Adventure #5 - Vantage Rock Climbing

October in the Pacific Northwest is always a bit of a wild card in terms of weather. I always tell people who are new to the area that you are bound to have fairly decent weather until Halloween when things take a dramatic turn towards winter. With the prospect of one last fall weekend for an outdoor adventure we packed up and headed to "Vantage" or the Frenchman Coulee climbing area just east of the Columbia River off I-90.

Vantage is one of my all time favorite places to visit in the spring and fall as it only gets a few inches if rain each year and can be a pretty sure bet for decent weather when Seattle is pouring buckets or socked in with fog. Both happened to be the case along with 40-60 mph winds in the forecast. 

Vantage also happens to be one of the places that inspired the green camping trailer. Kayden, my oldest daughter, and I came out here two falls ago with a group of friends and while she enjoyed roughing it with her dad at five years old, she absolutely refused to poop in a hole or use the un maintained honey buckets. Three times that weekend we drove 6 miles to the General Store in George for her to use the restroom...I was bound and determined to find a better camping solution after that weekend.

Since Vantage is literally in the middle of the desert and far from any established infrastructure, it is the most rustic of rustic camping experiences. No power, no running water, no protection from the elements, and until recently only a seasonal honey bucket. In Februrary of 2014 a group of passionate climbers were able to petition for and raise the funds to install a sanctioned toilet! (http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/Current/VantagePot.htm) Regardless, it is still very rustic and challenges the family camping experience...a perfect test to see if my creation was up to the task.

We arrived in the afternoon to sunny skies and the threat of rain on the horizon. I quickly deployed the pop top, setup the REI alcove that I picked up at the REI garage sale last weekend for $40 and waited out an hour of rain, that also brought a spectacular full rainbow!

It wasn't long before we had a number of visitors, especially with everyone returning to camp from climbing once the rain set in. Blue and his two boys were the first to come say hello. They were sporting a recently modified diesel Sprinter with full kitchen, custom bench seat that converts to a King size bed, and 300 watts of solar for the full off grid adventure rig. Van came by who happens to have a converted van (Ford E-350) that he is currently tricking out for climbing and maybe a trip to Tierra del Fuego with his journalist girlfriend when she gets back from Korea. And Paul brought his whole entourage by for a look. He is considering building a tiny house on wheels and was thrilled to hear my story and see what I had accomplished without formal carpentry training...he is in the same boat and hopefully my story inspires him to take the next step!

We finally got in a few climbs Sunday after an incredibly windy night, at least 30-40 mph sustained winds for a few hours, and they skies cleared so incomes deploy one of the solar panels to add a bit of juice back to the battery.

The girls lasted for a few hours of climbing until the wind and clouds returned and we retreated to our cozy base camp for grilled cheese and a few games of go fish.