

Riko and April:
Riko is our very eccentric camp host. Host of the Riko show - featuring himself -, this guy will make you gasp for air from laughing too much. Tuning in is simple, speak the magic words: " Hey Riko, how you'd doin ". Then, hang on. He jumps from one subject to another without really connecting the dots. All that can stop him is April bringing back the ball for another throw. By the way, don't ever start the fetch game with her. She'll give you tendanitist in elbows and shoulders.

J.T. and Bobo:

Two kids from Wisconsin and Kentucky with a raging desire to....read. Go figure. Their 10 person tent is half filled with bins of books. In itself, it is worth mentioning but one epic Saturday night is the reason they made it to this blog. To celebrate J.T's admission to grad school, they went on a drinking spree that ended up with J.T. face planting and passing out in the desert. Words are just not enough to describe the morning vision of a guy walking around with half the face covered with dirt.

ps: We call him Bobo cause he hates it.

Skip:
Are very own police officer - ex-security guard -. Skip's is perfect for practicing straight face as one just can't burst up in tears and spoil the seriousness of the moment when he talks about is ''meeting'' with the Bishop mafia and the ''drink and think day''. He is also known to provide wake-up calls in the early morning by shaking tents: "Good morning gentlemen". And if you happen to go to town, don't forget to bring his favorite King Cobra -1L bottle of beer, 2$.

Jessie:
Very quiet and always gone. Well, She goes to bed with sunset and gets up at 4am. She works at the local bakery and brings us day olds.

Clay and Greg:
Two ultra motivated 19 year old punks from Wisconsin. After watching all the good videos about Bishop bouldering on YouTube, they could'nt help it but to pack their bags, buy Greyhound tickets and get down here for as long as a few hundred dollars will last. On rest days, they both study the ancient art of mohawk - see pictures - and experiment with the various levels of hypothermia. The word in the Pit is that they tried to find wild hot springs in Mammoth for 3 hours in up to the waist fresh snow.

John and Keri:
From Washington, they will sadly be leaving soon. Carry is are poie poie specialist and yoga master. John is a bystander, just like me. Smart enough not to go along with Dom's epic ideas - see next comedian - but always ready to watch the show.

Dominic:
20 year old kid from Redland, California. He is know as the 'Man' of the Pit. For some odd reasons, every one new to the campground will end up crashing on his campsite. Dom is the master of epic ideas - read completely absurd - that reeks trouble right from the get go. We named him the nuclear detonator. On his own, all is perfectly safe but when Nick is around...

Nick and Static:
Nick and his dog, Static, are from Moab. The dog and the owner are alike: Time bombs waiting for a tick. Dom's has the ideas, Nick execute. Be on the look out for fire bombs, epic bouldering days and rally racing in a pickup truck with a camper on the top. One last details: Nick believes is 'liquid meals' and never miss the opportunity to quote Skip on the subject: "Beer contains all the proteins and nutrients that you need. 'It has hops and barley, and wheat, and oats... there's a porkchop in every can"

Ben, Claudia and Buddha:
My new found friends from Quebec. Claudia is the Queen of French toasts and Ben B.B.Q.'s like no one else. Let's not forget about Buddha the dog and his obsession with his ball.

With all those different personalities and the dynamic that they create, there is never a doll moment in the Pit. Wether you want to kill the day or looking for entertainment before going climbing, you wont have to look too far. Someone is always pulling a goofye trick, playing riddles, planning the next prank or simply broadcasting Dom's latest epic.

Got to go, Keri is spinning fire.