Hair of the Dog

Wow, I've been terrible at updating my blog lately. Mostly due to the fact that my life is in a state of constant flux right now.
In the last three weeks I have managed to quit my job, move out of my apartment, and do a ton of goodbyes, hellos, hiking, a dash of climbing, and a lot of Good Will trips. It’s been one of the most exciting times in my life! I love the thought of a different landscape, different people, and different experiences the former bring with them.

Bob's area!

One of the most exciting developments for me lately has been my ability to rock climb with two feet! Last weekend I managed a back to back rock climbing trip; first day was Bob’s Area at Mt. Washington, and the second day was spent at my favorite area of all Little Si. Needless to say I have a bit of endurance to get back, but I will be a mere 30 minutes from the crag for the next 2.5 weeks and hopefully a project or two will fall? I have so many goals that I want to accomplish, or at least attempt, before I go, I’m just a little nervous in thinking about how obtainable they all are.

The approach to the Tooth.

The Tooth is that little guy smack dab in the middle.

Nick finishing up Aborigine (5.11b).

Nick drop knees into the crux of Technorigine (5.12c).

Nick off of Techno.

While last weekend was great; with the exception of a recon mission to find and hike to the base of the Tooth (a super classic multi-pitch trad climb in Snoqualmie Valley), the week on the other hand was full of stress. There were a couple of fleeting moments where I felt like it was never going to end and I was making the wrong decision. Moving out of a place can have a deleterious effect on ones psyche from time to time. The people at my job were great and threw me a going away party with a cake and everything. I was also bought lunch and dinner and yes, there were several tears shed. Whether they were tears of joy or sadness remains a mystery.
It took two trips to get the rest of my ‘stuff’ vacated from my apartment. In all I had lived there for two and half years! I think the longest place I have lived before this was another apartment complex near Evergreen with my then girlfriend Liz.


I've heard this alot over the last 16 months. I had four pieces.

Laura doing all the work.

Dom watching.

Mel watching.

I enjoyed the Hacienda (this is the name of the apartment complex). The small garden and walled in patio out front were pluses and the pool was very nice. Not to mention being in such close proximity to the Chehalis-Western trail was amazing, I absolutely loved running on it in the Fall when the Big Leaf Maples started to shed their decaying leaves. Of course living in Lacey, as well as in an apartment complex that some would describe as having a close resemblance to a south Los Angeles ghetto has its drawbacks. But it was a great little place for me and served its purpose well. Driving back to Seattle last night with my car filled to the brim for a second time I didn’t feel very nostalgic. Just tired and ready to be done sorting, moving, giving, throwing away, and being totally and utterly overwhelmed.
I’m here in Seattle now and last night I had the first realizations of a feeling that could only be described as “Holy Shit dude! You don’t have a job or a place to stay!” I stood in my mom’s kitchen swilling a warm beer and thinking about how my life had almost come full circle. Eight years ago I picked up what little belongings I had and moved to Olympia, and here I was doing the same dance in reverse. Now, it’s not entirely true, I do have places to stay and a small short term job landscaping, but the feeling of having the carpet pulled from beneath my feet and angrily getting up rubbing my backside only to find that the culprit was someone who closely resembled yours truly is a little stunning.

Seatown.

Don't worry, he's just sleeping.

I’m trying not to think about all of the hugely important and absolutely crucial things I need to do before I make my final voyage north to Alaska (like get a ferry reservation, trim my belongings down to what will fit in my car, say good bye to very dear friends, pay bills, save enough money to live on for two months, and find a job!). For now, I just want to think about the incredibly awesome time I’m going to have tomorrow at my BBQ as 15-20 of my friends from Oly and Seattle will combine to form some out of control love fest hungrily making its way down Greenwood taking no prisoners.
Not to mention the pre-BBQ crush fest at Little si. Hope to see you all there!

Gettin' Pitches!

Just warming up...


Pulling in front of my mom’s house in Seattle is always followed by a welcome sigh of relief. Not only out of finally reaching my destination, but also to know my sanctuary is still here. Her backyard is an ordered chaos of vegetation. From vegetables, herbs, flowers, ferns, and fruit trees, to the soft moss that borders the slated walkway the solace offered here is unbeatable and I always look forward to visiting her.


My idea of a fireworks display.








growth.

