What I've Been Up To

Running! I've been trail running 3 times a week on Leif Erickson with my long runs on Saturday hovering around 7 miles. I hope to work my way up to a half marathon by the spring, maybe something like the Timberline Half at Timothy Lake. Something scenic and mountainy, to keep me motivated and in my comfort zone. After that, I don't know. I want to run a marathon someday, but I have quite a roster of Washington hikes to knock out next summer. One thing at a time.What's most important is that I'm happy, and always moving forward.

Anam Cara Winemaker's Lunch

I think I could finally get used to these Oregon winters - it's just that I've been heading West instead of East when the weather turns. Private lunch through work in the winemaker's home. Just wonderful.

Winding Down

A few pics from the last couple days. Lovely Ramona Falls recliner hike with the hubs, and then two kind of crappy hikes. Here's the nice one:

The next day, I was on my way to Devil's Peak fire lookout but was thwarted by a work crew on one approach and an epically terrible road on another approach. I'll take my Subie over some shit, but only if I've made a huge effort to get there. Not for a four-mile fire lookout hike. I headed over to Timberline Lodge instead, to scout out Illumination Saddle. At this point, the lifts have long stopped running and the hike is a slog through dirt. I've gotten a little intel from other hikers who were kind enough to email some warnings about crevasses and rockfalls, so I truly didn't expect to get anywhere near the saddle, plus it was well past noon. I hiked up to the top of the ski lift and just considered myself lucky to have a mountain instead of a gym membership. But for the first time I noticed how depressingly wasted the south side of Mount Hood is. Dirt instead of meadows, equipment laying around everywhere, and shrinking glaciers. It's kind of sad.

Today I intended to drive to Alpental to hike a hopefully emptier Snow Lake/Gem Lake trail before the season closes, but at 6 a.m. I was still tired and at 8 a.m. the clouds were dishearteningly thick. So I slept in and hiked to Grassy Knoll. That was a bad idea - the road is hideous and endless, and I finally scratched up my poor, abused car. The hike is tedious and ugly, particularly in October at the end of a dry spell. Seemed like prime cougar territory, and I was completely alone. On the drive home, I consoled myself with a butterscotch milkshake in Cascade Locks, and still felt pretty darn good about my life lately. But I really am a little bored with the Gorge...I can't believe summer is ten months away.