Growing My Appreciation for the Great Outdoors

2006 was a great year. It was certainly a year of ups and downs–and for me, a lot of firsts.

In July, I summited my first mountain–Long's Peak–in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. The original purpose of the trip was to see Ween and the Flaming Lips at the Red Rock Amphitheatre, which is right outside of Denver. The trip grew to include a few days spent backpacking in Rocky Mountain NP.


That's me at mile 2 on the Long's Peak trail with about 40 pounds of shit strapped to my back. Read the whole story.

I have a special place in my heart for America's National Parks. Lucky me, this September I enjoyed a second visit to the Moab area, including Arches NP, and added another park to my pin map–Crater Lake NP, which is located in Central/Southern Oregon. See an aerial shot of the lake/caldera.


Crater Lake at Sunrise–a great time to find some solitude, stillness and quiet.


Crater Lake was formed after the collapse of an ancient volcano, posthumously named Mount Mazama. This volcano violently erupted approximately 7700 years ago. That eruption was 42 times as powerful as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The basin or caldera was formed after the top 5000 feet of the volcano collapsed. Subsequent lava flows sealed the bottom, allowing the caldera to fill with approximately 4.6 trillion gallons of water from rainfall and snow melt, to create the seventh deepest lake in the world at 1,932 feet.


You can fish from the lake shore, but no boating, kayaking or swimming is allowed in order to preserve the lake's exceptional clarity. The clarity is mainly due to its isolation from streams and rivers. There is no incoming stream to bring any organic materials, sediments, or chemicals to pollute the lake. The record clarity of Crater Lake was measured at a depth of 41 m (134 ft) in August 1994.


We made some friends–small and large–on the trail down the lake shore.

2006 was also my first season of serious mountain biking. The east coast biking I've done has been alright, but the most amazing rides in North America are definitely out west. My favorites so far are Porcupine Rim in Moab and the McKenzie River Trail in Oregon's Willamette National Forest.

Since moving to Oregon, I have been exploring in every which direction. Thanksgiving weekend was spent soaking up the length of the Oregon coast from Oceanside all the way south to the California border. My first trip to Redwood National Park in CA took place on that trip. :) Since October, I have hiked most of the trails in the Columbia River Gorge–both the Washington and the Oregon side–some of the trails multiple times to see how the rain changes things!

It seems no matter where you turn, there's a really awesome state or national park around the bend. Speaking of Bend, there's a really cool state park in Oregon called Smith Rock.


Smith Rock is popular with rock climbers.


You can hike to the top and plop down for a front row seat to watch the climbers. Off in the distance you can see the Three Sisters and Mount Jefferson.

I am definitely looking forward to some warm and sunny spring and summer days. I love the winter here, but I miss short-sleeved shirts and the sun on my snoot. :)

When this winter settled in, I got a combination of new and used gear and started my first season skiing! It's SO fun! I have a season pass to Mount Hood Meadows, which is about a half hour drive from Hood River. Most of the people I work with have a pass, so it's always easy to find someone who wants to roll up there for at least a few runs. I have discovered the beauty of the mid-mountain bar. ;)

My favorite purchase of 2006 was definitely my snow shoes. Between skiing and snow shoeing, I haven't been more excited for it to snow since I was a kid! It really makes the winter fly by.

So, 2006 has been filled with new activities which have all been really fun–kayaking, backpacking, biking, exploring the gorge, skiing, snowshoeing, etc. I even visited three more national parks and a few national forests!

Coming up in the next few months, I'll be making my first tracks in some of Washington's parks, including Mount Rainier NP and Olympic NP and also making my first trip to visit my mother's sister, my Aunt Rose, in Port Orchard, WA. She and her family are just a ferry ride away from Seattle!

I'm also planning spring trips to the Wallowa's in eastern OR and north across the Canadian border for a late-season ski trip to Whistler, British Columbia.

I am a LUCKY DOG!