After a good day of jogging with my dog and catching up with my mom I made the short drive(30 mins. to Little si and Mt. Washington=people who live in Seattle are fucking spoiled!!!) to the Mt. Washington pull out and met my friends Greg and Nick. We laughed and joked around the whole way up the trail stopping very briefly so that I could handle a route I should have sent years ago, Giant. Located at one of the coolest crags in this area, Giant traverses the lip of an Actual Cave on a bomber incut jug rail all the way to a small throw for a good flat jug. The stop was brief but well worth it.


One of the greatest.

After that we were on our way, Greg and Nick both setting a good pace with their spider-like legs and long gaits. The first stop was Chainsaw Wall.


Greg and Nick at the Chainsaw Wall.

A small crag well exposed to a great view and home to some of the best routes I’ve ever touched. My Evil Plan, and Stihl Fingers are probably the gems of the area. I had sent everything except Stihl Fingers and I came to collect. The sun fell farther and farther behind the wall and the shadow line soon encompassed our little party entirely. The rock was warm, and my first go back on Stihl Fingers was a disaster. It felt impossible, and the feet were like tiny dime edges that laughed at me every time I popped off of one. Needless to say it wasn’t the most confidence building re-visiting. Nick gave it a try as well, cruxing a bit in the middle but firing the rest. Greg attempted to onsight the .10c there but backed off after a few clips and hung out taking pictures and video of Nick and I growling at the tiny crimps in this wonderfully black streaked seam.


Nick on My Evil Plan(5.11c).


Me cruxing on Stihl Fingers(5.12a).


Nick displays his steel fingers on Stihl Fingers.


Yet another picture of Stihl Fingers.


My second go back on Stihl Fingers I almost fell off the third clip but fired the rest perfectly and skipped clipping the last draw in favor of making the last big move out to a jug. I was pretty psyched to have this in the bag, and want to reiterate that it is probably one of the best single pitch sport climbs I have ever done in my life. I know, it sounds like an over-exaggeration, and maybe the climb is still reverberating around in my mind enough to cause me to say something like that, but only time will tell. Nick got back on and after taking a fall and dirting him to try it again he sent with a great uprising of effort at the very end. He also cleaned up My Evil Plan second go, and Greg got back on the horse and was able to clip the chains of the .10c. We packed up and headed up to Bob’s area just above our heads. Dom was raving about Alpinia and I had checked out this small crag before and remember it looking great so that was our next destination.
Up some steep trails and winding through a small patch of trees we were spit out at the base of Alpinia, a small slabby looking wall with great features, rock, and a quality view and hang out spot.
After an embarrassing call to Dom, because I had forgotten to bring the guide book, he set us on track with the route beta and I managed an onsight of Green Buddha, a stellar .11b there that involves some nice stemming in a smooth corner.


Me on Green Buddha(5.11b).


Nick's got the long stem down! Green Buddha.

Nick stepped up to the onsight plate as well and went for Inverted Rain Ascending but this technical and beta-intensive masterpiece was not to be undone so easily. After ticking some crucial holds for me I went for the flash. I struggled through the crux, almost barn-doored off the arête, hung out on a bad rest for waaaaaaay too long, and finally grabbed some jugs at the top, threw a leg up and gave a gasp of exasperation and triumph. I had an awful pump I my forearms but was glad to be sitting on top. Afterwards, Nick speed flashed Green Buddha, and Greg took a bad fall sandwiching his leg between to sharp rocks. Yeouwch! Being the straight up soldier that he is, Greg laughed off the pain and we walked down the trail a bit to another short sport climb called Salterello Presto, a really cool bouldery .11a.


Greg on the crux move of Salterello Presto(5.11a).


Nick hung the draws, and Greg tried to get past the first hard couple of moves but will have to wait for next time. I really enjoyed this climb because of the really neat crimps on it, and the bouldery sequence and of course the rock quality. We headed a little further down the trail to the last bit of the crag where some sweet looking routes lay in wait for us. We only had time for one, so I ended the day on a long slabby 5.6 with a great view at my back.
All the crags along the Mt. Washington trail are awesome but Bob’s area and the crags in close proximity are really starting to grow on me. The views, the rock quality, the quality of the routes, and even the hike are all giving me that ‘hot and bothered’ feeling when I start to think about them and I look forward to returning soon.

The end.