I met new KC climbing partner Alex in the West Side parking lot a bit after four yesterday. I arrived first and was surprised to see an ambulance, an NPS enforcement truck and a CDF truck all clustered toward the south end of the lot. I approached a ranger - a very young guy - and asked what was up. He confirmed that a "heat" rescue was in progress. As we spoke, the CDF guys and the ambulance guys trooped in from the Juniper Canyon trail escorting a tall, shaky woman in her thirties. She was proceeding under her own steam but went immediately to the ambulance, climbed in and stretched out on the gurney. Alex showed up about then and we headed out to the Flumes.
It was hot. Amazingly, the wind came up and the temp dropped after we topped the little rise between Split Boulders and the Shepherd. By the time we sat down in front of Self-Selecting Substrate, the cooling breeze and shade had made that a perfect place to be. That's a fine climb, by the by. I'm giving it another star in my mental book. We also did Where the Sun Shines (it didn't!) and Big Bad West (Alex's first lead - thanks very much, Clink!) We were going to do Tilting Terrace, but two climbers were just starting it. The evening was flat beautiful - cool breeze, late light and stunning views of Machete.
I felt covid-comfortable throughout, except for an unexpected encounter on the trail on the way out. We wore masks to walk in and get suited up. We used hand sanitizer before handling the rope and stayed safely apart while completing the climbs. I stuck my mask in the pack instead of my pocket for the walk out and discovered that fact when we ran into a family walking in not far from the first bridge. C'est la vie - I hope.