Trip Report
One leg and two left feet. Some kind of trip report
Wednesday May 18, 2011 6:55pm
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Stacked-up contour lines on a map. Dark shadows on Google Earth.
She Who Discovers New Cliffs had read the topographic tea leaves and prophesied a New Cliff. Since her last discovery now has ten routes, with scope for another thirty, I was in.
We checked it out. Access was via a gated road, but we had bikes. A bit of a grunt in spots, but less than two miles. Gorgeous spot, what with waterfalls, and steep riverbanks, and a tantalizing hint of rock above. And a death approach which I backed off. But she continued upward and returned with confirmation of a small wall. Here’s the river.
We returned a week later, cycled further up the road, then fought our way through blackberry hell to the cliff top, made our best guess about where to hang ropes, and dropped in. My rope, tied off to a tree, reached the base, but was definitely in the wrong place, and, what with the sharp edge near the top, not juggable. Her rope, just doubled around a tree, turned out to be in a good spot, but didn’t reach all the way. Scary diagonaling got her to a tree part-way down and she was soon at the base. Seemed like good potential. Not too dirty (by PNW standards), and offering several good looking routes featuring small edges and no natural pro.
A week later, with most of the blackberry-torn flesh healed it was time to go back. We wanted to move my rope, and add a rope to her line. All via a new approach that would avoid the brambles. Would fate smile again? Would the alternative road we’d spotted on the maps be open? Or suitable for bikes if not? Would the spurs that appeared to lead to the area above the river still exist? Who knows? The weather looked good for Tuesday, so why not go find out.
But Monday there was another question to be answered: Would I even be able to walk on Tuesday? Sometime Monday morning I started limping. It felt like all the hardware that holds my left hip together had rusted out overnight and grown sharp spurs. By evening, I could hardly move (ask Wayno, Steve, or Mimi – they all saw me hobbling around), couldn’t get up from a kneeling position, and found the toilet seat to be a new torture device.
Pain killers left over from some previous physical destruction got me through the night, but things weren’t any better on Tuesday morning – except for one oddity: the one thing I could do without too much pain was ride. So we threw the bikes in the car and headed east, figuring that if I couldn’t hobble from wherever the road ended to the cliff top, I could always wait by the bikes until Mari got back.
Pavement’s end:
And the sign says bicycles welcome.
So off come my sandals, on goes one shoe and then... F*#k... Not only am I gonna have to do this with one leg, but I’ll have two left feet. Looked pretty funny, and felt weird, but it seemed to work.
The road was dead flat and in perfect shape. We dodged a few logging trucks…
Saw some nice scenery…
And eventually reached the first turn-off.
The spur hadn’t seen much action lately, but was still in good shape. We had to lift the bikes over a couple of fallen trees, but otherwise had smooth riding. Off the bike I wasn’t so smooth. I could barely move my left leg outward, and couldn’t step up on it at all. We finally parked the bikes, and hiked the last couple of hundred meters into what looked like a reasonable clearing. Well, Mari hiked and I hobbled.
But the clearing was not reasonable. Bramble city, and brush too high to see more than a short way. Mari whined a lot because she HATES bushwhacking, and HATES brambles. I whined a lot cuz every f*#king step hurt, and if I wanted to get my leg over anything (like the 50 gazillion fallen logs we encountered) I had to lift it with my hands. But we’re kind of obstinate sometimes, and eventually got clear of the brambles. Of course to do this, we’d had to go the wrong way, and wound up getting to the river well upstream of where we wanted to be. So we thrashed some more, and then some more after that, and finally…
Probably doesn’t look like much, but there’s a drop-off of about 150 feet along the line of the foreground shrubbery, and it felt good to get there. Sort of. In an “at least we’re still alive” sort of way. And there were a couple of challenges remaining. Like getting my rope back. It was running off slings around a tree that actually overhung the cliff. Doing the one-legged belly crawl to get to it was kind of exciting.
And of course there was the return journey. Which turned out to be no problem – or no problem for anyone with two legs. We found the right path, and realized that with a bit of work with garden clippers it would probably provide a casual ten-minute approach.
And late that evening, while puttering around the house, I suddenly realized that the pain was rapidly receding. I could dance a sort of clumsy jig. And more important, sit comfortably on the toilet.
Oh, about the pictures -- cell phone quality, cuz I forgot my camera.
Ghost
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About the Author Ghost is a climber from A long way from where I started. |
Comments
nutjob
Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
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May 18, 2011 - 07:18pm PT
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Wow, who needs climbing when you can have this much fun before you even get there?
You're blessed to live in a beautiful place.
And the shoes! Classic :)
Must be a good joke in there about your qualities as a dancer.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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May 18, 2011 - 07:19pm PT
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Love the two left feet! Good times. :)
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Author's Reply
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May 18, 2011 - 11:43pm PT
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Love the two left feet!
Yeah, well, what can I say? I've got two pairs of those things, and stupidly stored them all together. Grabbed two without really thinking and...
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kakazhu
climber
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May 19, 2011 - 12:15am PT
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Here is a sort [url=http://www.pinkoutcall.com ]new york escort[/url] of original song by me , it is inspired by under my thumb by the stones..but there lyric is about dominating the woman , mine is how married men or men in a relationship although [url=http://www.pinkoutcall.com ]new york escorts[/url] they say differntly to there mates like that a woman controls part of there lives and makes them better men and actually quite like being under her thumb
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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May 19, 2011 - 01:01am PT
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That is awesome! That is some kind of trip!
