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Trip: Wabbit Ears - Standard Trip Date: 06/17/2018 Trip Report: ah, the elusive rabbit, cloistered in obscurity, dejected down a long ridge from table mountain, frowning upon the furious boil of bonneville dam just below - shrouded in secrecy, protected by a brushy bushwack, you kinda-sorta gotta want it trip the first a disastrous donnybrook on a memorable memorial day - geoff n' kyle n' i circled aimlessly through the woods, waylaid by a less than perfect description of the approach n' our lack of common sense - stinging nettles - beers n' black flies in the bush - the only interesting thing the old big gun platforms up on aldrich butte - we paid our respect to the builder of beacon in the cemetery there in no'bo as it was the season for the reason - how the fuck did the park not mark the centennial of the trail he built? trip the second more a solo reconnaissance in force - feverish w/ flu and tingling w/ a prophet like rage in my febrile state, i made my lonely way up the proper trail now with a big roll of surveying tape, intent on establishing the right track for the 'swack so we could return and do the fucking thing proper - more stinging nettles - more flies - but this time a happy ending - got a great trundle as my reward, and then a silly tumble down the approach gully as my reminder i've become a sad old man w/ feet made numb by nattering nabobs and cruel concrete... the proverbial third time then was the charm - big thunderstorms the day before so we rallied a bit late in camas in the baleful hope the sunday heat would cook off the sodden bush - didn't help what was to be a stolid humid hike - an hour of slow plodding and dripping sweat and we were at the PCT and girding ourselves for the 'swack, which went well now that it's so masterfully marked - geoff declined to wear pants and paid the price - never seen a lawyer run so fast or yelp so loud as when a whole forest-full of yellow-jackets lit into his legs we got up to the notch and made ready to do battle - me mostly just trying to vent the buckets of snot that illness and pollen have bestowed upon me - here i sit atop the scene of my trundling crime after a beer and a butt, kyle was already tied in and shot off like a rocket - the first pitch has no pro but a single slim tree, but it's just 3rd/4th class gravel so i guess who cares? funky anchor where it attains the crumbling ridge a single 70 sufficed for the 3 of us, doubly so since geoff oddly decided to solo the first, most exposed bit - me coming up the first pitch later the twin summit is a just a heavily-laden swallow's flight away from here - i set out w/ a bunch of useless gear - an easy traverse on a gravel path, a decent bolt, and then a bit of a head-scratcher - everything crumbly as hell - there's plenty of exposure - you can plainly see the notch between the 2 summits you want, but how to get there? after hemming and hawing, i mantled up to just below the overhang below the notch using a tiny sapling about as big round as a pencil, which got me to a place i could sling a more reassuring tree - mantled on that, certain everything my feet were touching was about to go crashing down towards the columbia, but then it was done and i was in the notch, where you could actually place a 3-4 inch cam, but ironically of course it's no longer necessary as there's an anchor at an uncomfortable stance geoff followed i brought up kyle next and he led up the 35 feet or so to the higher rabbit ear - there was a single fixed pin for pro and a funkyish anchor atop - the other ear looked wierder and we skipped it the lower ear and me in the notch kyle on top and the anchor of ages bonneville dam, the pct, lake gillette and the anchor of ages certainly enough exposure to get a godless guy good n' kilt summit or death! quick, nobody look at the camera kinda a funky rap to get back to the approach gully - with our 70 we could rap straight down to the bolt, then walk on rap back the gravel path, around the lower tower to the first anchor - kyle went last and pulled the rope from the bolt, then got belayed back to the first anchor a 2nd rap and we were back to the top of the approach gully as the thunder began to roll and rain appeared in the distance set up a rap to avoid tumbling down the gully like i did the previous time - was easier just to use the rope as a handline though so none of us actually hooked in - we scooted back across the bushwack as fast as could be, certain the storm would break, but in the end it missed us and pounded points west - back at the car after a leisurely 6 hour affair, we waxed philosophic and grew great after mending our previously wounded pride - the road resplendent with rising steam from the recent storm, the air fresh and clean, the sun bright and cool, summer's appearance was clear and that was call enough for smiling as we each went our separate ways Gear Notes: couple long slings for trees/bushes - maybe a knifeblade or 2, but really there's not much by way of pro beyond vegetation, a newish bolt and a fixed pin Approach Notes: from 14, turn north just by the dam as if going to the n bonneville hot springs (now a rehab facility) - turn right onto cascade drive and stay on it as it turns and curves, passes the old resort and follows the lake - a little over a mile past the old resort the road turns to gravel and a nasty "private property - we will tow your ass away" sign appears - there's a tiny bridge here too - park here, before the signs (you can drive past them at first just to recon the scene) - there's room for 2-3 cars (this is the best/shortest approach for doing the table mtn loop now that the resort is closed) walk down the road about a hundred yards to where the power line maintaince road goes up right - follow the maintaince road for about 100 yards when it branches off to the left and becomes an old logging road - follow this steep old road bed for about a mile until it reaches carpenters lake - ignore the first primitive trail that cuts off right and about 150 yards past the lake, a sign points you left to aldrich butte (ignore) and right to table mtn (take this) - follow the trail towards table mtn for another mile until it connects with the PCT - from here you can just kinda see the rabbit through the tall trees - turn right and go all of 50 feet down the PCT to start the bushwack - currently very well marked with pink surveying tape - only 1/3 mile or so - thick ferns and nettles at first, then trees n' talus and side-hilling - the goal is to get to the steep gullyish thing that leads up to the notch that separates the rabbit from the ridge leading up to table mtn - total approach time 1 1/2 - 2 hrs

