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| Lily pads in a lagoon |
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| Carnivorous Darlingtonia californica pitcher plants |
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| Gardian of the Klamath River bridge |
Teeth
Thursday, July 28, 2011
July 21-27: Humboldt County
Monday, July 25, 2011
July 18: The Tooth
What a long, yet successful, day!
My friend Preston and I set out today with 2 goals in mind: 1.) to climb an easy peak at Snoqualmie Pass called The Tooth (4 pitches of easy rock) and 2.) to rent a U-haul and move all of my belongings out of a storage unit in Seattle down to Portland. The day progressed as follows:
3:40 a.m.: Alarm goes off. I drag myself out of bed half hoping that it is raining so that I can have a reprieve and go back to sleep.
4:00 a.m.: Depart Portland with coffee cup in hand and drive north.
7:30 a.m.: Arrive Snoqualmie Pass
8:00 a.m.: Start hiking the trail in to The Tooth
We started hiking in heavy fog, but since it had rained for 3 days straight, we were antsy to give it a try. Within an hour, we encountered snow. We were glad we had decided to bring boots, crampons and ice axes. We agreed to hike up to Pineapple Pass and re-evaluate conditions from there. We didn't think we'd be able to see or that the rock would be dry. Nonetheless, we pushed on. We were thankful for a somewhat melted out or washed out boot pack or we would have had difficulty picking out the correct coulior to ascend. Luckily we ascended above the fog.
Seeing no reason to turn back, we headed up to the right hand side of Pineapple Pass up a small finger of snow. We crossed a sizeable moat and scrambled laterally and upward to the pass proper. From here, it took some minor route finding across narrow snow bridges and up 4th class rock to get to the base of the route somewhere around 11:00 a.m. We roped up. We had agreed beforehand that we would take a skinny 70M rope, double it over, and simul climb with Preston in the lead. I have not climbed much rock lately and it seemed that it would be a much faster proposition with Preston on the sharp end.
Preston took a more direct route than the normal 5.4 rock route. It was just enough to keep our attention, but nothing scary. He remarked that it is the first time on an alpine climb that he had run out of gear before running out of slings and had to stop and belay me.
The view from the summit was spectacular. Only surrounding peaks, Ranier, and Glacier peaks showed above the fog. Being ever efficient, I rigged the rappels. We rapped 4 times back to the notch and I noted a 1.5 hour round trip to the summit- not bad!. We put our boots back on and did 2 more raps down the gully to the snow field below, one of which was somewhat technical owing to a moat that formed as the snow melted away from the mountain. The snow had softened significantly since our hike up and we were able to ski on our heels and plunge step down. We reached our cars at 2:30 p.m. Not a record time, but then again, we weren't hurrying.
3:00 p.m. Drive to Seattle
4:00 p.m. rent a U-Hual. This seemed challenging. We were tired and the U-Hual people seemed, well, not-so-bright. They didn't have the van I reserved, so they gave me a 10' truck for the same price. We drove over to my storage unit without ever hitting I-5. The advantage of having a truck is that everything fit without futzing. With 2 dollies and my neatly packed 5x8' unit, we cleared and loaded everything within an hour. The unit is located next to a Tully's coffee and below I-5 in the southern end of Seattle. Since we did not observe any traffic, one ice coffee later we were on the road.
9:00 p.m.: Back in Portland
We reached Portland without incident and there was even parking in front of Preston's house- a rarity! Even better, Melissa (Preston's fiance) had dinner ready when we walked in the door. Like I said, a successful, yet long, day!
My friend Preston and I set out today with 2 goals in mind: 1.) to climb an easy peak at Snoqualmie Pass called The Tooth (4 pitches of easy rock) and 2.) to rent a U-haul and move all of my belongings out of a storage unit in Seattle down to Portland. The day progressed as follows:
3:40 a.m.: Alarm goes off. I drag myself out of bed half hoping that it is raining so that I can have a reprieve and go back to sleep.
4:00 a.m.: Depart Portland with coffee cup in hand and drive north.
7:30 a.m.: Arrive Snoqualmie Pass
8:00 a.m.: Start hiking the trail in to The Tooth
We started hiking in heavy fog, but since it had rained for 3 days straight, we were antsy to give it a try. Within an hour, we encountered snow. We were glad we had decided to bring boots, crampons and ice axes. We agreed to hike up to Pineapple Pass and re-evaluate conditions from there. We didn't think we'd be able to see or that the rock would be dry. Nonetheless, we pushed on. We were thankful for a somewhat melted out or washed out boot pack or we would have had difficulty picking out the correct coulior to ascend. Luckily we ascended above the fog.
