Back to Basics

Desert rains usually give way to a magnificent show, even without seeing DMB at the Gorge.

I found myself looking at the forecast for all of Washington and everywhere was calling for rain. It’s getting to be that time of year again. Everywhere but Frenchman’s Coulee. At least the forecast was calling for a small percentage of a chance of rain there. To add, I’ve never been rained out there, and the one time that it did rain, it only sprinkled for about thirty minutes. Set on the location, a group of us dedicated ourselves to rock climbing for the weekend and headed out to find a spot to camp at the climber’s campground.

Upon arrival, we found the campground to be almost entirely full – the Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheater was bringing in quite the crowd. Following the dirt road to the back of the small canyon, we found a site that would host our small entourage of climbers and then some. We looked up at bright stars through clear skies and after some settling in, headed off for some night climbing. Donned with headlamps, we made our way to the base of some climbs and began to flake the rope. Turning our headlamps off we climbed by moonlight serenaded by the sporadic yells and droning sounds of concert goers camps who perfected their atmosphere by blaring  DMB. The massive expanse of night sky created the ambiance that we had set out to see, and it put on one hell of a show.

Morning. We all eagerly packed up our gear and set out to climb and hike. I was glad to be out, although a tendon injury was keeping me from rock climbing, I was able to explore more of this area that I had spent a lot of time climbing at. We hiked out to Echo Canyon and basked in the heat on the Sunshine Wall. While the first group got situated on the rock, a few of us set to hike down and back up to the top of the mesa. Desert hiking in eastern Washington can be absolutely incredible, but the key is weather. We had a perfect day, and the cloudy skies had kept the air cool. It practically never rains there.

Never say never. We watched the sheets of rain sweeping towards us, slowly encroaching like a monster swarm in a horror flick. The winds picked up and we joined the few other climbers in quickly making our way back to the campground. We pitched our tarps just in time, bringing in the last cooler as the first drops of rain began to fall. Not only does it rain there, but it can pour. Accompanied by the rain, we passed beer around while swapping stories and joking. We listened to the campground clear out as people either left or drove up the road to the concert. We grilled hotdogs and checked the weather. Previously where our neighbors had been camped was now the end of a massive double rainbow, stacked high in the sky. As the rainbow disappeared, the sunset soon replaced it. We entered the night with bonfires and conversation, we began to travel the campground. Soon a contingency of some fifty people were watching the night sky from the base of the nearest climbing area.

An early start the next morning allowed us time on the rock and trail before the rains came. This time the wind was strong.  We ran back to campground and waited out the squall, this time briefly. Our plans to leave were changed when I proposed that we go for a last hike. At least out to the waterfall area of Echo Canyon, and maybe the far mesa and the elusive rock island we could see with binoculars from Sunshine Wall. Agreement was unanimous and we began trekking and scrambling across rocky terrain and through gullies until we arrived at one of the grandest views of the Columbia River I have yet seen. Signing the geo-cache at the top of the rock island, we departed, having experienced a new adventure in familiar terrain.