Georgetown And Wordfords

After dropping Tim off at the airport I headed back to Donner for a few more days. Did some bouldering and trad climbing with Kyle Bishop. He's been traveling around in his awesome Westy van for quite some time now. We got to exchange dirtbag stories and he provided some valuable information on programming from the road. Something I'll definitely consider now that I know how easy it can be. 

Really fun boulder near Donner Lake

I then headed back to Georgetown to hang out with Sara, Billy and Trixie. I put in a little work on the farm for some spare cash and helped Sara setup a line to practice jugging. She's preparing for climbing the Nose in Yosemite with Wayne; an ambitious and exciting goal. Last night we had a delicious BBQ, a fine way to say goodbye to friends and wonderful California. 

On the way to Nevada, I joined Sara and her friend David for a day of climbing in Woodfords; an expansive sea of rock in a beautiful alpine setting with wonderful temps. Below is David working his way through One of these days, a wonderful 115 foot 5.10b/c crack and a fun little roof in the middle.

I'm now on my way to Burning Man! I have no idea what to expect but I'm excited to join back up with Sebastian (whom I met in South America, helped me acquire a ticket with the help of his girlfriend and invited me to join his camp). The energy about this event is already buzzing and I look forward to exploring all of the art, music and festivities this crazy desert festival has to offer. 

I doubt there will be any cell service there so expect me to check back in next Tuesday (Sept. 6th) with some (hopefully) awesome photos and stories. 

Drink plenty of water and take plenty of showers for me...

)'(

Timmy Comes To Truckee Town

Trying to make the best of his last few weeks of summer vacation, Tim bought a last minute flight out to Sacramento to see what all the hype is about climbing and dirtbagging out here. I like to think he wasn't disappointed and will be quitting his job in no time. Day 1 was focused on Russian River and trying every beer they had available.

He also got to experience one of those decent Tahoe sunsets.

Sara joined us for a couple days around Donner. We got on some really hard stuff. Tim and I were not performing at our best, but we got to watch Sara send several of her crazy hard projects.  

Tim wanted overhung climbing. He got it, and it was hard.

Sara getting the send on her project Steel Monkey, a 4 star 5.12a that should actually be a 1 star 5.12c

After Sara left, Tim and I checked out Big Chief near Lake Tahoe. We had the entire mountain to ourselves and we enjoyed every minute by climbing easy and moderate climbs all day.

For Tim's last night, Kyle Bishop met us in Donner and we convinced Tim to solo the slab with us. We celebrated at the top with tasty beers and an awesome view of the Milky Way and Donner Lake. Again, I like to believe it was a fulfilling and successful 5 days for Tim and I expect him to be living out of his car within a few months.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

On the way to Sacramento, I decided to entertain myself for a few hours in Lassen Volcanic National Park. If I had more time I would have hiked to the top of Lassen Peak, but I still made a solid trip out of it. The park is quite splendid, with lots of mountains and lakes spread over the landscape. 

Lake Helen

A peak that was once taller than Lassen Peak, but blew up and made a mess 600,000 years ago

The one hike I chose to do was to Bumpass Hell, "the largest hydrothermal area in the park, and marks the principal area of upflow of steam and discharge from the Lassen hydrothermal system." It reminded me a lot of Yellowstone. Very fascinating ecosystem. 

Funny, I didn't take a single photo of Lassen Peak, the volcano after which the park is named. Trust me, it was majestic. 

Where In the World

Woops, looks like I've been a little bit under the radar the last week. Welp, I'm alive and well! Didn't fall off that mountain quite yet!

I've been making my way back south. America Tim (Timbo Slice, Timmy Two Take, Donna Q) has decided to buy a plane ticket to Sacramento to spend some time climbing with me and trying to convince these stubborn west coasters that the northeast officially knows how to brew a delicious IPA. I've got a week to make my way back down to Northern Cali to pick him up.

My first stop was back in Portland. I headed straight to Great Notion Brewing to sample some of their delicious brews. The next day I happened upon the Alberta Street Fair. A solid half mile of Alberta St was closed off to cars and filled with tents full of food, arts, live music and other cool organizations. I had a wonderful day walking around, listening to music and stuffing my face with food. 

Then I returned to Bend to rejoin my friends there. Lots more free beer, floating down the Deschutes River, and then an IPA beer contest sponsored by 10 Barrel. 

The beer contest consisted of 30 secret beers. You would taste as many as you wanted and vote for your favorite. 10 Barrel's Locals Only IPA won (rigged? Idk, mighty suspicious...). I'm glad I was able to swing by and catch up with my Bend friends.

As I crossed into California, I headed for Lassen Volcanic National Park. Following a scenic byway, just after sunset, I rounded a corner and was punched in the face with the most beautiful, enormous red moon I've ever seen. I feel like I nearly drove off the road once I saw this thing. I stopped right in the middle of the road to take some pictures. 

More to come on Lassen Volcanic National Park once I edit those photos! 

KEEP IT FRESH!!

