2018 Ramblings

 

Somehow, somewhere, sometime, I got off track keeping this thing up to date. Not for lack of exploring or wandering, just not sitting and writing about it. This is almost a Year-In-Review but not quite. More just an update on 2018 ramblings. 

Happy Dory smile

I’ve spent a lot of time closer to home, wandering for hours with the mongrels through local parks, taking the time to get to know our cityscapes. Oddly this is something I haven’t really done before. Between Vancouver and Washington, we really are blessed with a fantastic network of trails close to the cities. I’ve seen deer and coyote, eagles and hawks, rabbits and beavers, herons and storks and egrets and woodpeckers, all within 20 minute drives of my house.  

mossy winter trees in Lacamas Park (Vancouver)

god only knows what Dory is stalking (Thousand Acres)

Pepper is HOT if she is willing to lay in swamp water

Dory looking photogenic

Andy and I have been trying our hand at crabbing, which is both an entertaining and delicious hobby. Sometimes painful too, especially when a very large Dungeness is able to pinch the ever-loving snot out of you thru the gloves. (I ate him first). 

Beaches and sunsets.

Fall wanderings. 

Hikes, big and small. 

The very, very lovely Clackamas River trail

quintessential Oregon forest

Lots of dog friends. 

Pepper, Maya and Dory along the Sandy

Cute Shenzi tail (Clackamas River Trail)

Navin is just STUPID HAPPY about water

 

Maya thinking hard about *trying* to catch a bald eagle

 

Good friends getting married at Silcox Hut, one of my favorite places on Hood (it was weird to be in dress clothes at 7000’). 

Exploring the southern Oregon coast more, complete with kayaking (more on that later).

Cape Arago (before the dead seal incident of 2018, to be discussed later)

And now, into winter, snowshoeing. 

into the White River Canyon

White River Canyon. I can imagine this is an awful slog in summertime

Navin is an Osprey advertisement

Dory ears

Best buds checking out Hood (Barlow Pass snowshoe)

My husband is a dork

Twas a good year.

Walking thru Heaven

EAST CRATER TRAIL-JUNCTION LAKE-PCT LOOP

Indian Heaven Wilderness, Washington

~9.5 miles, ~900 feet elevation gain

The temperature has dropped 15° since I left Portland this morning. Fall has definitely arrived. Time to put on some pants. 

proof that I'm wearing pants

Today isn’t about spectacular views or losing myself in the mountains. I just need some time to myself. Sometimes, the best days are spent alone for me.  

dew and fall-colored huckleberry leaves

Starting out the from the East Crater trailhead, I make my way up mild and well-graded trail to shallow, sandy-shored Junction Lake. The day threatens rain that never appears, instead (take that, weatherman!) the sun wins the battle sometime after midday, warming me as I snack on almonds a couple of miles further down the trail near Lemei Lake. Initially muted in the gray light, the meadows are suddenly brilliant in their fall colors.

the sun arriving at Lemei Lake

 

I float through the miles, wandering off trail to other wee lakes. Pepper is my only company, making me laugh as she unsuccessfully stalks birds, finches, waterfowl and squirrels. I see not a single soul all day, though I was honestly prepping myself to possibly meet my first bear- I saw more fresh, berry-filled bear scat (ten total) through these meadows than I have ever seen (my natural repellent apparently won out though…No. Bear). 

not a bird, but she did catch a pug-sized mushroom

Clear Lake

experimenting with a crappy phone camera on the PCT

my favorite of the day: Bear Lake & pug photo bomb

 
Still a new area for me, Indian Heaven will most likely turn into a favorite fall stomping ground. It’s not about big views, expansive scenery or the gloriously barren alpine, but rather the extraordinary peaceful quality that pervades this plateau with its myriad of lakes and meadows.

muted fall colors in the meadows, Lemei Rock in the distance