There are too many chest beating TRs about new routes and so on. The writing is always the same. Brave climbers overcome difficulties, classic High School man vs. nature stuff. (DFA = man vs. plastic, this is also sort of like Trask at Hooters)
So anyways:
Saturday, Steve picked me up at 6 AM and we headed for Tamihi Creek. this was the third weekend in a row I had intended to cimb Canadian Border. First weekend saw me, fred and Stefan change objectives in face of rain and hike in the Fraser Canyon. second weekend saw me, Fred & Fern go hiking after Ferns truck went on the logging road.
Ok drove up the familiar road and started hiking from the washout/landslide section c. 7:00 AM. There was definitely weather moving in and conditions were warm. Good views of NF Tomyhoi (fun ski descent?)
We were not super fast. Steve had been out partying till 2 AM and only had about 2 hrs sleep. I was just not super motivated - i didnt have any coffee in a futile attempt to stay hydrated.
At road end below CBP we stopped for a breather. Snow was mostly firm with about 3 cm foot penetration in a mushy surface layer. Clouds had come in, couldnt see Larabee and only vague glimpses of Tomyhoi summit. it was snowing and windy. we looked at each other and decided to bail, we could have gone for the climb, but figured with no visibility what would be the point exactly. neither of us felt particularily like a weatherized suffer fest.
hiked back to car, drove to chilliwack. swapped snow gear for rock and drove to harrison bluffs. these cliffs are like the bulletheads or like Index without scrubbing. checked out a few mossy overgrown cracks then Steve started leading up the grass slab to get to the thin crack of Wayback Layback (supposed 10a). As the rain came down and I hung belaying from the tree above the prickle bushes Steve excavated his way up the grass cracks to the roof on wayback. he hemmed and hawed for a while then said it didnt seem 10a and he didnt feel like ripping out of the barn door moves and splashing on the slab. he bailed as the rain intensified.
we had a pleasant run in with the local landowner then went for a 1.5 hr hike/scramble/rappel session to get to the top of the wayback layback cliff. rapped down and got the gear. pulled the rope down into the prickle bushes and got the fuck outta dodge.
in agassiz the rain stopped and we ate donuts and curry chicken puffs in the bakery. steve wanted to go check out chehalis river crags but ive been there a few times in the rain. so i suggested we go check out some cliffs near "tailwind" ice climb area with very minimal exploration. we drove over, parked by tailwindf then started the hike thru untouched boulder fields and wading through a swamp to get to this one cliff you can see from the other side of the river but not the closer highway. after about 1.5 hours of wet grass, alder shrubs and blackberry vines we were standing aon a rotten log gazing at this mossed over 3 pitch high slab resembling shiznit on the backside of the chief but with a much stupider approach. decided it was not so great and wanted to take a different way back, so we swamp-whacked through the slough, got on an old road and avoided a Native reserve full of pit bulls before coming out on the highway.
hiking back to the car we could see something looked wrong with Steve's truck. the passenger door was wide open had we left it open when we left or had we been ripped off
anyways we ran to the car but nothing was missing despite it being parked on the side of a minor highway with door open and no one around for 2 hours danced for joy with happiness - we must a just been stupid and walked off leaving the damn thing open and went home to clean the mud off my boots.
sunday i did nothing - grocery shopping etc. my car was in the shop getting a new fender so i couldnt even go to the coop and buy new climbing mags. it rained most of the day. ho hum.
THE END
