The wait was well worth it as our SUV was literally brand new and had arrived only that morning to the rental agency. We had to peel off the stickers from all of the consoles! We began the drive feeling beyond excited to leave the lines of the airport behind us! Little did we know that the notorious Las Vegas traffic would soon grasp us in her stationary clutches. Both Jack and Rowan fell asleep for more than an hour and we had progressed less than 20 miles.

Eventually we were on back roads winding through the stunning Mojave desert heading toward our AirBnB located on the outskirts of 29 Palms, CA in Morongo Valley. We had stopped for dinner and provisions in town before making our way to the house we had rented for the weekend. Little did we know the property didn’t take kids! Perhaps they shouldn’t have a “number of children” option on their reservations… It all worked out in the end since they weren’t aware until the end of our stay that the kids were there.

Joshua Tree had gotten snow which is a big deal and people were very excited. We had come to rock climb and escape the winter landscape so we were less than thrilled by Mother Nature’s choice. Not to mention that the snow caused an influx of visitors all jumping giddily at the sight of such a miraculous wonder. We wanted to hike. We wanted to climb. All the parking areas were jam-packed and the freezing temperatures had us less than enthused with our current situation.

We tried our best to plod along the slushy, snow-filled trails but we had not come prepared for this level of snow. We had foolishly left our boots and snow pants in MN because we were visiting CA and didn’t think they would be necessary!

Our first day at the park was a pretty big bust and we were feeling more than a little discouraged. We decided to go back to our rental and regroup and plan better for the following day. In the morning we arrived at the park as it opened and easily found parking in a pullout near an area we hoped to climb. You won’t find these climbing routes in a guidebook as they are so easy, but thanks to Mountain Project we found the perfect spot for our kids to climb!

Due to the cold temps Bobby was committed to finding a spot in the sun AND easy enough for the kids to climb. As always, he came through and Jack summitted his first CA climb!

His smile at the top said it all and the angst and stress from the initial days of our trip soon became a whispy thought of the past. Unfortunately, Rowan wasn’t nearly as happy as Jack and soon began wailing at the top of her lungs. She had gotten cold waiting for Jack to climb and stubbornly refused to sit in the sun and insisted on a dark corner near cold rocks. I took her back to the car and let her warm up as Bobby and Jack continued to climb.

We had planned on camping at the park for the next two nights but quickly realized nobody would have fun without the proper equipment. We canceled our reservations and happily headed south toward the warmer, snow-free side of the park. We stopped at the Cholla Cactus Garden for lunch and a “REAL HIKE WITH NO SNOW!” according to Jack.

Spirits continued to climb and we found ourselves easily falling into the pattern of our ever-favorite explorers lifestyle. We wanted to make up for the rocky start and booked a hotel room in Palm Springs, CA for the next two days complete with pool and pancake machine for breakfast! We always like to mix in tourist attractions with our adventures and opted to visit the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. This zoo was massive and we didn’t have time to see it all in our one days visit. We wanted to do it up for the kids so we fed giraffes, met camels, rode the merry-go-round and spent a long time at the unexpected, massive model railroad display.

The first leg of our journey had a rocky beginning but we for sure had a lot of fun along the way and the kids continue to prove to us that they are incredible travelers.

We got a moderately early start – everyone was in the Explorer and on I-90 by 7:45am. We made good time through the pass and were all very excited as we left the rain behind and beautiful rays of sunshine began to beam down on us. I watched the thermometer on the dash slowly rise as we traveled down the eastern slope of the Cascades. The high for the day would reach 82 degrees. We made a quick pitstop in Ellensburg to refuel where the feisty gas station attendant gave me a hard time for my Doritos and Pop Tart breakfast.

Matt and Casey on top of the Mesa heading towards the Sunshine Wall

Pulling into the parking lot we quickly found out we weren’t the only ones who wanted to escape the rain. 20 or so tents were strewn about the coulee floor beneath the short but fun crag known as the Feathers. Our destination was the Sunshine Wall which was over a mesa and down into neighboring Echo Basin. After some quick gear sorting we threw on our packs and started the quick hike. It’s easy to get lost on the network of trails but keep your eyes out for small metal signs on the desert floor that point you in the right direction.

Latigo in his cave of shade

Casey roping up for Rod of God

After cleaning Carnival Ride, Matt led Rod of God (5.8) and Casey and I top-roped it not feeling confident with the distance to the first bolt. There are big solid holds all the way up this free-standing pillar so next time I’m out at Vantage I’ll be able to lead it.