Mount St. Helens

What's that? Mount St. Helens is just down the road from Mt. Rainier? Let's check it out!

I drove in through the East entrance where the road abruptly ends at a parking lot 4 miles from the mountain. Some nice views of Mt. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood and Spirit Lake. Dead trees can still be seen floating in Spirit Lake from the 1980 eruption.

Beers were shared with a fellow traveler as we watched the sunset over the lake. Then, late at night I awoke to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower which was absolutely spectacular. 

The next morning I set off towards the active volcano. The trails from the East don't actually lead up the volcano, so I hiked as close as I could via the trails and then found my own way up, occasionally following mountain goat tracks. A couple months back, I had talked with a guy who mentioned that he hiked around Mount St. Helens 20 years ago and happened upon some hot springs. I made it my mission to try and find these supposed springs. 

Spirit Lake with Rainier towering behind it

I ended up getting into some pretty dicey situations as I struggled to find a good way up the steep and crumbly slopes. I eventually reached an impasse where going farther or higher was too dangerous. Satisfied with how far I got, I carefully made my way back down and back to my car. No hot springs were found, but it was a fun hike regardless.

This steep slope of pumice and ash was no easy climb

The path of destruction caused by the eruption in 1980 can still be clearly seen.

Mt. Rainier

"The most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings."-John Muir

After getting my fill of Olympic, I felt it almost necessary to stop at Mt. Rainier. It's prominence and majesty loom over everything around it. Free camping on a forest service road just outside of the park allowed me to get an early start and maximize my adventuring time.

The aptly named Reflection Lake

The rolling meadows of wildflowers and critters below the mountain were spectacular. The paved "trails" and hordes of visitors were not so spectacular, which motivated me to hike to higher ground.

Mt. Adams in the distance

Someone asked if I wanted a photo of me and Rainier. Why not? Two thumbs up ol' chap.

For most of my hike, I followed exposed rock to the right of the trail that led to Camp Muir. It was much quieter and solitude was achieved. Unfortunately, around 8,000 feet I was forced onto the snow and into the queue of climbers making their way to the top. To my relief, crampons were not required.

After just over 4 miles with 3,000 feet of elevation gain within the last mile, I made it to Camp Muir, which serves as the most popular base camp used when making a bid for the summit. Camp Muir sits at 10,000 feet elevation, leaving 4,000 more feet between you and the summit. Given the presence of crevasses, I did not venture any farther. A splendid adventure it was!

PS: I've made some updates to the desktop version of the blog template. Feel free to tell me if it sucks.

Olympic National Park

A wild chicken!! 

A random waterfall suddenly appears.

Lakeside camping at its best.

Grand Lake

Not a bad view to wake up to.

I wonder if those deer know that there's giardia in that water...

Winter is coming?

Tempting to climb those cliffs, ain't it?

It turns out that camping on the coast is really nice.

I hopped into my Saturn and boogied my way out of the national forest and made my way to the Olympic National Park visitor center. There, a ranger and I busted out a sweet 3-day plan to get me camping by a lake in the mountains followed by an ocean-side solitary snooze. With bear canister in hand I stumbled into the wild. Camping at Grand Lake was quite grand. I almost had the entire lake to myself, barring a couple that set up camp down the trail a ways. The hike into and out of the valley provided all sorts of nice views.

On day 2 I drove to the ocean and hiked along the coastline. I've never seen so much driftwood before. The rain forest comes right up to the shoreline and consequently makes a damn mess of the beach. To my benefit, the burning of driftwood is allowed and I had myself a roaring (and legal) fire all night long. Sleeping right on the sand with a rainfly above me was a nice change from the typical hammock or car bed sleeping situations.

I've now made my way out of the park and am currently figuring out my next course of action. I'm thinking of exploring Mt. Rainier National Park, however the weather doesn't look promising. We'll see!

Olympic National Forest

Drove as far as I could along an old forest service road. Don't think I'll be seeing other people from up here. 

Hiked around the Olympic National Forest. It rained on and off all day, but the dancing of clouds and fog kept me in constant awe. The solitude and complete lack of human induced noise was a buffet for the soul.

Slacklining: It's Totally A Thing Now

Cliff jumping

The janky raft to connect the 3 lines in the middle of the lake. It totally fell apart before any line was even walked.

One of the best rope swings I've been on. This guy's gainer attempt was just as successful as mine.

Sweet midline.

Apparently the water moving below the line was quite trippy and disorienting.

Made some new friends at camp the night before and they invited me to join them for a good ol' time slacklining across Brohm Lake. It was an interesting insight into the slacklining community. Previously I had assumed that slacklining was just something climbers did on their rest days. Nowadays there seems to be an entire community surrounding the sport. It was fun watching them setup the lines across the lake. Although the shorter (an intrinsically easier) lines fell apart due to a faulty dock, I enjoyed watching others struggle on the long midlines. A great day out on the lake and a solid way to end my Squamish adventure. 

Given the start of the Olympic games, I thought it was fitting to visit the Olympic National Park in Washington as I make my way back south.