Devils Tower

Finally, our travels have brought us to the doorstep of this monolithic intrusion known as Devils Tower!! A true test piece of our climbing ability.

Approximately 1% of the Monument's 400,000 annual visitors test there skills by climbing the Tower, here are a few unknown climbers perched near the halfway mark on their way to the summit.

This picture helps demonstrate how truly massive the 867' structure stands....and how tiny you feel when climbing it.

 Here I am after successfully completing pitch 1 of 5.....still feeling strong!!

Here is the view after pitch 2, (not quite the halfway mark) Sarah and I took a break here to rest our arms, appreciate the the view, and refuel on water and power bars. Climbing at Devils Tower was our first real experience of climbing a multi-pitch at this magnitude, it required us to climb with an extra pack for our food, water, wet-weather gear, and headlamp(s).

 The best view available, still on top of pitch 2!!

Climbing at the tower is a little unique, our entire climb was within view of all the visitors walking around the tower on trail beneath. It wasn't uncommon to hear people talking, shouting encouragement and clapping.

We had to use two separate ropes to climb this little gem....preventing 400 feet of rope from coiling and knotting takes a little discipline and was probably the least enjoyable part of the job.

We had to divert from our original route and make a hairy traverse to an adjacent route that was more suitable for our gear....the guide book said nothing about needing size 5 & 6 cams.....luckily we were able to adapt and we still found our way to summit.

The climb took us just over four hours, just in time for a sunset summit, Sarah is standing at the old signpost that used to read, "no climbing above this point" as ridiculous as the sign was, most climbers would climb the sign for a photo opportunity....the summit log is next to her right foot.

 Still feeling strong at the summit!!

We're a little haggard-looking, but it was nothing but smiles as we enjoyed the top of the tower. We had the entire football sized summit to ourselves to take-in the moment.

 Old signpost and cairn

 Sarah working the rope in the first of three rappels needed to get down the tower.

 The first rappel station.....this would be the only station we would use with any daylight.

The view from the second rappel station.....nothing like lowering yourself into the black void knowing you're a few hundred feet above the deck, yet not exactly sure where your next station is....Sarah really stepped-up and took one for the team by doing the last two rappels without a headlamp..... second headlamp was dead

Sarah has always been my favorite climbing partner, but that feeling was truly cemented during the next section of this problematic climb.

I had just lowered to what I thought was the third station, only to realize that I lowered too far and I was actually 40-50' below where I should've been. I explained the situation Sarah...."don't panic, but I'm out of rope and I'm not at the anchors"........and I asked her to keep her eyes sharp for the right set as she lowered towards me in the dark. Worst case scenario, I was going to build an improvised station, I would have to leave some expensive equipment behind, but at least we wouldn't be stranded on the wall all night.

With a bit of luck and a bit of hyper-vigilance, Sarah actually spotted the right set of anchors, but she would have to set the next rappel without me or my headlamp.

Sarah started working on the setting the rappel and everything was going smooth until she uttered the dreaded words, "the rope is stuck".  Devils Tower is a magnificent structure full of columns and cracks and despite the enjoyment you get from jamming on those cracks, they are sometimes difficult to avoid when lowering or pulling up your ropes.....and just like that, when we thought we were moments from getting back to the ground, the rope was wedged tight in crack above me and below Sarah.

Despite being faced with the real possibility that we were stuck and would be forced to spend the night on the wall, our moods did not exacerbate the situation, they were lighthearted and calm as we focused on retrieving our rope.

After an hour of yanking and pulling, Sarah worked enough rope free to lower to me and I was able ascend the rope back up to the choke point by using my belay device and a technique that combined flailing, yanking, and spastic jumping.....once we had the rope free, it was nothing but smooth sailing back to the ground.

Nothing but smiles, simply happy to be back on the ground after six hours on the wall.

There's nothing like being faced with the impending situation of nearly being stranded on a wall in the darkness of night that can bring two people closer together. I think we both learned a little something about climbing and a little something about each other that night.

I love you Sarah.

The next morning, we talked to a few fellow campers that had followed our progress with binoculars from the security of their camp chairs, a few even helped us document this climb by taking photos while we were climbing...we'll update this post as we receive those photos. 

From Washington to Wyoming

We left Seattle last week to make our way towards the pinnacle of this climbing trip, Devils Tower, WY.  As you can see, Sunny occasionally insists on riding shotgun during long drives.

Our first stop was in Coeur d'Alene, ID.  Here we are on a date night at The Beacon in the neat little downtown.  We stayed in a campground nearby called Beauty Creek.  The following day we took Sunny on an aggressive hike up some single track trail.  We were all quite tuckered out after getting down from the mountain and discovering the 90 degree heat was back.

We departed Idaho and stayed in Bozeman, MT the next night.  Another super neat town, we really enjoyed their rock gym and local co-op.  We headed south later in the day for Yellowstone.  Brent and Sunny are standing in front of the historic entrance to the park.

Welcome to Yellowstone, our country's first national park!  No dogs allowed on the trails ... Sunny wasn't too pleased.

Taking the boardwalk to view some of the mammoth hot springs. 

Mud Volcanoes :)

Brent and me in front of the falls in Yellowstone.