Casey at the top of Rod of God (5.8)

Casey after rapping off of the pillar

Looking into the Echo Basin towards the Columbia River

After each of us climbed Rod of God we decided to see if we could find an area with less of a crowd. We traveled west along the base of the cliffs to reach the Sunshine Wall. There’s a reason it’s called Sunshine Wall – the sun was beating down pretty heavily on us for the rest of the day. But the wind and occasional cloud cover kept it from being unbearable. We spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out which routes we were standing by. Luckily a pair of climbers recommended we try the route they were on since they were just about to finish. The route – Sunshine Buttress (5.10a) – isn’t in any guidebooks because of how new it is. It has 15 bolts and the climbing goes on and on and on. Matt lead it first and then Casey and I took turns leading it as well. This was a really approachable lead because of how close the bolts are to one another. Most of the time the last bolt is at your waist when you can clip the next one up. I felt like the route was more 5.9 than 10a but I’ll take what I can get. The most challenging part of it for me was having the endurance to complete it. Luckily there are several large ledges where you can take good rests.

Matt putting his shoes on before leading Sunshine Buttress (5.10a)

Matt clips the first bolt on the buttress

Matt near the top of the climb. The guy hanging midair on the right was hanging for 2 hours.

While we were climbing Sunshine Buttress there were a pair of guys practicing some big wall techniques next to us. The belayer had created an anchor about 15 feet up the wall and had been hanging there belaying his partner for 2 hours. He wasn’t a happy camper and we got to listen to the two guys bicker for a couple of hours. Hopefully they get their relationship issues settled before they go climb any big mountains!

Casey’s turn to lead

Casey taking a well deserved rest on a large ledge.

Latigo found some rest as well.

After climbing Sunshine Buttress we started talking to a couple who were leading some trad climbs next to us. They suggested we try climbing the route they were on and they offered to set up a top rope for us as they were pulling their ropes down. In exchange, Casey kindly gave them a can of Blueberry Red Bull. “Bob’s Your Uncle” is a 5.11a finger crack. I haven’t climbed a 5.11 for a long while and I’m also really poor at smaller cracks. Matt and Casey went first and did great. The first 3/4 of the climb are really easy and then you get into the thin finger crack at the top where we all struggled a bit. After a lot of hanging and rests on the rope I eventually crawled my way up. I look forward to coming back and climbing it better in the future.

Matt entering the crux of Bob’s Your Uncle (5.11a)

Making my way into the hard part

Me stemming at the crux

We were all getting pretty tired after struggling up the long 5.11 so we decided to do one last climb before heading down to the river for a quick cool off swim. Luckily you can also climb a 5.9 – Steel Grill off the same anchor as Bob’s Your Uncle so I adjusted the anchor for us. Steel Grill is an offwidth crack so you spend a lot of time shoving your knees and body into a large crack and worming your way up the route. Unfortunately the crack was full of a lot of bird poop so it made for a dirty affair. Matt and Casey kicked butt up this route while I really struggled at several points. I’ll blame that on the sun and probably not drinking enough water.

Matt’s belay rock and impromptu hat/sweat absorber?

Latigo lead the way to the car.

Latigo following Casey across the Mesa

Good times with the guys

We finished our climbs on Steel Grill and then headed back to the car. After a quick dip in the Columbia – probably Latigo’s favorite part of the day – we headed to the tiny town of Vantage for some burgers and shakes. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday! I had a blast climbing with Casey and Matt and I hope we get to climb more together soon.

Burgers and Shakes at Blustery’s

Sunset on the patio

Double rainbow on the way to Icicle Creek Canyon!

It’s one of our favorite spots in the State of WA and we haven’t camped here since early spring. We aren’t the only ones who enjoy this area and the campgrounds are generally packed every single weekend. We hoped that because it was the weekend after Labor Day and the gloomy weather report would keep the crowds away and we would be able to secure a site at the popular Eightmile Campground. There are five campgrounds along the Icicle Creek road along with numerous dispersed camping sites. However, on Thursday, there was a mudslide and the road was closed just after Bridge Creek Campground at the trailhead for the Fourth of July Creek hike, about 2.5 miles up the road from Eightmile Campground. This made much of the camping inaccessible.

We arrived after dark to the campground and were pleased to see that there were several open sites. Because it was so dark, we managed to get lost on the winding roads of the campground and it was difficult to tell if sites were desirable or not. We hoped for the best and chose a site that we felt had more low growing vegetation that would provide ample screening between the somewhat close sites when compared to some of the other available sites we had passed by. In the dark it seemed relatively private and we hoped that we would have the same opinion come morning!

