The trip to Washington/Oregon was great. Highlights were hiking Mt. Rainier's trail leading to Muir Campground.
Being followed by a massive impermeable white/grey cloud, we hiked to appx. 9,000 feet where we heard a booming avalanche. Camping not being our objective for the day, we began our descent. Rainier is beautiful and frightening. Afterall, it is an active volcano.
We had a blast hanging out with a friend in and around Seattle, then drove to Cannon Beach, Oregon. We observed Haystack Rock from the beach and from the viewpoints around Ecola State Park. We hiked the Clatsop Loop Trail (a portion of the Lewis and Clark Trail) from Indian Beach then headed to Portland.
The city of Portland is practically empty. It's as if half the population has been abducted leaving only a few tragic hipsters behind. It's weird. There are very few tall buildings and it's really, really clean. The coolest thing about Portland is the lite rail that runs through town and the wide bike lanes. What is not cool about Portland are the streets with bus only lanes. This means there is only one lane for cars SO, if you aren't walking or riding the rail, you are S.O.L.
From Portland, to Mt. Hood, we only had time to hike the Mirror Lake Trail.
The view wasn't nearly as spectacular as we thought it would be so we continued to the viewpoint on Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain. Pretty soon, every Tom, Dick, and Harry showed up but that was alright. There was plenty of view to go around.
Here's a photo of Al and Mt. Hood. From this viewpoint, on a clear day, you can see Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and obviously Mt. Hood.
We left Portland and headed back to Seattle for one last night of fun. We saw Juliette Lewis at the El Corazon. Juliette is beautiful and wild and an okay singer but we couldn't figure out if her craziness was real or an act. We decided she was trying too hard and resigned ourselves to the bar. I didn't bother trying to take a photo because those who did got shook down by the ogre-sized slobs (or staff) at El Corazon.
All in all, it was a lovely trip. Hiking is my favorite outdoor activity. I love it, I live for it. It renews me, it keeps me going. I am so grateful for these places, and for the desire and ability to explore them.
Click if you are not bored by scenery photos.
Happy Trails ~ :)
