After getting a taste of half-day just-outside-of-town cragging, Morgan and I were eager to get back out to the climbing areas in and around North Bend (fondly named The Exits by Seattle area climbers). Thursday of last week was slated to be yet again, the hottest day of the year thus far, so I was excited to hear that she could ditch work and be on the road by three. After sharing our plans with Jaimi and some behind-the-scenes back and forth, our group had ballooned to a party of four and our itinerary grew to include a stop at Snoqualmie Point Park to look for quasars with the Seattle Astronomical Society.

Climbing the (mostly) Bad Stuff at Canopy Crag

Morgan, Jaimi, Grace and I got to the crag by 4 o’clock, and started off with the main course, Bryophyta Umbrella (5.8). This route wasn’t overly satisfying to climb, but the steepness was uncharacteristic for a route of the grade, and that was notable in itself. Like last week, early season moss still covered key holds, forcing me to stop and take stock of my options hidden beneath the green carpet.

With a TR hung on that route, Mo and I moved over to Family Wall to repeat Toot 5.8, this time with Morgan on the sharp end. She led it without much drama, only pausing at the crux to quickly learn on the fly out how to lead slab when you don’t trust your shoes to hold—much smearing-the-bug ensued for that section of route. I didn't get a photo of Morgan clipping bolts, but Jaimi and Grace hopped on the route afterwards, and I think Grace had a good time from the looks of things.

Having climbed everything we wanted to climb, we were left with just a couple sub-5.10 routes. Have You Climbed Our Garbage Yet 5.7 and Can of Peas 5.7. Both were 3 bolts long and simply not recommendable (although the guidebook said as much). Still, it was nice to still have some easy route options to round out our day. We ended with Morgan TRing and cleaning the last of these two subpar routes, and leaving the crag just in time to catch a sunset on the hike out.

As we neared the trailhead, we arrived at the overlook that stands a head above the Snoqualmie Valley and stepped to snap a few more photos.

And finally, after soaking up the last little bit of sunshine, we retreated to the car for a nice hot meal out of the bins cold canned soup and lukewarm curry, using up the last of what little cooking gas we had remaining from last season.

Quasar Hunting at Snoqualmie Point Park

Before heading home for the night, we made a pit stop at Snoqualmie Point Park to visit the Seattle Astronomical Society. This evenings main event was searching for a quasar. The folks we talked to sounded very passionate and Jaimi, Grace and Morgan were eager to find what they were looking for, but I didn’t have the discipline to look away from the headlights on passing cars to maintain my night vision. You’ll have to ask them what they learned.

Instead, I was pushing an f/1.2 lens to the edges of its ability and trying to take photos of my friends by moonlight. This was the result:

Rainier Ave after dark

Once we were communicating mostly through yawns, Morgan and I decided it was time to return to Seattle for the night. On the drive home, we spotted a pop-up taco shop on Rainier Ave, and I had to stop for a couple al pastor tacos. They still weren't quite as good as the ones I ate in Tijuana with my cousins nearly a decade ago, but at this point I'm convinced my rose-colored glasses a painting that meal in an unfair light. Still, $3 is a pretty good deal, and I got the boy dinner (hot food, carbs, sauce) I needed to get a good nights rest.