obwan

This is Poison Ivy up by February Buttress in Tumwater canyon. Mark - very interesting, I know various patches show up anywhere. Yours looks a bit like what AndyF describes as poison oak. I found - in any case, stay away from 3 leaves! The Fall color that poison ivy comes out with is certainly more easily identified. I took a climbing group up to Skaha once, and all opinions were wrong.

What's really bad is when you toss your rope into a patch of either one - then the oils or whatever get on your hands,clothes etc.

What a bummer - to young to die, and very sad. God Bless.

The "leaves of three - don't touch me"! It's poison ivy, as Matt said - it has grown along that trail for years. It's pretty identifiable - three leaves with a 9-12 inch stem - and very colorful red/yellow in the Fall. Google it for some interesting photo/videos.

A bit of an approach hike, try Static Point - "On-Line", easy slab (Monroe area). Or even the first 5-6 pitches of "IB" on Mt Garfield in the North Bend area. There is also Mt. Ingalls in the Cle Elum area, somewhat like "The Tooth" at Alpental - but a six mile approach. These would be easy multi-pitch, good views and not intimidating.

Got a bead on a topo? It'll take some effort - look around for the small guide book by M. Ford & J. Yoder "Rock Climber's Guide to: Fossil Rock". the 2nd edition was dated April 1996 published by Homepress. It has some good route topo.

Ah-hah! The last secret is out.

Head west on HWY 2 about 20-30 minutes to Peshastin Pinnacles, or Icicle Creek in Leavenworth for good cragging/bouldering.

Try the natural Lemon Eucalyptus - reviews are varied, but it seems to work for me and not as toxic as 100% Deet.

How come no one has mentioned Yakima or even a real small town Naches? You can climb at Tieton - very close by. And you'd be living in the 'rain shadow' of Mt. Rainier.

DPS is correct - if you need employment, the Puget Sound Region on the Westside of the Cascades is it. But it's dryer and nicer on the Eastside, and finding work may be more of a challenge. What is called the eastside (of Lake Washington) is the Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland area - which is pretty centrally located to what DPS described, as far as climbing and the mountains ( all within 1-2hrs). Boeing and Microsoft are close - and if you choose 'Rentonia', you could build 737's all day as they have orders for the next 10-12 years, and punching out 1+ a day.

Slowest......Camera........Ever. But I've seen one dropped a long ways and be just fine. So it really depends on what you need. Man, you guys are really camera pro's. I cannot be trusted even with the p&s around rocks, I can only use the "cardboard" models - and sometimes the panoramic is useful. So here's what I call a long drop! I dropped a guys brand new $450 Nikon off the top of "Rod of God" at Vantage, plus scratched the b'jesus out of my wife's nice p&s.

The "Weekend Rock - Washington" by Whitelaw covers the highlights of the state pretty well - if one only wanted one book.

Wait until they see the rope stretch when they tow their car.

C'mon, don't people know what project ropes are all about - especially at World. I hope you get your rope back, it should not be deemed "booty".

My vote is 2 ltr minimum - 3 ltr max, no stove. Just don't depend on "bladders" - they are to unreliable, as the hoses freeze up plus the chance of leaking ( although they are convenient on the hike up to basecamp, easier to hydrate more often,etc. (but not as critical if there is any failure). With the altitude and exertion required, the usage is about one pint per hour. Based on that formula, you are pretty dry when you get back - so the idea of hydrating a lot before and after is the key; then you won't be so f'd up getting back in the car.

This stuff is becoming hilarious! Basically, a newbie should maybe rent an axe for the first year - and use a 65-70cm. Starting out they feel more comfortable, until they see how the axe works. But when it comes to buy one, they will be more satisfied with a 60-65cm. Just my 2cents, couldn't resist.

Good point!

Cracks really suck at Vantage - it is mostly a bolted/sporto jug-fest. Good for the upper body work-out.

I have used the waterproof map stuff to help the longevity of the paper maps, but generally use zip-loc bags to keep them dry, and fold them accordingly for the right area. Again, I agree that the scale is not the greatest on Green Trails - but the "big picture" and "current" issues are invaluable. ps. The comment about Labor Day being unreliable is true - I've been caught in some real gully washers. To bad the best window is only 7/15 - 8/15, I used to remember NW summers lasting 3 months. MtGuide has some good map tips.

There are some websites that have topo maps, some were recently mentioned on cc.com - maybe do a search or google some of them. The issue with standard topos is, while the scale is better - the trails are sometimes old and not up to date regarding approach roads, etc.

Also, can anyone recommend any maps for the areas mentioned as a quick search on Amazon didn't reveal any Trails Illustrated maps with coverage of those mountains. Kaiman; Regarding the map situation, I would go into greentrails.com and research what they have. I find them very useful for the "big picture" and they show approach trails and roads, albeit not the scale that some mountain men prefer. But they are invaluable when guide books sandbag you. ( I keep screwing up this "qoute" thing). Welcome aboard.

All of the above info is spot on - even our best weatherman will agree July 12th - Labor day is the best time frame in the NW. Especially with the latest winter storms, the mountains have taken on some heavy snow falls. Best to keep checking on conditions and plan around those time frames. I don't think the Southern Cascades will as much as a problem as our Northern Cascades. I'm sure others will have some good suggestions to consider. Good luck.

Idea Guy - a good report, I know many details will follow. Thank the Almighty she is alive - a clean fall, ( with no belay/rope issues) from that distance is usually pretty damaging, with internal injuries, etc. Get well soon and stay strong.

There's also a place called XY Crag that is very short and easy to communicate with the climber (not intimidating), and close to the road.