:)

Join the PBR Snowshoe Club!

After dealing with the overcrowded trail at Trillium Lake last week, I was on the hunt for something with a little more solitude for this past weekend. I searched around online a bit and decided on the Ice Cave/Natural Bridges loop, which begins at the Atkisson Sno-Park near Mount Adams in WA.


My smallest friend in Oregon, Carley, got herself a shiny new pair of snowshoes for Christmas and this was her first time out!


After about a mile on the trail, we arrived at an intersection with the short spur trail to the Ice Cave. The crampons on the bottom of our snowshoes were key to descending the snow-covered stairs to the mouth of the cave. We de-snowshoed and got our headlamps rolling. Below is Carley posing pre-exploration. You can see her little snoot on the left.


The Ice Cave is filled with stalagtites and stalagmites of ice! Despite the slick footing, we made it pretty far back into the cave. It was fun to turn all of our lights out and let our eyeballs adjust.


After playing around in the horror movie set, we climbed back out of there to go shoosh around in the snow some more. The snow at this elevation near Mount Adams definitely isn't as nice as the snow at Government Camp, but having the place all to yourself is definitely a decent trade.


Carley climbs out while Tom shoes-up.

We went off-trail for a bit to make some fresh tracks and headed for the Natural Bridges Loop Trail. When we reached the natural bridges, we were starving and in desperate need of a rest. I'd say that a mile on snowshoes is at least two miles on your regular old feet.


We enjoyed some hot soup and flask action.


Carley was bootless so we had to rig up her sneakers.

Tom decided it would be fun to roll a giant snowball down the hill next to one of the natural bridges.


Tom starts small and Carley poses on the bridge.


Everyone is having a ball, hardy har har.


If you think this is big and funny...


Just look at the effort here. :)


1-2-3-ROLL! The grand finale included a giant snowball at the bottom of the snow-covered trench and a round of PBRs at Logs in the little town of BZ Corner.

A Blue Bird January Weekend

This weekend was marked by sunny blue skies and fun in the snow. Friday night we had a little movie night with some friends from Summit (work). Saturday morning I met up with some friends to head to the mountain for some skiing. It was only my fourth time on skis EVER. But, I'm having a great time learning to shoosh down the mountain. Most of the people we know have a season pass for Mount Hood Meadows, so you can always find someone who wants to head to the mountain, even on a weekday for night skiing.

This morning, we slept in and went for an afternoon snow shoe at Trillium Lake. The trail to the lake is about a 45-minute driver from Hood River. The main town nearby is very small and is called Government Camp. Very inventive name. ;)

The main trail to Trillium Lake is very well-worn and busy, so we went off the trail to make some fresh tracks. Snow shoeing and skiing make winter very fun. :)

Blue skies and smilin' trees.

The day I left for my trip home for Christmas with my family, Tom and I went snow shoeing around one of the campgrounds in Mount Hood National Forest and I took some photos of Tom in the snow on the picnic table.

As you can see, we've gotten a bit more snow. :) Yes! There IS a picnic table under all this snow!

After hiking in about three miles, we reached Trillium lake. I made some chili and chocolate chip cookies last night. There's NOTHING like a hot meal in the snow with a view like this, of our friend, Mount Hood.There's also nothing like chocolate after a long hike. There IS such a thing as DESERVING chocolate. :)

The drive from Triullium Lake back to Hood River demands your attention. The smilin' man likes it.Mount Hood is closer AND BIGGER than it may appear.

As you drive North on 26, Mount Hood greets you with a great view at a few choice spots.

See ya, Hood! The search for those guys who got lost up there in December won't happen until summer, when the snow recedes.

I've never seen skies with so much color and mood before experiencing Oregon skies. You really appreciate the way the sunlight changes everything.

As we get closer to Hood River, we get a peak at Mount Adams in Washington. From our bedroom and kitchen windows, we can see the summit of this mountain.

And it's soon Monday again.

