Ramona Falls Trail Run/Hike

Buying a car this summer has given me a lot more choice in terms of my hiking destinations. It used to be that if I was going to drop the money on a Zipcar or a rental, it had better be an epic day, with alpine views and thigh-burning elevation gain. These days, I can do a relatively flat, heavily forested hike without any guilt about "wasting" my time and money. Yes, there's still gas, and I end up paying far more in the long run to own a car, but for me the cost is worth the perception of freedom.

Now I allow myself to enjoy trails like Ramona Falls, a completely lovely loop that I've heard of a million times, but only ever planned to do it as a part of a much longer Yocum Ridge excursion. I was impressed with the scenery from the drive in on Lolo Pass awash in fall colors and mossy FR 1825, all the way to pretty falls and back. The bridge at the Sandy River is out, but a downed log makes for an easy crossing. I ran most of the trail to make it more of a challenge, so just when the hike was getting boring (I know, too much beauty) I was done.

7 miles, super easy grades, great for a trail run!

A Lovely October Day in the Columbia River Gorge

I'm trying to be a bit more spontaneous when it comes to hiking, so when Ruckle Ridge seemed too sketchy to solo in the rain today, I headed wherever my little heart desired. Which usually means to the mountain.

On the way I jogged up to Mitchell Point, an easy, short scramble which ordinarily I wouldn't have bothered with. It was fun, and the colors in the Gorge across the river were incredible, despite my iPhone's inadequacy.

I stopped in Hood River after and bought some saltwater taffy made locally, and bit into a terrible locally-picked apple that tasted of pure sulfur. I don't even get what was going on there. Behind the orchards, Mount Hood was covered in thick layers of blue and gray clouds, making the parts that were visible even more ominous. I drove up its backside, pulling over randomly at the Tamanawas Falls trailhead. I'm not sure why I chose to do this little hike at 3pm, but I'm really glad I did. It was beautiful, and being so short and relatively easy I probably would've overlooked it otherwise.I really want to come back and do this one in the snow.

Now home, we're drinking a leathery, smokey cab and watching "Melancholia," which I think I'm in love with. I'm really happy. Also, this morning in Florida my mom won a custom-built bike in a raffle at a 5K to benefit breast cancer, of which she is a survivor. She deserves it.

Newberry to Helvetia Lollipop

With a three day weekend looming, there were only three things I wanted to do: bike, hike and hang out with my husband. He was only too happy to oblige two of those today.

Today's lollipop ride kicked my butt, which is not how I thought it was going to go from the way I zipped up Newberry Road from our parking spot on Sauvie. Yes, I said zipped. I even hotdogged it a little at the top, I was so proud.

We followed Skyline through Cornelius Pass once again, and then climbed up until the junction with NW Johnson/Logie Trail road and dropped down some super-fun screaming descents and rollers into Helvetia.

Dr B had wanted to ride to Dutch Canyon via Scappoose, but decided to save that for an earlier start and lighter bike. I was happy with that decision, though I had been in a great mood, and continued to enjoy the crisp air, roadside gourds and fall colors immensely up until the return trip to Cornelius Pass.

At some point I bonked, probably due to the candy corn for breakfast and the construction below our apartment at 8 a.m. Also, I blew my legs out early in the ride showing off my newly improved climbing skills. By the time we reached Plainview grocery store, I was in a dark place. Salty chips helped for the climb back up to Newberry and down to the car. Laughing Planet afterwards helped even more.

It was only about 25 miles overall, but a lot of climbs and scenery. I'm happy with how well I started out, now I have to work on sustaining it.

Go West, Noob.

Birdhouse in a Skyline Road garden.

Today's ride was cool and pleasant, pretty much the best weather you can ask of Oregon in October. The sun came out for us somewhere along Highway 30 and made for lovely, dappled lighting while climbing up muddy Saltzman. After Cornelius Pass we continued up Skyline, my first time riding out that far into the West Hills. I felt pretty tired by this point and was moving slow, but I grinded up to Rocky Point Road (chasing Dr B.'s fading silhouette), and then we both rocketed down through three miles of clearcutting, watching those hairpin turns for loose gravel. Hopefully next time I'll be feeling a little faster, but after Wednesday's hike and commuting to work a few times this week, I'm okay with today's snail pace.

Back at the car, we got stuck in a flabbergasting amount of traffic, reminding us why we have never gone to the Sauvie Island pumpkin patch. Afterwards, we made haste to Kenny and Zuke's, and picked up a bottle of wine and some dark chocolate, the perfect pairing for vegging on the couch and watching the Amazing Race. Basically, an ideal Sunday.

Dog Mountain Late Season Hike

The thing about Dog Mountain is that it's always challenging, sometimes boring, but then the views open up and you realize you've bested your fastest time and you're nearing the top. I can always judge where my fitness level is at by this hike, and today was great. My total time was less than two hours and twenty minutes. I admit, it was badass.

