The big Northwest road trip!

   Well, I've been so busy and distracted that the end of 2014 blew right past me at warp speed. I spent the last week of it with Kit up in western Washington visiting my parents and friends, and then New Year's Eve in Cashmere, WA with Kit's cousin. That itself was a random experience: hanging out at a small local's bar in a cute but podunk little town, with an overly friendly bartender and a guy singing terrible cover songs at open mic night. We didn't make it to midnight despite our most valiant efforts to tolerate the music...

Klamath Falls, OR. They must have a problem with sidewalk horses here.

   Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was crammed into or tied onto the outside of our chosen road trip-mobile, a Dodge Neon: Skis, poles, boots, a bicycle (2 on the way back), moto boots and helmets, bike gear, climbing gear, fishing stuff, a week of clothes, presents, food, 2 people and a big headed dog. It took 2 days to drive from Tahoe to Washington, stopping in Portland for a night to have beers with a couple of friends and catch some sleep.
   Arrived in Washington to clear skies (a miracle) and took some walks with the dog. Kit got to see a bit more of Poulsbo, the bay and also historic Port Gamble. On a slightly soggy day we drove up north on the Olympic Peninsula with the idea to get all the way out to the coast. It got late so we stopped to see Dungeness Spit instead, then on to Port Angeles where we found a little aquarium. There we watched an octopus try to pounce on its live crab dinner a couple of times, but it completely missed. Thanks to my parents' generous neighbor we chowed on freshly caught crab ourselves this trip, a real Northwestern treat.

Walking around Fort Worden, Port Townsend WA

   Tourist time over, we rode bikes the next day at Green Mountain where I have been a number of times, but this time on a new trail that was ridiculously fun. The top was cloudy so there were no views, but the tacky dirt and techy roots more than made up for it. As did finally riding my new bike, with its builder Devin from Lichen Bikes! Grinning nonstop, splattered with mud, we had to hike up to ride another short trail that was steeper and more root-encrusted than the first. I'm still in disbelief that I never rode those trails the whole time I lived there.
   We rode again the next day with my dad, chasing him around the nearby Port Gamble trail system. There has been so much development of new trails that I am totally blown away every time I come home and ride there. In addition to the original handful of trails that I remember from growing up there have been many more added of the rough, rooty old style winding through the rainforest, along with some new flowy singletracks. The old man darn near wore us out, and we were also caught in a downpour a ways out from the car. I forget sometimes that a 20% chance of rain up there means a good chance 20% of the day will be rainy...

Mt. Shuksan, so close you might as well just climb up it!

   For a change of pace, we ventured up to ski at the legendary Mt. Baker following a decently sized storm. I'm so sorry, Vail Resorts, but this is the only place I can ever call truly "EPIC" for lift access skiing! It was an incredible day with blue skies and crisp cold air, with daytime temps dropping to 10 degrees. The only unfortunate part was the lack of a base that nearly 2 feet of fresh snow fell upon, leaving much of the mountain un-skiable, at least if one valued their limbs. There was still some lovely deep snow accessible in the out of bounds zones so we found some good turns there.

Kit performs a somersaulting snow sample. It was good, and deep.

   The brilliant powder day was followed up by a day of playing in the mud on dirt bikes in the deep woods of Tahuya State Forest. My friend Jason had extra bikes for us to ride, and he guided us through the winding trails for several hours of motorized excitement over slippery roots galore. We had all our warm layers on, and my feet got so wet from riding through the puddles that my toes started freezing, but it was hard to call it a day and stop riding on such great trails. We'll have to come back for more of that too!
   A chilly morning bike ride at Port Gamble the next day and then we were crossing the Puget Sound again on the ferry. Kit got all excited to see everything in the daylight, and I couldn't help but feel awed myself on such a spectacular day when all of the mountains were visible from Rainier to Baker in the Cascades to the east and also the Olympic range fully on display to the west. It truly is a beautiful place! Unfortunately, none of our photos did it any justice whatsoever.

