Category Archives: Hiking

A Bit Of Everything in the PNW: Day 2

After earning some turns, we set off the next morning for Vantage, WA to climb at Frenchman Coulee. I’ll be writing this entry since Sweeney has a backlog of his own adventures to catch up on, so stay tuned for that. Vantage was quite a change of environment, by leaving spring in Seattle, driving up over Snoqualmie Pass, through winter and into arid flat lands. Catherine has a great photo post of the trip, but I’ll try to add some details about the climbing itself.

Frenchman Coulee was pretty impressive upon arrival. There was tons of routes and plenty of climbers out already.

First we ascended a ridge to get to the other side of the canyon. Descending through a chimney,

Which lead us down to the routes.

After staring at the guidebook on the Sunshine Wall for awhile, we picked a rote that wasn’t listed but looked fun and doable, considering I hadn’t lead climbed for about a year. Nearly all the climbing in Vantage is sport, or trad.

We suited up, and I started leading.

A little rusty at first, it was a good first route to lead on, maybe 5.6 or 5.7?

Roughly everyone who passed us with a real guidebook asked us which route this was (just right of the chimney). I think it was in the Stems & Seeds section, but we couldn’t answer their questions.

Catherine on route.

With Sweeney on belay.

Catherine un-clipped the ‘biners, with finesse, and next up Sweeney climbed and cleaned the route.

And once cleaned, got the fun of rappelling off.

Afterwards we prospected some more routes.

But ultimately decided for a lunch break and choosing a campsite. Back up through the chimney we saw a lot of climbing going on at a tower and on the Feathers, our afternoon objective.

A prime camping location was chosen, and the lunching commenced.

The Feathers were up next. Again the guidebook was falling a bit short in describing the numerous routes. We picked a good looking one, but the crux was a little tougher than anticipated at 5.9, we later found out.

We hung around the Feathers and then retired to our campsite for frisbee and dinner.

Afterwards we stayed up to watch the stars, although some clouds rolled in.

The next morning we headed out for day three, hiking and sightseeing!

The photos are a compilation of Catherine’s, Sweeney’s and mine. The square ones were borrowed from Catherine’s instagram. She was the main photographer for the day.

Olympic Coast Overnight

With our National Parks re-opening (after much outrage), I thought I’d recount a hike Catherine and I had been wanting to do since we were planning our June Seattle/Portland trip: Backpacking the Olympic Coast. Due to its relative remoteness, it deserved at least the two days we gave it, and offered a good deal of solitude.

We check the tides and arrived near the coast to hike a section of the “Wildcatter” shore.

The beach near the trailhead.

Our plan was to beat the incoming tide, and the hike to high ground until we reached our campsite.

After much scrambling, we reached a pebbly cove.

Catherine hanging out, surveying the numerous sea stacks.

A view of the cove. I had to give up my walking stick already.

We quickly arrived at a very steep ladder switch-back, which we had luckily read about. We also encountered our first mud of the trip.

Catherine, perched in the middle of the ladder.

Our route took us over Hoh Head, and then lead us into thick brush, despite being an old trail. We also encountered more types of mud than a Tough Mudder course. Tiny spiders seemed to enjoy making their webs across the trail, which we had to keep swatting away. Constant glimpses of the shore kept us motivated, though.

Because of the tides and the travel distance we’d gotten a late start, so we set up camp as the sun began to set. Luckily this lead to some amazing views.

Sunset at Mosquito Creek

As the sun dipped below the horizon, distant sea stacks came into view. I think they might be part of the Washington Islands Wilderness.

Sleeping wasn’t too cold yet and we very comfortable under our Ray-Way quilt, sewn by Catherine’s mom. It was our first backpacking trip with it, and though light, the synthetic bulk took up a bit more space than carrying two summer down bags, but also warmer. I think if my pack was 36-40 L (including rolltop) and under 2 lbs, it would fit better than in my current 31 L. Luckily, everything fit, even with the added bearvault we were carrying.

The next day we packed up and doubled back, since we didn’t have a car to shuttle us from the other end.

It was a great weekend hike, that was over far too quickly!

Rain and Cascades

…are two things that I’m hoping don’t always go together, This past weekend Catherine and I went for a jaunt on the edge of the Northern Cascades, in search of “Lake 22”. Similar to several previous fall hikes, we knew we were in for a bit of wet weather, and this time we made the day more about exploring old growth than bee-lining for a high alpine ridge.

Before embarking we discovered a swollen Creek 22, right next to the road.

As we ascended through fantastical, and dripping, forests, I contemplated bringing mylar umbrellas on the next rainy hike, something that Ray Jardine considers essential.

The moderate ascent was enjoyable, although the trail was quickly becoming it’s own cascade in sections, but before too long, we had reached the lake.

Imagine a glassy surface with the towering shoulder of Mt. Pilchuck on the right, and bald steep faces all around. Still, even on a rainy day, it was a hidden gem, and we hung around long enough to snack before turning around.

The photos were limited to quick shots from my phone, as we deemed it too risky to soak anything else. We’ll see what next weekend brings!

Seeking Serene Scenery enroute to Seattle

The road-trip reached a successful completion and Catherine and I are settling in to our new Seattle home, prepping for further northwestern adventures and the looming ski season!

We took lots of great photos, the best of which I’ll reproduce here. Though I’ve cut it down a lot there are far too many for a single post. I’ll keep it sparse worded and photo heavy, just for you, but I’ll also throw in some notes on our trip.

Here we go!

Grand Teton National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Glacier National Park

We drove straight to Chicago the first day to make sure we had more time for National Parks. I could do a whole section on the Badlands as well, but we spent less time there than anywhere else.

Our first look into the Badlands

Catherine and I upon entering Badlands NP.

Just a few days later, we woke up in Montana, which I’ve come to learn is the fly fishing capital of the world.

Catherine made a short video of the trip, found here:

Boston to Seattle from Catherine Roach on Vimeo.

Thanks for our friends, Darren for putting us up, Cathy & Phil for their hospitality, and our families for their support!