On our way to Lowes this morning to pick up a few supplies a coyote came scampering out of an orchard onto the road in front of us. I slowed down and honked, trying to scare it back to the safety of the trees, but he just startled then continued crossing the road. Hopefully he made it back somewhere safer by now.

I finished laying tile in one of the bathrooms (the one without a sponge for a floor), though I still need to do the grouting. Mary painted over the baby blue walls with “Chowder”-colored Valspar paint from Lowes. Kind of a light beige even though it looks white in this picture. Much improved all around.

I’ve been catching up on old Money Pit clips. I really don’t remember this movie being exceptionally funny when I was a kid, but after revisiting on YouTube there were some good moments (Tom Hanks’ cackle at the end alone is worth the view). Some highlights.

And sometimes you just shouldn’t poke around, unless your prepared to feel like Tom Hanks in The Money Pit. I’m waiting for the bathtub to go crashing through the floor. Hi there Pandora!

Our kitchen has returned to some semblance of order, meaning we again have access to a stove. For this, I’m thankful, because Frosted Mini Wheats for every meal was starting to get a little old.

Our sunny weather has continued, though it was definitely cooler today. The dogs and the trees don’t seem to be complaining too much though.

And hey, cooler weather is better for doing projects around the house anyway. Like tearing apart a bathroom for example. I figured since I had so much practice on the kitchen floor that I might as well take a crack at our two bathrooms. The seal around the base of the toilet in the bathroom pictured below was slightly leaking anyway, so that was a good enough excuse to start the destruction.

Just a stunner of a day. Perfect hiking weather and an empty wilderness. Yesterday afternoon I drove up Highway 12 with a friend with the intention of climbing Kloochman Rock (pronounced just how it’s spelled). All the Forest Service roads were still blocked by snow, but we were able to park near the closest Forest Service road turnoff and hike in through the snow and ice. Everything shaded by pine trees was still frozen solid, but after about a mile and a half of hiking we reached the sun-exposed talus slopes at the base of Kloochman Rock and enjoyed some drier footing.

Pictured below left was our first view of Kloochman looking up at the northwest corner. After scrambling up the talus a bit you could turn around and get a clear view of Goose Egg Mountain to the west.

Kloochman Rock is a monolith partially made up of towering pyroxine-rich andesite columns, remnants of ancient volcanic activity in the area. Kind of has that same sort of Devil’s Tower look. The rock here is super rotten though, coming off in chunks in your hands. At higher elevations and to the east the columns disappear.

This a view toward Rimrock Lake. If you look straight above the frozen part of the lake you can see the snow-covered Goat Rocks peaks in the distance. Saw a bunch of weathered trees like this, full of crazy swirls and patterns.

We clawed our way up the talus in several places, resulting in views like the picture below left, before eventually making the decidedly imprudent decision to try to free climb up the area shown in the picture below right. It didn’t look that bad until you got about half way up and were clinging to a crumbly piece of moss-covered rock with thirty feet of exposure below. I guess it probably would’ve still been rated a class 4 scramble, but the loose rock kept things pretty adrenaline-charged. But, no blood, no foul.

Supposedly Kloochman Rock is what inspired William O. Douglas (of the US Supreme Court and the William O. Douglas Wilderness) to write:

When man knows how to live dangerously, he is not afraid to die. When he is not afraid to die, he is, strangely free to live. When he is free to live, he can become bold, courageous, reliant. There are many ways to learn how to live dangerously… The mountains that traverse this country offer still a different way, and one that for many is the most exciting of all. The mountains can be reached in all seasons. They offer a fighting challenge to heart, soul, and mind, both in summer and winter. If throughout time the youth of the nation accept the challenge the mountains offer, they will help keep alive in our people the spirit of adventure. That spirit is a measure of the vitality of both nations and men. A people who climb the ridges and sleep under the stars in high mountain meadows, who enter the forest and scale the peaks, who explore the glaciers and walk ridges buried deep in snow—these people will give their country some of the indomitable spirit of the mountains. – Of Men and Mountains

After surviving the loose rock scramble we topped out near a narrow trail running east to west below the next set of cliffs and followed this up through another talus field up to the summit (4536 ft). A few patches of snow, but mostly clear with tiny flowers springing up in the reddish sand. Peaking down the north side gave views of ample snow and dramatic drops. Clear views of the upper third of Rainier.

We hung out on the summit for about twenty minutes, wandering the length of the spine, chugging water, and enjoying the views, before skittering our way back down the trail. Below: a campsite shelter on the summit and one cold snow angel.

On the way down we stuck to the trail until we could find a safer path to slide down, dropping all the way to the base of the talus, before picking our way back toward our entry point. The fading sun splashed the columns in warm saturated light. Mesmerizing.

The fruit trees in the backyard are starting to wake up. Hopefully the past few weeks of cold nights didn’t do them too much damage. Mary and I finished grouting the kitchen floor tonight. Four hours on hands and knees. Far too tedious, I’m glad it’s finished though.