October 3-15, 2021 we spent mostly around Wrinkled Rock Climber’s Trailhead. It was here at this time we met Wes and Ann, two climbers and mountain bikers from Colorado. We also met Scott, Gabby and Logan the Pug. Most days we would go our separate ways and come together in the evening to share stories in the parking lot over dinner. Kyle sent his short term project, a route called Slang during this time! I tried to lead a number of routes, mostly failing but also learning. Each October there is a Beans and Biners event at Wrinkled Rock. It’s at this event that we met Mike Engel and Vernon Phinney. It was such a fun experience to meet two pioneers of climbing in the Black Hills. We had read their names so many times in our guide book it was a pleasure to meet them in person and share stories about the same routes!
Time to move on
We had previously arranged to meet up with Robb and Alex in Idaho during their elk hunt this October and that timeline was coming up quick. There was a snowstorm headed straight for the Hills with 5-19 inches of snow predicted, so we decided to make our way to Salmon, Idaho. That night we hit the road, hoping to get ahead of the storm. Mother Nature had another thing in mind for us. Maybe an hour on the road, we ran into the storm, Kyle drove us through the night and through a blizzard. Somewhere in Montana we stopped at a rest area to get some rest. The next morning the storm was a little better, but the damage to the roads had been done, iced over and slick! There were so many vehicles in the ditch from the night before and earlier in the morning. We even witnessed a vehicle spin out and head straight for a ditch, narrowly missing a collision with an 18-wheeler. I was so thankful Kyle was driving and taking it slow and steady.
Idaho Hunting
Eventually we met up with Robb and Alex who were staying at the Ram’s Head Inn, Alex quickly filled her Mule deer tag and treated us all to a backstrap dinner, delicious!
Robb and Kyle went out to fill Robb’s elk tag and I went with Alex to the airport, she was on her way to vacation with family after her hunts. Alex and I got the word en route to the airport, Robb got his bull elk! When I returned to the Ram’s Head that evening Robb and Kyle were just bringing in their last load, a local with a side by side helped them load out the elk, it was an all day job. I had picked up Dan at the airport after dropping Alex off; Dan was in town to start his elk hunt and Robb was going to help. Kyle and I thought about sticking around to help on another hunt but decided to head into town for our 6 year wedding anniversary and treat ourselves to a sushi dinner. We found a great little restaurant in Pocatello, Idaho.
Idaho Climbing
We drove out to Massacre Rocks to try our hands at rock climbing in Idaho for the first time! The road out to Massacre Rocks is a winding, dirt road, basically a 4-wheeler road through cow pasture (yes with cows even) I had to get out to open and close a number of gates for us to maneuver through and after about 1 hour we reached a parking area and camping spot close to climbing. Once parked, we grabbed our gear and went searching for the climbs. We finally found an area with a few good classics and we got a few routes in but then the rain came.
Back to the van we trudged, made dinner and spent the night. The next morning we drove out, past the cows, the gates, the tumbleweeds and headed toward our next rock climbing destination, City of Rocks.