The strength of a great partnership is knowing that I won’t be second guessed by Rob for saying that I think we need to throw in the towel. He has total confidence in my judgment just as I do in his. Even though he is by far the stronger climber, I can see in his face that it’s just not in him today. The decision is quick and decisive. We stash our gear and head to Curry Village for pizza and rest. We’ll get an early start tomorrow and be done afternoon. As usual, talk is cheap and the Astro Tour is just about to show us her true colors.  

Rob picks out a beautiful spot in the backpackers’ campground right by the river. We’re sound asleep by 9:00 as it starts to drizzle. A few drips on the head from my haggard old Mega-Mid seem like a minor inconvenience as I drift in and out of consciousness. We are all sleeping like babies when around midnight Rob notices there’s a stream running down the middle of our sleeping area. So we abandon ship and wade over to the bathroom where we lie on the urine-encrusted floor and try to fall back asleep without dwelling on the multitude of communicable diseases we are sure to be catching.

As daylight dawns, the mighty Merced River is entering full flood stage. We realize quickly that no climbing is happening today, and that we need to get out of the Park… fast!  Rob’s pants have mysteriously disappeared with the raging torrent, so he sprints back to the base of Astroman to retrieve our gear wearing a rain jacket and tighty whities. Fortunately everyone else in the park was still asleep or he surely would have been arrested for indecent exposure. In the meantime, Robbie and I tear down our camp and go retrieve the car. 

As we pull into the North Pines campground to pick up our food from bear box #22, the rangers are frantically trying to arouse the slumbering tourists in their 45 foot motorhomes to inform them that they are being evacuated. When we finally get to our box we stare in disbelief as it is completely under water (keep in mind that these things are nearly 3 feet tall). The great flood of 2005 has us charging out of the park with our tails between our legs. Housekeeping is flooded, El Cap Meadow looks like a lake, water is streaming off of every formation in sight, and we feel fortunate to make it out of the Valley in one piece. 
Next stop, Bend, Oregon.