Under the Weather

I came down with a nasty cold/flu early this week. Lunch-time naps, Nyquil, the whole bit. Not fun.

Friday night there was a farewell evening of merriment for Gary, one of the guys I work with at Summit. I barely stayed seated vertical at work all day Friday, so partying was out way of the question.

My hopes of skiing this weekend were dashed when I woke up Saturday still feeling ill. Luckily, the conditions were less than desirable. Webcams of Meadows looked harsh and it was blowing 40. My main squeeze at Summit and my bunny slope partner, Carley, texted me on Saturday to let me know that I didn't miss out on much. That made me feel a little better about being cooped up all week/end.

To my dismay, I woke up with a sore throat and neck glands swollen to the size of golf balls again this (Sunday) morning. Rats! I was determined to do SOMETHING with my weekend daylight hours. How about an easy snowshoe at Government Camp? I heard that the power was out in Parkdale, so getting anywhere near the mountain just wasn't a good idea today.

"How about a hike?", Tom says, trying to shut me up. YES! So, a hike it is.

We decided to do a hike that we've done once before–the hike to Wahclella Falls. The beauty of this trail is that there seems to be a payoff around every corner. The short trek begins right along Tanner Creek, which is a gorgeous creek with lots of green to set it off–rock formations, forest, moss. There are several remarkable waterfalls with nice little wooden foot bridges.

Tom admires Tanner Creek.


Standing on the bridge that crosses Tanner Creek, you can look up to your right and see where a huge landslide tumbled some colossal boulders into the creek. This landslide occurred in the late 1970s, so the rock monsters are covered with brightly-colored moss with a few small trees squirting out in spots.

We went off the trail a bit and climbed up to a barely-there waterfall that feels like someone turned the spigot off.


To prove that his new waterproof jacket is worth its weight in gold, Tom decided to stand in the main flow of the barely-there fall. "See ma. I done good. It works just like I said."

Tom under the weather:


To get the full-effect of Wahclella, which is actually two-tiered (and we WILL find a way to the upper tier), we climbed down to pool-level. This waterfalls is bubbling and frothing and MEANS BUSINESS. The conversation on the rock went like this:

Tom: "How much money would it take for you to jump in there?"
April: "I'd jump in right now! Look how cool it is!"

Then Tom proceeded to tell me how if I jumped in, I would get sucked under the waterfall and drowned. We could have saved a lot of oxygen if he would have just said, "Don't jump in there for any amount of money, because you'll die." ;)


The drive back to Hood River was truly scenic with the Columbia River super blowy with 4-foot swells and a towering, full rainbow right down the middle of the gorge. You can't beat that with a bat.

Eagle Creek on Ice

We have hiked Eagle Creek numerous times, once before to the six-mile mark at Tunnel Falls, but never in 30-degree temperatures. The cold and rain make the Eagle Creek even more beautiful and definitely more treacherous. We're always safe, though. :)

We took a spur off the main trail around mile 4 to get to a hidden waterfalls that I had an itch to see. I'm glad I was able to talk Tom and Clarkie into going back there with me. It was like walking through a storybook. The waterfall pours into a rock bowl and creates a ton of mist. When the temperature is low enough, the mist creates a coating of ice on EVERYTHING. Truly amazing.

Here's Clarkie braving the whipping wind and soaking mist for a photo op.

Tunnel Falls thunders down the cliff. The trail is cut through the rock behind the waterfall. See the little tunnel?
Some frozen plantlife. Tom said it reminded him of the Dozers from Fraggle Rock. hehe.

Tom and Clarkie admire Tunnel Falls. I took this shot through the edge of the waterfall. It's just ROARING.

Tom and Clarkie pose on the rock ledge and hurry me along. It's time for some grub!
Nothing beats a hot meal on a cold day. :)

Christmas 2006 in Shenandoah, PA

First things first. Holiday travel is not as bad as you might think. Christmas snuck up on me pretty unnoticed this year, so when I realized that I was going home to Pennsylvania in less than a day, I was real excited!

