Monthly Archives: August 2017

Aug23

My first post-injury multi-pitch!

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My first post-injury multi-pitch!

My first post-injury multi-pitch climb!  Also, outdoor climb!  Also, seconding a trad route!  Lots of stuff!

Monday, 03-July-2017

 

I’d finished work the week before… a 2-year contract had ended, and Hood River was nearly behind us.

I was nearly done with PT, and my knee / leg was feeling really good.  Sarah and I had been running a lot, and my endurance was getting back up to where it should be.

So how better to celebrate that whole section of life ending?  A climb up the first route that Sarah and I had ever done sounded just about right.

Rooster Rock – a two-pitch route, with two variations that you can choose from.  Before, we’d started with a 5.6 sport route… but this time, Sarah decided to take the Trad line up, which went at 5.4

So our line up was:

Pitch 1, 5.3 Trad, Led by Sarah

Pitch 2, 5.4 Trad, Led by Sarah

 

And we crushed it!!!  Sarah led fearlessly and without hesitation, and I followed strongly and quickly.  She placed gear, and I cleaned it.  We did pretty damn well, if I do say so myself.

Honestly, I think the best part was before and after the climb itself.  When we were packing up, and re-organizing our gear, it felt like all the good times distilled into this one moment.  This one section of time when we’re sitting at the base of the climb, setting up or taking down gear, either reveling in the energy of the pre-climb, or relaxing in the tiredness of post-climb.

Aug22

Hiking in Forest Park – a light warm up hike!

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Hiking in Forest Park – a light warm up hike!

Taking a stroll through Forest Park

Saturday, 24-June-2017

 

At this point, we’d already hiked Dog Mountain… a pretty heavy hike, by most metrics.  It had hurt though, and I’d been out of commission for a few days afterward.

This time, we were going to take it a bit easier, and ease me back into hiking with a simpler trail.  The Leif Erikson trail, to be exact.

 

So… we hiked it.  Not the whole thing, mind you.  Just 8 miles, give or take.  Still a good walk, but since it’s nearly flat, it was more of a relaxing stroll than a full-on hike.

That’s kind of it.  It was beautiful, and gave us some really good views of Portland.

Aug21

Hiking Dog Mountain! First major post-injury hike!

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Hiking Dog Mountain! First major post-injury hike!

Sunday, 11-June-2017

 

I hiked Dog Mountain with a dog!

This was a pretty brutal hike, I won’t lie.  In retrospect, probably a little too brutal for my poor healing knee.  But there was no permanent damage, and it gave me an excuse to chill and relax for a few days afterwards, to recover, so I won’t complain.

What were the vital statistics, you might ask?  Well.  I’ve got you covered:

Length: ~8 miles.  Websites say anywhere from 6 to 7.5… but let me tell you.  I’ve got the GPS track to prove it.  They lie.

Elevation: 2800 ft.  This one… pretty accurate.  It was rough.

Beauty: tons-a-pretty

The hike was awesome, even with the toughness in mind.

Sarah had been watching Instagram, keeping tabs on the status of the meadows at the top of the mountain.  Because, if you haven’t heard, the meadows at the top of Dog Mountain are why you hike it, and why June is the ideal time to hike.  Why?  Well, in June the wildflowers bloom.

 

We started up the trailhead at 6:30 in the morning, just after sunrise.  It was cold, and bleak, and we were a little sleepy from the drive from Portland.  I was cranky, because one of my breakfast protein bars had vanished.  Seriously.  I still haven’t found it.  Ollie says she didn’t eat it… but I know the truth.

The walk up was pretty solid – Sarah and I chatted, Ollie ran, and we made it to the summit meadows by 11:00 or so.  Just in time for the sun to finish burning off most of the clouds, and for the flowers to come into full bloom.

 

A bit of lunch refreshed us – doubly so, since Sarah had packed a surprise block of cheese and log of summer sausage.

 

Then down the mountain we went, passing by the massive throngs of Portlanders who were making the pilgrimage to the Instagram capital of the area.  Seriously… we saw so many people posing, re-taking, and battering their photo buttons.  I mean, that’s kind of awesome, since it means people are going outside and getting into nature.  But still – it’s fun to watch people repeatedly posing, trying for the perfect shot.

The hike down was the hardest part… arguably one of the toughest trips since my accident.  The first few miles were fine, but once we got to the last mile and a half, the elevation really started getting to me.  Sarah and Ollie held true, and stopped with me every few hundred yards.  My trekking poles took the brunt of the battle, and slowly but surely we made our way back to the car.