Trusty Old Faithful went off exactly as calculated after 55 minutes.  Sunny was too distracted with all the little kids around to even notice.

Just on the other side of Yellowstone (which is located in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) we visited Grand Teton National Park.  The Tetons are Wyoming's highest mountains and a subrange of the Rocky Mountains.

We didn't do any climbing in Yellowstone or the Tetons since most of it is more alpine climbing and mountaineering.  However, we stopped at the Alpine Club Climber's Ranch as pictured above right beneath the Tetons.

After leaving the Grand Teton National Park, we drove another 8 hours to our final destination of the week, Devils Tower.  Sunny, per usual, was keen to sleep and enjoy laying in her daddy's lap, while she still fits anyway :)

Greetings from the West Coast

 

We said goodbye to Smith Rock after spending about 2 weeks there.  In the photo, I am getting ready to rappel from a route on the popular Morning Glory wall.

 

 During the hot afternoons at Smith we went up to the Palisade Cove to enjoy the lake which had 72 miles of beautiful shoreline fed by three different rivers in Oregon.

After leaving Smith, we drove up the Oregon coast and stayed the night at a campground on a beach near Newport.  The following beach series of photos are from Hug Point near Cannon Beach.  We were lucky to find this gorgeous beach that had caves, a waterfall, and very minimal traffic.

Brent's beach artwork :)

 

Sunny was very eager to investigate and didn't enjoy all of our picture taking, here's one of the few she agreed to sit and look at the camera.

In order to get some payback for all of her ecstatic jumping and inability to pose for pictures, we would run her out on the beach into the low tide, she quickly retreated after the first wave would break.

One of Sunny's few stoic moments. 

Brent could outrun the hyper little puppy, I wasn't always so lucky.

On our drive up the coast we found some neat restaurants on the ocean and also a little aquarium where I got my seal fix.   We were able to feed the seals and have them do tricks ... it was basically me and a bunch of little kids giggling and having fun :)

We spent the weekend in Seattle and had a great time visiting some friends, walking around the famous Pikes Place Market, and watching our friends, Evie & Jeff get married at a beach resort.  But now our time on the coast has come to an end and we're heading back inland to Idaho and Wyoming for some more great sightseeing in Yellowstone and climbing on Devils Tower.

Welcome to a Sunny Oregon at Smith Rock

Brent and Sunny hiking ahead in Smith Rock State Park near Terrebonne, Oregon.  We've finally arrived to a slightly cooler climate, mid-70s to 80s instead of 90-100 degrees!  The climbing here is endless and the hiking trails are really well-maintained.  Aside from the frequent tourist and occasional snake, Smith is quickly becoming one of our favorite climbing destinations along with the convenient towns of Terrebonne and Bend located close-by.

Hiking down to the crag at Smith Rock.  Apparently the climbers here who set the sport routes are a tad more gutsy than we are, the broom-like object in my hand is a "stick-clip".  It's used to clip your first bolt since the first one is commonly at least 20 ft off the ground here.

Brent belaying me on one of the classic routes in Smith.  The interesting pockets in the rock and moderate grade made this climb a very popular must-do, we had to wait for two groups of people to finish climbing it before we could get on the route.  Luckily, Sunny seems to attract a lot of attention and kept us and the people around entertained.

Much like the crags in Colorado, Smith Rocks' accessibility, beautiful features, and well-maintained trails makes it extremely popular for other climbers and hikers.

Sunny entertaining herself while we climb nearby :)

An odd sleeper doesn't even begin to explain the strange habits of our new little puppy.

Getting back to her old self after being spayed last week, Sunny was excited to get on a hike nearby and is enjoying the shade at our campsite near Smith.

Summer Vagabonding with a Water Dog

Sunshine enduring the mishaps of new parents.  Traveling in the van has taken some getting used to for us and Sunny.  Despite trying to make extra shaded space for her underneath the bed, we apparently need to strap stuff down a little better for the little addition.

Sunny trying to show us how compact she can be in order to fit into our small van lifestyle.

Although the main focus of our trip has been slightly shifted in order to accommodate a puppy, we have been able to find some spectacular waterfalls, hikes, and dinner spots with patios.  The next series of photos are of our visit to Bridal Veil Falls up in Provo Canyon (ironically the canyon where Sunny was found as a stray and taken to the shelter we adopted her from).   The waterfall is the tallest one we've seen yet, 607 ft, 3 tiers.

The second tier of the waterfall was a short hike up and fantastic place to be to escape the middle of the day heat.

Our little family enjoying the Bridal Veil waterfall in the hot Utah summer.

Sunny leading me around the waterfall stream and trying to terrorize little kids.  She is extremely friendly for a puppy and really loves other dogs, people, worms, bouncing golf balls, tipping or plopping down on water dishes, and belly rubs ... which can be difficult since she's teething.

A little scared of being too close to the waterfall, she was happy to be picked up by mom.

Despite being predominately an Aussie mix, Sunny's love for water makes us think she is a little labrador.

Brent and Sunny hiking near the waterfall.

After lunch on a patio in Provo, we found a fountain area for the puppy to play in.
 

Sunny has taken to the leash pretty well and keeps up on trail runs and even leads across tree bridges.