This was Dan's first multipitch, and I think it was pretty much his first real trad
route. The route was suggested by Tony Chang, James Kim, and Roger Suen, and
Dan liked the sound of it. It was a pretty long, pleasant route, tricky for
5.7 at a few spots, but fun. We definitely missed several of the correct
belays, but I'm pretty sure we were on route most of the way. But I'm also
pretty sure we were off route for a while on what should have been the 5th
and/or 6th pitches. Once again, the guidebook description left a bit to be
desired. Fortunately, our variation was about 5.8. As with my last trip with
people from the gym, we got started really late, so Dan and I didn't reach the
summit until sunset, and had to hike down in the dark. Fortunately, this time
we had headlamps. Dan wanted to do a lot of leading, which I was of course
wary about, but fortunately he soon realized that Tahquitz 5.5 and 5.6 can be
tricky, and finding the right route can be even more tricky. So he let me lead
all the pitches, until we were near the summit. When we were sure we were on
route and the next pitch would be trivial (and we ran into another party,
which inspired confidence) he led one long easy pitch, taking us almost to the
summit. All in all, a good experience.