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| The Tooth peaking out of the morning fog |
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| Preston on the approach: don't ask me why, but I can't figure out how to right this pic |
Preston took a more direct route than the normal 5.4 rock route. It was just enough to keep our attention, but nothing scary. He remarked that it is the first time on an alpine climb that he had run out of gear before running out of slings and had to stop and belay me.
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| Summit self portrait |
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| On the summit: thought I had corrected the helmet fit issue I had been having. |
The view from the summit was spectacular. Only surrounding peaks, Ranier, and Glacier peaks showed above the fog. Being ever efficient, I rigged the rappels. We rapped 4 times back to the notch and I noted a 1.5 hour round trip to the summit- not bad!. We put our boots back on and did 2 more raps down the gully to the snow field below, one of which was somewhat technical owing to a moat that formed as the snow melted away from the mountain. The snow had softened significantly since our hike up and we were able to ski on our heels and plunge step down. We reached our cars at 2:30 p.m. Not a record time, but then again, we weren't hurrying.
3:00 p.m. Drive to Seattle
4:00 p.m. rent a U-Hual. This seemed challenging. We were tired and the U-Hual people seemed, well, not-so-bright. They didn't have the van I reserved, so they gave me a 10' truck for the same price. We drove over to my storage unit without ever hitting I-5. The advantage of having a truck is that everything fit without futzing. With 2 dollies and my neatly packed 5x8' unit, we cleared and loaded everything within an hour. The unit is located next to a Tully's coffee and below I-5 in the southern end of Seattle. Since we did not observe any traffic, one ice coffee later we were on the road.
9:00 p.m.: Back in Portland
We reached Portland without incident and there was even parking in front of Preston's house- a rarity! Even better, Melissa (Preston's fiance) had dinner ready when we walked in the door. Like I said, a successful, yet long, day!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
July 7-10: Mount Ranier National Park
I felt this strong desire to escape the city. Couch surfing on the road is just grand, but while on a long term stay it loses it's charm. Like the old saying goes: after 3 days, guests are like dead fish, they both start to smell. Trying to avoid this, and feeling the need to roam, I drove first to Seattle to exchange a few things at my storage unit and next to Mt Ranier National Park (MoRa in Park Service speak).
While tanking up at a gas station in Portland, I learned from the attendant that the tags on my car had expired on June 30. Shit! Damn! I fretted over this the entire way to Seattle. I don't even have an address! From the coffee shop next to my storage unit, I did web research on the Alaska DMV. They don't even have a phone number, just e-inquiries. Thankful, someone responded within 30 minutes, for I did not want to go away for the weekend without having this resolved. $177 dollars later and the new tags were being shipped to a friend's house in Portland. BIG relief! I don't usually screw stuff like this up, but since the post office will not forward DMV info, it is easy to see why I had forgotten. Now I will be an Alaskan living abroad for the next 2 years. The downsides I foresee are not be able to vote locally or procure a library card plus a constant threat of jury duty in Alaska.
With the ugly business squared away, I headed for the Park. I reached Cougar Flat campground at dusk, quickly set up camp, cooked a dinner of wheat free pasta, chicken sausage, spinach, and parmesan cheese and relaxed with some wine. I slept exceptionally well in the cool weather. I had arrived in the Park with some lofty goals of climbing in the Tatoosh Range solo, but the amount of snow thwarted the possibilities. I was told by the rangers that certain peaks would be real route finders owing to the snow. Since I didn't have a map and no one really knew where I was, I decided to stick to moderate objectives. After gathering info, I did a recon of Castle and Pinnacle peaks. There was snow right out of the parking lot! I soon donned crampons and ice axe and trudged up to the saddle in incoming weather. Again, no one knew where I was, so I thought better of pressing on in what could soon be white out conditions. I returned to camp and went on another hike up to some falls along the Wonderland Trail. This was snow free being at lower elevation. I ran into some old friends who were doing a Mazama climb on Saturday. So, that evening, I ate dinner in their company and also met some newer generation Mazamas who were also doing that climb.