Eightmile Campground has 45 sites for tents or RVs up to 45 feet in length and one group site that can accommodate up to 70 people. Sites are $19 a night (in the Guidebook, Pacific Northwest Camping, it claims that the sites are only $15 a night, this is in error). We found the price pretty steep but decided a stay in a campground might be a welcome change to dispersed camping without access to water or a bathroom. The price seemed expensive considering the campground only had pit toilets, we both feel that if you’re paying close to $20 a night the facility should have a real bathroom. But oh well!

There were several campground hosts which was a little confusing until we figured out that one of them was the “Area Manager” so we assumed they took responsibility for some of the surrounding campgrounds. While the other took responsibility for Eightmile Campground. The Area Manager was next to us in a large RV and a little cabin and the Campground Host was behind us, we were surrounded! The only bummer about being that close to two hosts was the noise of their generators during the day. Thankfully, we either didn’t notice, or they don’t run them at night.

Saturday morning we awoke to a light drizzle. It was a gloomy day with low hanging clouds engulfing the surrounding peaks. We were pleased to see that our site was relatively private when compared to the other sites in the campground. We could see neighbors on all sides, but we didn’t feel too exposed.

We made banana pancakes and hot cocoa for breakfast.

After cleaning up our dishes we decided to go for a walk down the road a ways. We wanted to check out the mudslide and Bobby wanted to investigate some of the climbing nearby. The rain would prevent us from climbing that day but we hoped the weather would break for Sunday and climbing would be possible. The walk up the road to the mudslide was longer then we expected and a steady drizzle accompanied us the whole way. But we did encounter two small bucks on the side of the road who showed less fear then we expected. In fact they seemed just as interested in Latigo as he was in them. Eventually Latigo’s incessant whining scared them away and they disappeared into the mist. The short walk we had planned on taking had actually turned into a 5 mile walk!

We got back to the campsite and decided a trip into the nearby town of Leavenworth would make for a fun rainy day activity! We found lunch, purchased a couple of beautiful photographs from a local artist at the small art show that was taking place in the town center, and got some chocolate covered gummy bears for dessert! The weather continued to clear throughout the day and the crowds continued to grow in the small Bavarian-themed village.

Goats were kept in a small pasture next to the road into town and were quite friendly!

He wanted to eat my zipper!

We headed back to the campground hoping the weather had also cleared in the canyon. Sadly, it wasn’t, the slight drizzle had persisted.

We had a lazy day in the campsite of reading, napping, setting up a tarp to protect us from the rain, and munching on chips and homemade guacamole! For dinner we made bean and veggie burritos, one of our favorite meals even when we’re not camping! As with just about everything else, they tasted better having been cooked over a fire!

We crawled into our tent after dark and read aloud from the book we’ve been reading together while camping throughout the summer. We fell asleep with hopes that the next day would bring fairer weather.

Indeed it did! We arose around 7:00 a.m. and were greeted with clear blue skies! The mountaintops that had been hiding throughout the day yesterday were out in all their glory! We made breakfast, homemade dehydrated hash browns, eggs, and sausage and hot cocoa.

We packed up our climbing gear and headed for an easy crag that was only 1/4 of a mile from the campground and accessible by a trail down by the river. We went to 8-Mile Rock where Bobby climbed Classic Crack (5.8), Mickey Mantle (5.7), and Deception Crack (5.9).

8-Mile Rock

I haven’t been climbing since January, and that was in a gym. It’s been more than a year since I’ve climbed outside and I’m not gonna lie, I don’t miss it. I was happy to belay Bobby and be his encourager. I gave a meager attempt at the 5.7 but found myself much happier on the ground!

Other climbers had already begun to flock to the popular spot and the temperature was already beginning to rise so we decided to call it a day. We returned to our campsite and broke camp. We were on the road by 11:00 ready to make the 2+ hour drive back to Seattle. We stopped at one of many fruit stands along the way and got 10 pounds of apples with plans of making pie and applesauce!

We stopped at Lake Easton State Park to have a picnic for lunch! We supped on Tuna Salad sandwiches with fresh tomatoes we had bought at the fruit stand and we polished off the guacamole! It was a glorious day on the shores of the shimmering lake! It was the perfect ending to a wonderfully lazy weekend of camping, climbing, and walking!

Lake Easton

Vantage is a little bit more than a two hour drive from Seattle, but it’s easy to get to, just head east on 90! The eastern side of the Cascades is far different from the lush green landscape we enjoy year-round in Seattle. Desert conditions and plants are what you’ll find in the east. We had purchased two 7-gallon Reliance Aquatainers for this trip seeing as the camping spot had no water access.