Full disclosure, I'd been watching the Ken Burns National Parks series the last two nights, so I think the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt was with me. He's kind of tough.

Coping With Winter

When the weather changes directly from summer to winter in Portland, I start sleeping late, reading more, and trying to come up with ways to combat seasonal affective disorder. The last few winters were relatively fine until about Christmas - I can't stand the holidays, and by that point there's usually been at least three solid months of gray and wet. This year was disappointing despite a lot of fun, since about half of my hiking to-do list remains unchecked and sitting for next year.

This year, I've resolved to start xc skiing, indoor tennis, riding Saltzman and the West Hills with Dr B., and bike commuting in the rain once or twice a week. I bought a hybrid-esque Trek (the bike snob in me feels weird about it) to replace the old commuter, and it's ready to go. This will no doubt be miserable, and the comfort of the Subie will tempt me every time I haul that thing downstairs, but I think I'll feel better overall. I'm always tempted by cyclocross, but realistically I just don't think it's going to happen. I have been making some progress with a diet, though, so I hope that I can hit the ground running in the spring, ready to take on challenges like STP in one day, RSVP and Tour de Blast. And there are those hikes I can't wait to do, including getting a true summit of Mount Adams under my belt, a visit to the Wallowas, the Enchantments, and Mount Baker. They're saying already that this winter will be like last one, and I honestly don't know how I'm going to deal with another short summer like this if so.

In the meanwhile, I'm watching a lot of Universal Sports television, surprisingly. The only televised sporting event I've ever enjoyed has been the Tour de France, but I've been tuning in to watch everything from triathalons to adventure races, as motivation. I'm also reading a lot of mountaineering lore, one of my favorite winter hobbies. Right now I'm reading The Ledge: An Adventure story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier. It's not the most well-written book ever, but I'm eating it up. Review to come when I've finished it. On the other hand, The Last Season, by Eric Blehm, was much more my style. Actually, it was much more John Krakauer's style, and the ending dragged on a little bit, but as a portrait of the uncompromising Sierra Nevada outdoorsman Randy Morgenstern, it was fascinating.

So the posts may be sparse around here for a while - it takes me a while to get motivated to do those rainy Gorge hikes, which, though beautiful have mostly become season-openers for me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go drink enough coffee to make biking over the West Hills in the rain seem plausible.

Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park

Hurricane Ridge is 17 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing, with relatively gentle grades to make it manageable. The shoulders are thin, but cars generally swing around you and travel at modest speeds. We stopped several times for pictures ascending from Heart o' the Hills, and actually spotted a handful of large mountain goats up on Klahhane Ridge, our first sighting ever! I was thrilled by how manageable this supposedly epic climb was for me (much easier than our mini Tour de Blast), and the sunshine, mountains and goats were over the top.

At the visitor's center, we took a long break and affixed a blinky light to my backside in case the fog rolled in - there are three tunnels about midway up, and I figured a little added visibility wouldn't hurt.

Even on a beautiful late summer day, the steep descent brought me nearly to hypothermia and was overall truly unpleasant - I can only imagine what it would feel like on a cool, rainy day. I was shivering too hard to get up any real speed, and I certainly couldn't hear traffic. It's safe to say that I was the coldest I'd ever been, which is kind of pathetic when you look at my sunny pictures below. I was really surprised at the cyclists I saw coming up after us with minimal clothing, but then they may have been hardy Canadians. Portlanders do tend to be pretty timid about anything but the mildest of temperatures.

Coming Next Summer

A trip to Glacier National Park is in the works for next year. It'll probably involve less backpacking and more day hiking, but it looks like a real possibility. I'm even more excited about that than I am about Cuba in the spring!

Sunrise, Part Deux

Headed out to one of my favorite places today, Burroughs Mountain on the Sunrise side of Mount Rainier. Still spectacular.

P.S., the road to Sunrise from Paradise is closed indefinitely. I conveniently ignored the signage recommending the Highway 12 route to Cayuse Pass, and ended up having to cut across on FS 51 to Packwood. It took forever, but was ultimately worth it. Oh yeah, and the snow on First Burroughs is pretty much impassable, and I forgot that you can swing around the back side. But whatevs.

McNamee -> Saltzman Big Kids Ride

I occasionally like to pretend that I'm one of the big kids, and am perfectly capable of riding the West Hills like they do. In reality, I struggle to keep up with Dr B, particularly in 90+ degree heat, as it was yesterday on our first of what will hopefully be many Sundays off together. After a leisurely pre-caffienation session, we climbed up Cornell to Skyline, flew down McNamie (where I finally got to see the Troll Wall!), south to Sauvie where we relaxed at Kruger's Farm with snowcones and grilled chicken sandos, and then grinded back up Saltzman towards home. I have to say that Saltzman was relatively gentle despite the rubble, and though I was beyond tired from the heat, it was so much easier than hateful Newberry Rd. All in all, a great summer ride. But am I ready for Hurricane Ridge next week?!

35 miles.