My flight departed PDX around 11:00PM the night before Christmas Eve and flew overnight to Newark, NJ. I was bummed that I wasn't flying into Philly, since Tom and I just saw "Rocky Balboa" and smiled at the Philadelphia flavor. But, it was only a 2 hour drive for my mom and dad from Shenandoah. I got zero sleep on the plane. As soon as I stepped onto the aircraft, I was smacked in the face by stifling warm air with hoagie stench wafting. Disgusting. Unfortunately for me, and of course, the hoagie-eater was sitting RIGHT next to me. After housing the stinky sub, the woman beside me spent the whole night doing crossword puzzles with light beaming in my eyes.

My mom and dad were waiting for me when my flight arrived. The drive back to Shenandoah was nice. We gabbed and stopped for some breakfast. :) When we got to Shenandoah, I was real excited to find that my little buddies had made me a welcome home banner with balloons and everything!


As soon as I got home, the holiday festivities were ON. My mom made a big shrimp dinner and we visited some family. We also enjoyed treats! Here's Damian working a sucker.

My sister, Melissa, made some boilo that made the rounds with us too. It's in her EYES.

Sierra got a little piggy that she carried around with her all Christmas Eve night. She ended up barfing on it while she was waiting for Santa Claus, so a short run for the new pig. I win the award for bravery, since I shared her little bed post-piggy-puke. That's love. ;)

My mom, Sierra and I pose in front of my mom's tree and Christmas village.

I got Sierra and Damian the cutest little Camelbak Skeeter's for hiking. The liked drinking out of my "tube" when I wore my pack this past summer. Now when they visit Oregon they will be well-hydrated. Sierra said, "I want chocolate milk in mine, auntie april." Yeah right. Sierra liked her pack so much that she wore it while she opened all of her other presents! :)

Tom's smiling Oregon t-shirt was a BIG hit. Sierra was near tears when she saw that we all had one and she didn't. Kid's sizes coming soon!

Damian loves anything with wheels.
Sierra tries her first wax soda bottle and decides she doesn't like it after her first swig.
The day after Christmas, I took my mom, dad and sister to see "Rocky Balboa" and then we went to the Montfort in Hazleton for some beers. It was a really GREAT time. :)

One of the things that was pretty cool about the drive from Newark to Shenandoah was catching my first view of the new wind mills that were installed on a mountain near my parent's house. We are authorized personnel, of course, so we scored a private tour with the Superintendent who is working on the wind farms in PA and has worked on other wind farms in Oregon and other places across the U.S. Really nice guy.

We actually just started driving down the "Private" road to check out the wind mills. Some dude in a pickup was flashing his lights at us, so we stopped. He said, "Can I help you ladies with something?" My mom said, "We sorta took a wrong turn." The dude said, "I haven't heard that one before. You here to see the wind mills? Would you like a tour?" We answered with a resounding,"HELL YES!" There are 13 wind mills on this hillside.

After our private tour of the windmills, outside and inside, we visited some more relatives and then decided to go bowl a game. We originally wanted to go snow-tubing, but there was NO SNOW because of the 60-degree weather PA has been having. Here's my mom getting her bowl on:

My mom and dad are real troopers who must REALLY love me. We had to leave for Newark International at 2:30AM. Ugh. The lines were much worse on the way home. The baggage check and security lines were LONG and SLOW-MOVING. I ran to the gate with a dude who was trying to make the same flight. We got there with 15 mintues to spare. Whew. I rested most of the way back to Oregon. I was really excited to see my good friend, Mount Hood.

Mount Hood makes me smile.
As we approached Portland, I could see the cloud cover blanketing the Oregon greens and blues.
I was definitely pooped, but excited to be back home. :) Tom's friend, Clarkie, visited Oregon over new years and he was arriving a few hours after me. I knew that I would have to get my party hat ON. :)