Adventure

My Explorations

First Camping Trip With a Toddler

Yeah, I was pretty hesitant at first. Camping with a 10 month old seemed like misery, but I also really wanted to see some mountains. To walk in alpine meadows. To look at the stars. I think a lot of people fall into the trap of not doing anything once they have children, or perhaps […]

Breakfast on the Bay

I’m looking for ways to inject small bits of adventure into our daily lives — fighting normalcy and routine. Today’s little adventure of sorts was to eat breakfast differently. Normally we eat breakfast on the couch, occassionally at a table. If I had a patio or deck, I would probably eat out there a lot […]

A Solo Mt. Laguna Hike

Mt. Laguna is quickly becoming a version of the Gorge for when I was in Portland. The scenery is nowhere near as spectacular as the Gorge, where waterfalls, cliffs, mountains, and forests greet you, but Mt. Laguna does offer a fair number of trails, and it works well in situations where I know I want […]

Lena Lake in April

First Hike with a Small Child

Last week: walking through cactus, yucca, and a sparse desert landscape to a hidden palm oasis. This week: walking along a rushing, clear, and cold river, through tall trees and a totally lush and verdant understory. Quite the change. We did our first real hike with Mason, who is currently 7 months old. We have […]

Exploring Cuyamaca State Park

I really didn’t have a plan today, other than explore some of the maze of trails at Cuyamaca State Park. I ended up creating a nice 12.5 mile loop, that took me up near to the top Cuyamaca Peak. I’m probably one of the few people to to get that close to making it to […]

Biking and Running Tecolote Canyon

I need adventure. I haven’t been able to do any large adventures recently, so for now, small, one-day explorations will have to do. These aren’t necessarily always about exploring new stuff, but more like exploring new ways of doing the familiar. Today’s little exploration was to run Tecolote Canyon. I’ve done this run several times […]

October 14, 2011

Three Days in Glacier National Park

One early fall afternoon, much like this one, I was randomly looking over the Amtrak route map. I quickly realized that it will take residents of Portland, Seattle, and Spokane directly to Glacier National Park. Even better, the time spent travelling on the train doesn’t really cost you any time–you can leave on a train […]

September 2, 2011

Will Backpack for Baked Goods

It used to be that I saw backpacking as purely a way to enjoy the backcountry and a chance to escape to wilderness. It was an opportunity to leave civilization behind and reconnect with the natural world that we were inhabitants of until only very recently in human history. It wasn’t until the Pacific Crest […]

August 26, 2011

A Return to Backpacking

It has been far too long since I’ve been backpacking. You would think that as someone who runs a hiking and backpacking website, that I would get out far more than I have in the past year, but the universe has conspired against me and kept me from overnight backpacking adventures. It wasn’t totally my […]

August 19, 2011

Wallowa Mountain Backpacking Loops

The Wallowa Mountains in Northeast Oregon are known for their beautiful granite peaks, clear lakes, and deep valleys. What makes the region even better, is a wide variety of loop trips that can easily be created to sample the wilderness. The hikes listed below require three to six days to complete. Swamp Lake – Wallowas […]

The Makings of an Epic Trip: Exploration

It had been circled on my map for several years. Up a small, trailless canyon was a waterfall that I had reason to suspect was at least mildly great. It was a beautiful, early spring day, perhaps one of those first days with a hint of truly warm summer heat in the air. We had […]

Favorite Columbia River Gorge Hikes

While the Columbia River Gorge is a great place for a hike any time of year, April, May, and June could very well be the optimum season for a little exploration. The weather is warming up, the trilliums and other wildflowers are blooming, the waterfalls are running hard, and the muted hues of winter are […]

What I Didn’t Expect Along the Pacific Crest Trail

How fast time goes by. It was four years ago tomorrow that we arrived in Campo, California to begin our six month hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (aka, “the PCT”). The trail was most definitely beautiful; the stark, subdued tones of the southern Californian desert, the jagged, whitewashed spires contrasted against the intense blue […]

Great Backpacking Loop Trips in the Northwest

It’s time to begin planning some epic summer backpacking trips! While getting out, strapping on a pack, and hiking is generally always a good time, I particularly enjoy loop trips – there’s just something satisfying about not having to backtrack while continually seeing new territory. I’ve hiked some fantastic loops, and I know I have […]

Why I Hike

We have been hiking all day, going on 12 hours of walking; through valleys, over passes, along creeks, through meadows, and now along a grassy cliff edge, with views stretching to the mountains to the north, which we had been walking through for the past several days and are now receding behind us. I feel […]

The Untapped Coast Range

The Oregon Coast Range is often ignored by hikers. The large swaths of logged areas, roads, and other intrusions by man keep us away, thinking that we aren’t really missing much. Yet, whenever I drive to the beach, I am always impressed with the rugged scenery that blurs through my vision as I speed hastily […]

The Best Portland Spring Hikes

It’s that time of year when the skies are about to clear, we’ll get a few more dry days, and the temperatures will warm enough to make us seriously consider wearing short sleeves and shorts. It’s still too snowy in the mountains, but in the lower elevations the trilliums are beginning to bloom, leaves are […]

Lessons From the Pacifc Crest Trail

This article was originally written in November, 2007, right after our 6 month, 2650 mile hike from Mexico to Canada. Frigid river crossings and snow traverses, unending ascents over high mountain passes and soaking rain permeating through layers of waterproof clothing. Our Pacific Crest Trail adventure gave us plenty of uncomfortable situations, but the uncomfortable […]

January 20, 2010

Rain or Shine: Rewards for the Stubborn

Sometimes you just have to do something, regardless of whether it’s a good idea or not. We had a busy holiday season of parties, get-togethers, and family time, which was nice, but didn’t leave too much time for weekend adventures. Couple this with the fact that it’s occasionally quite difficult to line up a dry […]

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