On Saturday, I decided to get some exercise and hiked up to Camp Muir from Paradise. Paradise was covered in snow- no flowers in July! The hike is about 5000' feet of elevation gain. It was still the slog I remembered but it much easier without a 50+ pound backpack. I longed to climb the peak and had even briefly entertained a solo venture but it seemed like too much effort to be bothered for a wimpy route. I plodded up to Camp Muir in 3.5 hours. Not a record breaking time, but respectable. I moved at a continuous pace pausing only to watch skiiers come down the glacier with envy. Why hadn't I taken my skis out of the storage unit? The direct sun on the snow felt like being in an oven. I was thankful that I brought my white button down "glacier" shirt to shade me. After a few minutes at Muir I bombed down the mountain in 1.5 hours (good speed!) without ever glissading.
There was a potluck in the campground hosted by the Mazama group. What great contributions there were! I cobbled together some chips, mini carrots, and tofu pate, but others had made Morrocan stew, 3 different quinoa salads, desserts and more. How great is that!
The next day, I went with a subset of the Mazama group to climb Castle Peak. I led the charge up the approach to the saddle of the mountain having just pioneered a route through the snow days before. We walked at a casual speed, no one was in a hurry, though we needed to be back in the parking lot by 2:30 and we hadn't began until 9:30 or 10:00. We made our way over the saddle then upward on a snow finger on the back side. We scrambled up some rocks on the ridge to appreciate the view while 2 of the guys found the remaining rock pitch to the summit. All 7 people roped up and climbed to the top then rapped off. Car to car in 4.5 hours. Super fun and great to catch up with old friends M&M (one of my climbing instructors when I was a beginner) and Griff as well as meet new folks.
While tanking up at a gas station in Portland, I learned from the attendant that the tags on my car had expired on June 30. Shit! Damn! I fretted over this the entire way to Seattle. I don't even have an address! From the coffee shop next to my storage unit, I did web research on the Alaska DMV. They don't even have a phone number, just e-inquiries. Thankful, someone responded within 30 minutes, for I did not want to go away for the weekend without having this resolved. $177 dollars later and the new tags were being shipped to a friend's house in Portland. BIG relief! I don't usually screw stuff like this up, but since the post office will not forward DMV info, it is easy to see why I had forgotten. Now I will be an Alaskan living abroad for the next 2 years. The downsides I foresee are not be able to vote locally or procure a library card plus a constant threat of jury duty in Alaska.
 |
| The view on the drive in of Mt Ranier |
With the ugly business squared away, I headed for the Park. I reached Cougar Flat campground at dusk, quickly set up camp, cooked a dinner of wheat free pasta, chicken sausage, spinach, and parmesan cheese and relaxed with some wine. I slept exceptionally well in the cool weather. I had arrived in the Park with some lofty goals of climbing in the Tatoosh Range solo, but the amount of snow thwarted the possibilities. I was told by the rangers that certain peaks would be real route finders owing to the snow. Since I didn't have a map and no one really knew where I was, I decided to stick to moderate objectives. After gathering info, I did a recon of Castle and Pinnacle peaks. There was snow right out of the parking lot! I soon donned crampons and ice axe and trudged up to the saddle in incoming weather. Again, no one knew where I was, so I thought better of pressing on in what could soon be white out conditions. I returned to camp and went on another hike up to some falls along the Wonderland Trail. This was snow free being at lower elevation. I ran into some old friends who were doing a Mazama climb on Saturday. So, that evening, I ate dinner in their company and also met some newer generation Mazamas who were also doing that climb.
 |
| Handsome grey fox along the side of the road |
There was a potluck in the campground hosted by the Mazama group. What great contributions there were! I cobbled together some chips, mini carrots, and tofu pate, but others had made Morrocan stew, 3 different quinoa salads, desserts and more. How great is that!
 |
| View on the way to the Camp Muir |
The next day, I went with a subset of the Mazama group to climb Castle Peak. I led the charge up the approach to the saddle of the mountain having just pioneered a route through the snow days before. We walked at a casual speed, no one was in a hurry, though we needed to be back in the parking lot by 2:30 and we hadn't began until 9:30 or 10:00. We made our way over the saddle then upward on a snow finger on the back side. We scrambled up some rocks on the ridge to appreciate the view while 2 of the guys found the remaining rock pitch to the summit. All 7 people roped up and climbed to the top then rapped off. Car to car in 4.5 hours. Super fun and great to catch up with old friends M&M (one of my climbing instructors when I was a beginner) and Griff as well as meet new folks.
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| With M&M- my original climbing mentor |
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| Ranier under partly cloudy skies |
Friday, July 1, 2011
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