Otto

So here is the position we moved it to. Next to the little bush, it's close to the original position. What a lovely piece of stone. Our thanks, again, go to the original crew who placed this memorial. Remembering Chris Greyell, an inspiration to all who knew him.

This season I noticed that the beautiful stone placed as a Memorial to a Fallen Climber had been knocked down over the winter. This is on the south side of Squire Creek Wall, in the area of the grassy saddle camp. The stone was pushed down to a lower shelf. In a few moments of our "rest" period, Yale and I dragged, rolled, and pushed it back up close to its original position.

Drove up on Tuesday, April 23 to check on any winter's damage. The road to the parking lot is in great condition, with no new damage. Hiking up found a lot of new rocks have slid down into the area which has stopped all car traffic in recent years, about a quarter-mile up from the parking lot. I dragged many of them away to form a smooth path through the rock pile. Further up, used the axe to clear away several large alder and one fir log. The road/trail is now clear for bike riding to all turnoffs to the Squire Creek Wall routes. A huge log came down in the landslide area, pushing small alders over the trail: Further on, logs across the road were easily cut with the axe: I spent the rest of the afternoon moving rocks from the rockslide area just a quarter-mile above the parking lot. The resulting path is smooth but much higher than before; I'm not sure I can ride it with my meager bike-handling skills.

Oly, thanks for pointing out that motors are simply not allowed to run in Wilderness Areas. That should have been one of the choices on this silly poll.

Oly, my copy of the Beckey/Bjornstad guide to Leavenworth is first edition, fourth printing.

Here are four from my old guidebook box. The Rich Carlstad/Don Brooks book was the one I followed around when I first started climbing in the late 1970s. I've met both those guys, but never climbed with them.

Of course I will provide a couple of stills to gain interest. Here's what it looks like when walking upstream: Here's what it looks like at the bottom: This may be a tall persons' climb; I could not get established in the crack without using my highest possible pinch, and I'm 6'1". I hope others will be able to get a fingerlock to work lower down...

Does any one of the Darrington old timers out there know of any other attempts on this rock formation? Could this have been a testpiece of the past, left to be grown over and forgotten? This is about four miles up the Squire Creek logging road, just a few steps off the single track. It is now obvious from the road now that it has been cleaned. I'm calling it Loggers' Crack. Please see this Mountain Project forum note: Loggers' Crack note w/ video

Thanks for a very interesting trip report! Like the leisurely style.

Trip: Squire Creek Wall, South side - Hike up a boot track Trip Date: 05/11/2023 Trip Report: On Thursday I took a bike ride up the Squire Creek valley out of Darrington, and then a hike across the creek and up the other side. After parking at the newly graded lot below the new boulders in the road, I found the logging road to be perfectly clear of the winter's debris. The boot track beyond the creek is also free of any new devastation. I always like to catch Slab Daddy and Oso Rodeo in the morning light: There is a good peekaboo view of Illusion Wall along the way, before the alders leaf out: There is still plenty of snow perched on the slab at the start of Concerto in C for Drill and Hammer: Jet Tower on high: Gear Notes: Crampons for the two snow gullies. Approach Notes: Approach is in very good shape.

I need to be in town that day, so I might as well join the club. Will be watching for the venue. Thanks for doing this, Oly.

Went up the road this past Tuesday, 5/2/2023, and dragged that last of the branches and small logs off the road. All the snow is now gone, and there is nothing unusual which would cause a bicyclist to dismount.

Just visited, on 4/5/2023, the Squire Creek road with an axe. Chopped out six alders and two firs that had come across the road. One of them was still covered with snow, so I cut both ends and left it to roll off the road, later. Other than that, there are no new obstructions that would require a bike rider to dismount. I walked up to the South Face turnoff point, about four miles up. There was about two feet of snow there.

I will join if it's up in Lake City. Will check for a poll here later today, thanks for doing this, oly.

I never met the man but I bought this book in 1989, which was published the year before. As a Cascades climber, I had some desert dreams but was too scared of sandstone to do the adventure trips following the book would require. Too foreign, too strange. I admired his courage and persistence. May he rest in peace.