Going for a solo mission today I wasn’t intending to write anything up, but after finally plumping for a title for my last post I felt I had unfinished business. The term ‘plumb tuckered out’ came to me at the end of writing the post, and as such didn’t get any attention. Just as the idiom I did look into in that post, this phrase also comes from America. It was used a lot in western films of the 1930s and 40s, especially by actor George “Gabby” Hayes. ‘Tuckered out’ was however first used in print way before that in 1839, so goes back even further:
Tucker is 19th century American slang that means to tire, exhaust, or wear someone out. And some suggest the inclusion of the word plumb relates to its meaning in Appalachian English, being completely. Seems to make sense and it ties in well. Today I wasn’t sure if I would tie into a rope at all. The motivation just wasn’t quite there, and I can’t put my finger on why. It was not due to the overnight front that brought in rain and a bigger swell. A swell that caught Lisa off guard, when during her Saturday morning bob she got dunked and lost her glasses:
Proving it is not just me that loses things to the ocean. A big swell would normally make me itch to get out, providing a more atmospheric situation if you pick the right crag. Midmorning I decided to head out, and where better on a day like today than Moses Rocks. Arriving at 11am I surprised, but not complaining, to find an empty carpark. Shouldering my pack and aiming for Rumpole’s Rocks. Where you get up close and personal with the ocean and the might of the waves are tempered by a series of rock bars, enough to make it safe:
Here I set a plumb line on each of my six chosen climbs. The word plumb comes from the Latin word for the chemical element lead, ‘plumbum’. Use of a string with a bob on it to aid construction dates back over 4,000 years, to when the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids and the bob was made of lead. However, the first identified use of the term plumb line was far more recently in 1456. The first few routes felt tough and I felt somewhat tuckered out, but not so far as to say plumb tuckered out. And as I hit each successive climb I felt better:
With big crashing waves right on my back I was risking salty conditions. Conditions that Craig may call glistening. But the winds were on my side, and the gentle seaward breeze had been and continued to push the spray back to whence it came. And just like with the empty carpark, I was surprised to find very pleasant dry and super grippy rock. As the images and the rock conditions allude to, the front had been and gone. All that remained was the swell, making for wonderful sea cliff climbing conditions, not that it is everyone’s cup of tea:
It certainly unnerved David when I brought him here in similar conditions. I could sense he nervously watched the waves more than me, as he belayed from the waterline. One route was enough to experience it, after which he was keen to find another crag. Today I took the time to wandered a bit further along to see what else may be worth exploring. Finding a few spots that showed promise. As with much at Moses Rocks they were short walls, but looked fun. Only however if the base of the walls become accessible during calmer conditions:
Sandbagged 