When we arrived we found the camping area, which is comprised of scattered sites with makeshift campfire rings. Garbage litters the area. Concerts take place at the nearby Gorge Ampatheater and heavy usage at the campground during shows is evident. There is no bathroom in the area, not even a pit toilet and that is also obvious when you leave the trail. All in all it’s a little gross here. The Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC) are working to raise funds to have a permanent pit toilet installed in the area to decrease the human waste problem currently occurring in the area. There was no fee to camp there, though I must say that I would be happy to pay if it meant the area could be cleaned up a little.

The surrounding views from the campsite were some of the most scenic I have ever seen. Though I haven’t spent a whole lot of time in desert environments I must say that the ones I have been in have been some of the most picturesque landscapes I have ever seen.

as the sun set the view from our campsite was unreal with the faint shadow of a wind farm in the distance

Our trusty Ford Explorer that hauled so much!

The Feathers climbing area from our campsite

We set up camp and then geared up for some climbing on the Feathers.

We trekked across the camping area on a small trail that led us to the nearby crag and we spent the day climbing in the heat.

Latigo doesn’t really like it when we climb…

Bobby, looking for a good route to try

Belaying!

It’s hot!

A beautiful spot to climb!

Paul and Marie had agreed to take car of lunch and Paul set up a makeshift kitchen in the rocks at the base of the climb we were on. Lunch would be tortillas with beans and veggies. Realizing we had forgotten utensils at the car and, therefore, had nothing to stir the pot of heating veggies and beans, made us pause and consider hoofing it back to the car for a spoon. We decided it would be just as easy to find a good stirring rock nearby! It worked great! Luckily the climbing area was a lot cleaner than the camping area!

Hot, exhausted, and a little sunburned from our first day of climbing in the desert we headed back to camp. Bobby and I were in charge of dinner and we grilled steak over the fire and fried up some potatoes in our camping kitchen.

making some dinner!

We chatted until past dark, lounging on our thermarests until finally agreeing that sleeping sounded like a great idea. Other, younger climbers, were free soloing past dark on the feathers and we were worried our night may be interrupted by one of them falling and getting seriously injured. In the end it wasn’t the climbers that woke us but a scary storm. Being in the desert we hadn’t even considered the possibility of being rained on but alas we were. Although that wasn’t the worst of it. Lightning began striking with an intense brightness until finally it struck far too close to home. Paul began screaming, and thinking the worst, we called out to our friends tent. They were fine. His body was “tingling” but unscathed. The shock of the lightning had awoken him with a start. We hypothesize that he may have felt some of the charge of the lightning due to the fact that he was sleeping on a 3/4 length thermarest whereas the rest of us were completely off the ground with full length sleeping pads. After our initial shock and fear for our friends wellbeing, the giggles set in for Bobby and I. We felt bad, knowing that our friend was so shaken by a scary experience and we tried, unsuccessfully, to muffle our giggles.

The next morning dawned bright and hot. We ate breakfast and cleaned camp and headed for the sunshine wall on the other side of the camping area for some more climbing. The hike to the wall got a bit dodgy when we had to go through a narrow chimney in the rock that had a five foot drop at the end that we had to descend. For the people this wasn’t a big deal, for the dogs it was. Latigo was terrified and clung to my neck as Bobby and I tried to pass him down. Being almost 70 pounds and having long legs that easily stretch out and cling to the rock walls on either side of us made the process extremely difficult. We eventually got him safely down and made it to the climbing.

He did not want to go down.

Getting ready to belay

the view from sunshine wall

view from Sunshine wall

It was a hot hike to the wall

climbing a chimney

The day was hot and sunny and we didn’t last that long on the wall in full sun. The dogs were hot, the rock was hot and the people were hot.

It’s too darn hot!

We headed out and decided it would be fun to stop at the Columbia River for a swim before heading back to the city. We swam in the river and Latigo soon became interested in something near the waters edge and we heard one of the most terrifying sounds possible, a rattle. We screamed at Latigo to come back, and, being a good doggy, he did just that. He managed to find a rattlesnake but, thankfully, left the encounter unscathed. We found a trail near the waters edge and explored for awhile before heading to the car.

Overall this was an extremely eventful weekend with several scary moments but it all ended well! I am hopeful that the WCC is successful in their efforts to have a toilet installed in the area, this would really help keep the are clean. We had a fantastic weekend with good climbing and good friends!