Going with the flow

“Going with the flow” is exactly how the first ten months of our trip went. We tried to cover as much ground as possible while making a giant counter-clockwise loop around the western US.  We surprised ourselves thinking back on all the amazing thing we saw and did in Washington.  So we decided we better write some of it down before it is forgotten.

After gearing up with supplies in Yakima, we headed west on route 12. About 20+ miles out-of-town we turned left at the fork (to continue on rt.12).  Here we were stopped by a friendly construction worker.  He handed us a flyer to illustrate the road construction ahead.  Then informed us of construction closures.  The road westbound would be shut down for 60 minutes every odd hour, and eastbound on the even hours.

We drove as slow as usual, and got lost in the terrain completely forgetting about the mandatory hour wait.  As we pull up to the construction, we see the road worker holding up the “stop” sign.  Instead of being bummed for the hour wait,  Donn thought this would be a nice spot for breakfast.  Not to mention a jewelry making session.  So we picked a great pull-off and settled in for our wait.  Our misfortune actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  Someone noticed us making jewelry on the tailgate, and asked us what we were doing?.  He ended up buying some earrings for his soon to be mother-in-law. More and more people got out of their cars to see what they were missing once they spotted a wallet being opened.  Word spread, and we made almost $100. bucks at that work zone.

Once the traffic started we were ready for some climbing.  Wildcat here we come!

    

   

The rock here tells a story.  I would love to have been able to witness the eruption that caused this.  The flow traveled in every direction.  This made for really neat climbing.

We have found so many cool thing just hiking around. This natural bowl was 1 of 3 that nestled right inside each other.

   

  

The place was so pretty, we got caught up in the moment.  Donn reminds me of the reason we are here.   WildCat is a 5 minute walk from the parking.  When Donn read it was one of Washington’s best 5.10’s, he knew he had to climb it.

   

Well, not much here to warm up on.  No reason to keep this wildcat waiting.  Besides,   there is nothing better looking than this dead vertical finger crack goodness.  As he geared up, Donn said he had some over excited butterflies doing cross fit in his stomach.

   

Wish I could have been above looking down to capture this moment for Donn. He started up the route and didn’t stop to breathe, chalk up, or even look around.  He was so focused he didn’t even take in any of the surroundings.  Usually, he will take his time and look around. It was climbing at its finest.  He took a second point and shoot camera up to shoot it from above.

   

As he was zeroing in on the anchors, the tightness in his arms would only allowing him to place a biner full of gear and go. I wasn’t nervous for him, It was actually amusing.  As he  hooted & hollered from way up there, I knew he was locked in and going for the on-site.

On-site climbing is how Donn climbs 99% of the time.  He will take in what the guide-book reads, or just walk up and do it.  It’s not really about numbers, but the ascetics of a line. Now gear on the other hand, he was all about the gear on this one. Looks like he just got done doing Half Dome.

   

My turn! Now that Donn showed the way and removed ALL that gear, I can really focus on having fun here.

   

   

There were a few sport climbs going up this beautifully colored face.  Check out the horizontal columnar type rock.

 

While standing along the road, amazed at the rock, a couple local “jeepers” rolled up and hung out to chat with us for a minute.

   

After lunch and a beer, we walked around a couple more rock cropping and found this sweet little gem to play on.

On our way out we found the nearest river that did the carving for the canyon. We played, bathed, recharged, and even made a little stack before we parted from this stellar spot.

One last look at wildcat before we roll on to the next adventure.     

Speaking of adventure, “Peter’s Inn” is all about the pie. MmmmMmmm.