A year ago today Max and I sorted through all of our belongings, donated most of them to the "free pile" in our building, and packed the rest into my Subaru. We left Portland, OR, where we had been living for just over half a year and headed toward the spectacular bouldering in Central Washington. We spent the first month of our road trip living between my dear friend's house in Peshastin and camping in the wilds surrounding the town of Leavenworth. It was magical.
Max in Mad Meadows.
I have always been very loyal to the Sierras after having spent so many summers hiking and backpacking around Tuoulmne Meadows but I think the Cascades surrounding Leavenworth are just as beautiful and enticing. The guidebook for the area seemed slightly premature, especially considering all of the development that has taken place in the past four years, and I would love to go back to experience more seasons and climb more boulders.
Springtime up the Icicle.
I fell in love with Leavenworth, truly. It was the very beginning of nine months of perfect freedom. We had unseasonably cool weather and sometimes we would wake up to climb in the morning before the heat of the day and then head back to the boulders again in the evening before darkness fell around 10:30PM. Whenever I find myself talking about that town I never have anything bad to say except that I wish I could have spent more time there.
Before...
...And after.
Despite my incredibly fond memories of that time and place I have one glaring regret; I didn't appreciate it completely at the time. I took most of the road trip for granted, thinking that I would always have enough freedom to travel wherever and whenever I wanted. That is, of course, incredibly foolish. I am now in a position where vacation time is rarely granted and the ONLY reason my employers are letting me take a weekend off later in June is because I told them, when they hired me, that the plans have been in order since January. The upcoming summer will be the first in a few that I haven't dedicated to climbing exclusively outside (I'll miss you Donner Summit) and adjusting won't be easy.
Hidden Lake.
Photo: Gretchen Willi
If only I had relished our freedom a great deal more rather than feel guilty about it. I remember several distinct conversations we had revolving around employment, dreams, expectations we had for ourselves and what was expected of us. The next time I get to go on a climbing trip I will not take a single second for granted.
Training day on The Footless Traverse.
Photo: PLT
And I wish I had taken more pictures, not just in Leavenworth, but everywhere; the entire road trip.
