Pac NW 2008 Part I

We'll see how far I get into recounting some of Michelle and I vacation adventures. Photos accompanying this account are available in my gallery.

We visited Mt. St. Helens with Adam, Ildiko, Russ, and Lisa. Once again, we drove to the Johnston Ridge Observatory and started out by learning about the famous boom that formed the modern features. It was cold and foggy. Colder than we expected (several of us in shorts and t-shirts, the high for the day was 55 I think) and way cloudier than expected.

Nonetheless, we persevered, layered all the clothing we had with us, and set out to do some hiking. (Map here, trails list here.) We took the Boundary Trail to a fork where we turned onto the Truman trail.

Previously, we (Adam, Ildiko, and I) had taken the Boundary Trail out to Harry's Ridge Trail for a great view of Spirit Lake and the mountain. However, the fog was thick and we wanted to try something new. So we struck out on the Truman trail, hiking toward the base of a mountain we could not see.

After hiking about 5 miles, we realized we would have to turn back without getting to the point where 207 (on the map) splits to 207A. Nonetheless, we were rewarded with occasional glimpses of parts of the summit through the clouds - which was more than those back at the observatory got. So I was happy with that. It looked way bigger than it appeared previously when we stayed high on the ridges. I definitely plan to go back with a damn tent so I can spend a lot more time on those trails.

We drove back to Portland, did some more grilling at Adam and Ildiko's - great conversations with only a little teasing of my awesome movie tastes.

Monday morning, I took a bus to downtown Portland for a work meeting that went exceptionally well. Michelle and I then wandered a bit downtown, admiring how they mixed trains, streetcars, and buses for public transit. I introduced Michelle to Powell's Books - a insanely huge bookstore that is several stories over a whole city block.

In the afternoon, I spent a few hours working on my laptop and had another meeting with some folks interested in building a community network. Following that, we had another good evening with Russ and Lisa, eating grilled hamburgers and spaghetti (my idea - yumminess and carbs for future climbing) but everyone else thought it an odd combination. So it goes, it is my vacation, I like to try new things.

The next morning, Adam and Ildiko took us to French's Dome, a sweet crag near Mt. Hood in Oregon. If Ellis is still reading this, you are right, the climbing there is wonderful. Unfortunately, it was also crowded - more so than any other time Adam and Ildiko had visited it. But we still did 4 routes and enjoyed each of them. Climbing photos.

The plan was to head into Washington State that night and set up camp in Leavenworth for 2 more days of climbing. But we were rather tired and instead chose to hit up an amazing taqueria in some hipster location of Portland and turn in early to get an early start the next morning for Washington.

That is where I'll leave it for now - having forgotten much, I'm sure, but I will try to continue soon. I'm stuck because I desperately want to finish Stephen Hunter's Point of Impact - the book that Shooter was based upon. It has me hooked.