[TR] Wabbit Ears - Standard 06/17/2018

[ivan]

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

Edited June 21, 2018 by ivan

[ivan]

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

 

Edited June 21, 2018 by ivan

[wayne]

Hated that first "pitch" 

nice werk crew!

[JasonG]

The climb is cool and all, but, but .....that TRUNDLE!!! 

Any video of the carnage that must've wrought??  I can only aspire to such a feat.

[ScaredSilly]

A mossy chosy summit and a trundle what more could one ask for.

Edited June 27, 2018 by ScaredSilly

[Off_White]

Way to be an Agent of Entropy, that thing clearly yearned for a lower energy state.