Leavenworth

To start with, three full grown adults in an extended cab Ford Ranger is fairly tolerable with some diplomacy but, four six foot adults with slightly larger than the sky hangovers surprisingly brings out the best in all involved. We got to Seattle plenty early to pick up the fourth and ended up getting a tour of the the city's fire boats while we waited for the ferry to dock with him aboard.


It has become a recurring problem not having the camera charged or on me at good times and this trip was no exception. The only photo I got outside of Seattle was the view from the camp site. This was especially bad since we ended up next to some Canadian boulderers who knew Crafty and Joel A. as well as a fair amount of the MN crowd. We did not regret going over to introduce ourselves and make a gift of firewood. I do not remember a single one their names and openly regret having to leave the next morning instead of getting to climb with them.

Not the Coast

So we got up early to do some climbing on the coast and ended up nowhere near our destination but still did some higher altitude climbing. The bolter and first ascentionist just before the ice gully slab.

Bishop (eventually)

The fact that I had been packed for a week did little to actually get us out the door much before dark.  An overnight in Reno turned into 3 days of not climbing.  Within 5 miles of getting onto the single road that runs directly into Bishop and odd orientation led our driver toward our eventual double circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe.  Luckily we got to the Buttermilks an hour before dark and finally on the fifth day climbed!  I took part in the first day of 5.10 or easier climbing but refused to play that game the second day at Owens River Gorge and sat under the Eldo roof in the river.  Finally we got an entire day at the Happy boulders and low and behold I couldn't climb a damned thing harder than V5.  I also managed to get a 1" cut across my middle fingertip and a debilitating head cold en route.  The camera battery ran out the night in the buttermilks so I got next to no photos.  Smith this week, can't wait.

This guy knows how to sell a car

Somewhere out of the way in Cali 

By far the best closed pass of the many we found
The end of the "9 hour drive"

Moon deer cry

Its been a rough week for all.  Not so rough that this is anything other than a girl splashing in a puddle.

Photo recap

North Dakota
Near the geographical center of North America

About which time I realized how jittery I was

The barren snowy landscape and fog


Montana
Just before twilight we hit the border and a small change of color


Of course dinner is served on the bumpiest stretch of track next to a wind farm.

Nearly a mountain sunset

Oregon
Mark leading at Skinner Butte on my first day out here

The walk in to Smith Rock

The goods

A land of shade and sun

The start of the downhill slide to Spring Hill

Off to Bishop once the rain stops.