For you adventure types. https://youtu.be/Uh9SQh8-y4I

My daughter was born on the solstice, so I'll be celebrating her birthday!

Basically, its almost November.

I am climbng Mount Hood tomorrow via the South Side. I have only done Mount Baker. Is the Old Chute or Pearly Gates better? Has anyone done the south side lately and how hard is it for a newbie?

rabbit ears from hamilton mtn final resting spot for a beacon builder trundle before trundle after notch below the twin summits kyle on top geoff on rap anchors n' beer kyle's waiting

Trip: Mount Temple - Greenwood Jones Trip Date: 08/03/2017 Details: Given the reputation and lore select Canadian Rockies north faces hold I've always wanted to climb one but never had the opportunity minus a failed attempt on GCC on Kitchner way back in the late fall of 2008. High my list was/is any route on Mount Temple but avy conditions in the winter and grizzly conditions in the summer/fall had prevented me from ever trying. My understanding is most years the CAN parks require (communists ) a minimum party size of 4 for anyone entering the area below the north face or risk BIG fines (and possibly a grizzly encounter ). As finding another team of 2 keen on an alpine start that was also willing to climb a different route was pretty much impossible I never have had a chance to try. However in August of 2017 I heard they made the party size a recommendation and not a requirement. Lucky for me Daniel Harro was also keen so we pointed it north. Based on dawn & sunrise times and our plan to filter water at the lake we settled on a 3:30 departure. We started the face slightly later than I had hoped and wandered around trying to make sense of the beta before settling into the route. Everything you heard is true: choss to perfection and everything in between. Not the worst rock I have climbed but Oregon volcano climbers have a high threshold. Managed to climb it without placing pins but we definitely clipped a few along the way. All in all an awesome route and deserving of the status. I definitely want to come back for Greenwood Locke (in colder temps) and the Cardiac Arete on the Grand Sentinel looks awesome. We found this TR in conjunction the most useful for route finding but even then we scratched our heads more than once and I had to reverse/downclimb a few false starts. Pins can show the way as well as get you way off route If you try to do it in a day (which I recommend as it makes the packs more manageable) you need to save as much daylight as possible for the descent; I would expect attempting to follow the cairns down in the dark even with a headlamp challenging at best especially if you go back to your car via Paradise Valley. A google search will turn up more than a few TRs that detail a night spent out high on the mountain. Gear Notes: Standard rack. Took pins but didnt use them. Crampon and mini ice axe. Approach Notes: Opted for the car to car option