Mt. Baker off there in the distance.

   We caught the evening alpenglow driving over Stevens Pass on the way to Cashmere on New Years eve, pondering for just a second maybe stopping to night ski. I have not ridden lifts at Stevens in over 10 years! A little worn out from riding bikes that morning and our other non-stop adventures, we decided to keep moving and get to Kit's cousin's house at a reasonable hour. 

Pork Chop hides from the loud bang of fireworks in the bath tub (and perhaps the kids too). Kids think this is really funny and follow him in!

   Following a pizza dinner (Kit's dream come true-pizza three nights in a row) they brought us down to a small bar in an old fruit packing warehouse to send out the old year with a group of friends. We met some fellow climbers and talked one guy into showing us around Vantage the next day, a somewhat nearby climbing area that would be out of the snow if not slightly warmer. That whole crew left early to put their herds of kiddos to bed, and we figured we should stick around for at least another beer and experience the local "scene." The incredibly welcoming bartender immediately offered to buy us beers if we would hang out for the music--an amazing guitar player, he said. This could be interesting, we figured, so we settled in at a table. The tunes that followed were a collection of overplayed late '90s and early 2000's radio songs. Oh well...we proceeded to try and ignore it while having an incredibly deep conversation about jobs, graduate school, leaving Tahoe, and all of those scary emotional things that come out sometimes after a few drinks. Move to Cashmere? Definitely not for the live music. Aside from that, however, it was pretty neat: quiet, close to the Cascades, full of old history and an economy that seems to rely more on fruit growing than tourism.

Approaching the climbs from on top of the cliffs.

   On January 1, 2015 we woke up not too hung over, ate leftover pizza for breakfast, and went to pick up our climbing guide for the day. The drive to Vantage was about an hour, located right by the world famous Gorge Amphitheater. My first impression: eerily similar to Indian Creek, Utah, only with rippled volcanic columns instead of sandstone cliffs. It was not as warm as we hoped, but at least we were climbing and seeing new sights! The first climb that we did was a supposedly easy but rather awkward sport climb with one side in the sun and one side in the shade, made even more awkward by having a frozen right hand and trying to avoid using those holds on the shaded side. Not terribly impressed, we chose another climb ascending twin cracks on either sides of a column with a fairly easy rating. 

5.8 twin cracks in the corner right above Kit's head. A classic!

   The shadows moved quickly with the northern latitudes and short days of winter and I found myself charging upward as fast as possible to catch the last bit of sun on the right side of the climb. Starkly contrasting the first climb, this one was a classic. Abundant hand and foot jams made for crack climbing at its very best, times 2 for the double cracks. 10 degrees warmer and this would be a perfect winter climbing spot! We will be back to this one someday, for sure. 

Lichen Bikes on a road trip! Riding at Syncline near Hood River. 

   Moving south the next day to Oregon with Bend as our destination, we stopped just outside White Salmon in southern WA for a short scenic mountain bike ride above the Columbia River in an area called Syncline. It was quite cold, muddy, and we had a very vague idea of where we were going. We pedaled up for a while, got a bit lost, and went back down the hill to a trail that looked like fun. Kit took some photos of me and the new bike and then we got back on the road toward Bend.
   Unfortunately there was no time to cram in any more adventures on the way home; we maxed out our time away and I had to be back to coach kids at Heavenly on Sunday. We still had a good time catching up with our friends in Bend for a night, staying in their cozy little house and walking to the river with the dogs before getting in the car for the final push back to Tahoe.

   I almost forgot to mention that my hip is feeling much better and just about back to normal now. This trip really put it to the test, with so many different activities all crammed together plus a lot of time sitting in the car. It feels so incredible to get out and do whatever I feel like doing without worrying about it! Thanks again to Great Basin Physical Therapy and Elevated Fitness for helping put me back together!