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Republic, WA
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May 19, 2011 - 01:09am PT
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Mari finds another one? Way to go. What's up with the Spammer? that is some weird shite.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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May 19, 2011 - 02:20am PT
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Two Left Feet has to be used in a route name now.
Pics of the rock?
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
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May 19, 2011 - 02:55am PT
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Wearing two left shoes prevents hip replacement surgery? Cool!
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Captain...or Skully
climber
Boise, ID
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May 19, 2011 - 08:31am PT
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Nothin' quite like bushwhackin'. Nice shoes, Ghost.
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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May 19, 2011 - 08:58am PT
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Way to shred the GNAR!
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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May 19, 2011 - 09:44am PT
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Ahh, the good ol' NW, where the approaches can be so gnarly, but sometimes better than the climb!
Welded hip, two left feet and all!!
Rock on dude, rock on.
Good write up, good pix for a phone! (What's that rad dab pointy peak waaay off in the distance?)
ANY TR is waaaaay better than a gag me poli-thread, THANKS!
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doughnutnational
Gym climber
its nice here in the spring
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May 19, 2011 - 10:40am PT
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Is that a Bridgestone MB2 to go with your two left feet? I have one of those frames in my garage and keep threatening to ressurrect it.
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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May 19, 2011 - 10:56am PT
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Hanging tough in the NW!!!
Way to go David and Mari!!!
Hope it's still improving...
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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May 19, 2011 - 11:49am PT
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hey there say, ghost.... wonderful trip report and neat looking area...
:( sorry to hear of the pain, though...
thanks for the "otherwise" ;) fun share, :)
may you have a great summmer, too!
:)
so's you can SHARE more, :)
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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May 19, 2011 - 01:49pm PT
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So how does it look in comparison to the Railyard's quality? Sounds intriguing!
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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May 19, 2011 - 01:54pm PT
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TRs like this bring back the memories and help me realize that I really don't miss the PNW. heh
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Paulina
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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May 19, 2011 - 01:55pm PT
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Glad to hear Mari is scouting more and more rocks, and glad to hear you're not in pain anymore. Way to not be deterred by lack of a right shoe.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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May 19, 2011 - 05:36pm PT
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Hey, no fair, this was ghostwritten. Have you no shame?
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Author's Reply
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May 19, 2011 - 06:39pm PT
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Okay, first things first: This is not going to be another Railyard. It's a pretty little spot, and we'll be happy if we can get four or five decent climbs, but we've got no big expectations. Just a fun crag to spend a day on.
As to the bushwacking, it's always a trial on the first couple of approaches until you figure out how stupid you were, and finally take the right path. You can ride your bike to within a hundred meters of the rock, but the approach to the base from there is kinda scary. It could be easily protected with bit of knotted rope, but may be environmentally unfriendly. We'll see. At worst it'll be an easy 10 minute walk with a rap in.
One really cool thing is that the roads in the area are all closed to motorized traffic, which means no noise, no drunken off-roaders, no trash, just a beautiful quiet place.
So, we'll see how it goes. Maybe the climbing will suck. Or we'll be eaten by cougars. Or the world will end on Saturday before we get even one climb in. But we can hope.
And on the subject of the Railyard, I guess I should do a TR on that place, shouldn't I? That really is a gem, and we'd like to see people out there enjoying it. Here's a shot of Tom (Mooser) on a climb we called Lanterne Rouge.
Edit to add: Yes, that's an MB2. For those who believe suspension is cheating, it's a fantastic bike. I'll ride it till I die. (Actually, I almost did die riding it. That's how I came to have this bolt-together leg.)
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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May 19, 2011 - 07:08pm PT
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That guy looks like a total stud!
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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May 19, 2011 - 10:48pm PT
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A bit of knotted rope?! Is it allowable? Is it not wrong? Will it doom the planet?
(Assuming the planet is still here on Sunday.}
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Author's Reply
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May 20, 2011 - 12:21am PT
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Nothing wrong with a knotted handline. It's the feet of all the people using the knotted handline carving up the hillside.
Might work out okay. We'll see.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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May 20, 2011 - 01:13am PT
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Bump, bump, bump ...
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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May 20, 2011 - 01:42am PT
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Oh and klk
TRs like this bring back the memories and help me realize that I really don't miss the PNW. heh
that was mean, very mean, and as Michelle in "Romey and Michele's High School Reunion" would say: neither do we.
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asian1234
Social climber
Toronto ,Ontario
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Oct 28, 2011 - 06:35am PT
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Yeah, well, what can I say? I've got two pairs of those things, and stupidly stored them all together. Grabbed two without really thinking and... And See Service Love Toronto Escort and Toronto Escorts .Good In Here
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Zander
climber
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Oct 28, 2011 - 11:20am PT
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Sweet!
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nutjob
Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
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Oct 28, 2011 - 10:21pm PT
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Wow, was this a hooker bump?
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Oct 29, 2011 - 07:03am PT
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Sick!! Hooker bump! nice TR Ghost.. Hope you are feeling better.
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