Our Travels

Rainier

Sun, 31 May 2009 23:57:44 -0700

I learned the night before of a trip to Rainer for some skiing and snowboarding. Tommy, Angela, Mike, and I all rendezvoused around 9:45am at Paradise. It was a miracle in my mind considering we were supposed to leave Paradise at 9am and there is no cellphone service so we couldn’t coordinate at all. So we set out and we (sans Mike) made it to Muir Hut and boarded down. The conditions were very slushy and sticky, but it was still fun. Photos.

Hood Climb

Sun, 10 May 2009 08:53:53 -0700

Woo-hoo! first summit of Hood! Avy danager was extreme however colder than forecast temps allowed us to safely take the south side / old chute route where we roped into two 5 man teams and headed up to the mazama chute then traversed the summit ridge over to the true summit. I was feeling great, despite biking nearly 75 miles the day before and only 45 minutes sleep!! Coming down I started to feel my knee a bit so I glissaded down on a shovel and beat the group by an hour. Photo Gallery here. If the map hasn’t loaded below, wait a another minute..

Vista House Ride

Sat, 9 May 2009 15:58:35 -0700

The Vista house can be overlooked from I-84 because its so high above. Ellene and I decided to ride out to it for fun. I didn’t have my bike fitted properly and really tore my knee up. I almost couldn't bike home due to a knee injury. Per my GPS is was over 65 miles! The batteries died about 1/2 back in Troutdale.

Snow Day

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:19:17 -0700

Snow day was our day on hood to practice crampon technique, roped travel, and self arrest. Self arrest was the most fun where all 4 potential falls were done; face down head first, face down feet first, face up head first, face up feet first. Photos.

Mt. Defiance

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:17:23 -0700

Mt. Defiance was our last conditioning hike. We took the starvation ridge route up and practice a running belay with pickets. Then we used our compasses to set head of a bearing to the summit. It started snowing just as we reached the top. No nice views today. Photos.

Horse Thief

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:18:05 -0700

Horsethief was the most fun class of BCEP. We did our first vertical rappels and our first real rock climbing. There were several stations set-up around the butte for different skills. On a sad note the week earlier two people fell to their death here. Photos.

Ruckle Ridge

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:28:37 -0700

This was a fun hike with an intense climb to the ridge line then if was much easier. Photos.

White christmas

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 19:35:14 -0800

We got a little snow on the 15th and then several days of snow right before christmas. It had all melted, however last night we got another 2inches and rain and hail today! Here is the album.

Phoenix Trip

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:26:54 -0800

I had to go down to Marana for work and I did a 1.2mile hike up camelback mountain just north of phoenix in Scottsdale. 1,264ft elevation gain. Here are some a few more photos.

Pacific City

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 10:31:10 -0700

Bear with us, people, as we post the photos from our many summer trips. First up, Pacific City, where we spent a relaxing weekend with Mike and Melody’s friends at a little cabin on the beach.

Northern California

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:42:27 -0700

We loaded the pups in the car and headed off to Northern Cali for a nice weekend of camping and bike riding. We visited the Oregon caves, got locked out of the car in Eureka, cycled down the Avenue of the Giants with a screaming dog in tow, had our food stolen by an opportunistic rat king, and avoided talking to Paul Bunyan. Click the photo for more fun.

B.C. (no, not “Before Christ”)

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:22:04 -0700

After all of the Colonialist/Economic Crisis/Religious Right bull honky we’ve endured in our 28 years, Todd and I and have finally fled across the border to the saner Yukon territories. Kidding! We did take an extended weekend there a few weeks ago, though. We brought the bikes and stayed at a couple of B&B’s and had a marvelous time. Todd fixed his first bike flat! We toured the city by bike like the locals! We ate fabulous (and not so fabulous) vegan food! We braved the Grouse Grind! We ditched the car and cycled 32 km from the ferry to Victoria! We soaked up the culture at the Royal BC Museum! Click the photo for more, and watch for a video...coming soon!

San Francisco

Sat, 6 Sep 2008 07:54:38 -0700

We spent an extended weekend in San Francisco a few weeks ago and threw together a nifty little video. Why don’t you check it out?

Hand-made bicycles from Oregon

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 21:57:18 -0700

Check out the awesome display of handmade bikes on display at the Portland airport. If you come visit you can see these in person!

Homo Yard Sale

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:55:46 -0700

Apparently, they’ll have puppies.

Mississippi Street Faire

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:50:38 -0700

We walked the dogs down to Mississippi Street to take in the music, booths, free food, and blistering heat. As usual, Oliver was afraid of an inflated statue and Daisy took every opportunity for a dip in the kiddie pool.

Dog Mountain

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:10:43 -0700

This morning we embarked on Dog Mountain, a 6.4 hike with pretty wildflowers and spectacular views of the Gorge. The strenuous hike exhausted the dogs (shocking!) and Daisy had to be carried inside from the car. Photos are here.

Sunday Parkways

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:46:42 -0700

Today six miles of road were opened to bikers/walkers/strollers/skaters for six fabulous hours. Live music, food, and events were offered every couple of miles at parks along the route. Here we are enjoying the good times at the Peninsula Park & Rose Garden.

Nature knows no boundaries.

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:37:28 -0700

Poor Todd. Those irritating little puffs of pollen refuse to ease up. He’s currently propped up in bed, a frozen bag of corn attached to his face, miserable as all get out. What the photo doesn’t convey is that the meat of his eyeball is swollen up over his iris. Yes, it’s disgusting. And painful. Poor guy.

Carfree Culture

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:50:30 -0700

This depaving project happening two blocks from our house will transform a parking lot into a community garden. It’s a little thing I like to call sheer awesomeness. Photos of the completed project coming soon.