After yesterday….today should be a breeze. And it was….
Fun adventure day with Deb and Kevin. Left the Triangulation Peak trailhead at 7:45am and got to the base of Spire Rock at about 8:45. Fun climb to the summit, then headed up to Triangulation Peak summit, the site of a lookout which is now long gone. After enjoying the views from the highest point in the area, we took a small trail down though the fresh burn (last year) and around to Boca Cave. Been here a few times but can never get enough. It’s a pretty wild place… Lots of water leaching out from way in the back of the cave. After a long cool break in Boca Cave, we scrambled down a very unstable slope to the uphill side of the Xspire, another chossy cascade pinnacle. A few years ago Deb and I climbed this pinnacle, and it was hidden by trees and forest…not now, it’s all burned. The climb itself is pretty straight forward, pretty low fifth class route to a summit gully to the top. I remember more vegetation on the summit…it was all burned. Even the existing anchor webbing was scorched and melted. I was happy to see Shoen’s anchor pins were still intact…Nice placement Mike! After a nice break at the summit we built a new rap anchor and rapped off the Xspire, then a short rap over a rock band to the lower trail, finishing up with an hour hike back to the trailhead.
Fun two pinnacle, one peak, and a cave day!
Looking up the route on Spire Rock…
Kevin at the crux, right off the ground. The normal route starts higher…but we start here for this short chimney…
Looking across the Devils Creek drainage, you can see last years fire damage to Devils Peak.
Summit Register on Spire Rock….
Deb raps off Spire…
…then there’s that short spicy traverse…fun shit!
At the summit of Triangulation Peak, the site of a long-gone fire lookout.
Walking through last years burn on our way down to Boca Cave…
Near the cave entrance looking at Xspire the pinnacle…
Classic shot of Mount Jefferson from inside Boca Cave…
Water leaching from the far back of Boca Cave…
Cave dweller…
Looks like Breitenbush Ears got scorched too…
Deb making her way up Xspire…
Flowering Sedum for my granddaughter Ada…
From Xspire, looking back at the entrance of Boca Cave…under Triangulation Peak.
I remember thinking…how the fuck am I going to fix this?
Perfectly good anchor…burned in the fire.
Good thing the Schoen pins were still intact…
Deb raps off Xspire…
Hiking through the burned section…
A shot of Jefferson with thunder heads growing on its SE side…
Today’s route…
