Monthly Archives: August 2023

Photography, Lavender, and dogs!

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Saturday and Sunday – 07-July-2023 and 08-July-2023


It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to do volunteer work! When Jess asked if I’d be up for helping out with a fundraiser for a dog rescue group… well, even if I’d been doing tons of volunteering, I’d be jumping at the chance to work with dogs and photographers!

Now, to be clear – I wasn’t the photographer on this event. Nor was the event for the dogs at the shelter – instead, people brought their own dogs, and paid to have portraits taken of said pups by a professional photographer.

What did I do, you ask?

Well… I manned the main booth, helped keep arrivals placated and in order, and… yeah, that was it. I mean, I also got to play with a ton of dogs and watch a professional photographer at work. I probably should have led with those. They were absolutely awesome!





Both days (Saturday and Sunday) were at the same spot – a lavender farm a bit North of my apartment, who asked that they not be named as it’s a private farm that (supposedly) was once overrun by entitled Instagrammers who kept destroying the crops.

Kind of disappointing, but also kind of unsurprising, unfortunately.

Anyways, it was awesome. We hung out, photos got taken, and dogs were played with. It was awesome – and afterward, Jess and I had awesome meals!



Both days (Saturday and Sunday) were at the same spot – a lavender farm a bit North of my apartment, who asked that they not be named as it’s a private farm that (supposedly) was once overrun by entitled Instagrammers who kept destroying the crops.

Kind of disappointing, but also kind of unsurprising, unfortunately.

Anyways, it was awesome. We hung out, photos got taken, and dogs were played with. It was awesome – and afterward, Jess and I had awesome meals!



As a quick bonus – some similar flower photos from Jess’s new house! And pictures of her cats, Watson and Bennett!



And, last but not least, a quick link to the shelter:
https://www.familydogsnewlife.org/

A hike out to Paradise Park – Finally!

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Friday, 07-July-2023


I’ve wanted to hike to Paradise Park for a long time.

I don’t know exactly when I first heard about it, but let’s just all agree that it’s been quite a while. I mean, I legitimately can’t count the number of times that I’ve hiked out the Timberline trail toward the park, but I’ve never quite made it all the way there… always turning around ahead of time, the furthest I’ve been was out to the bottom of ZigZag canyon once or twice.

I couldn’t tell you why I decided to hike out on this specific Friday, but… it felt right, you know? I’d made the decision as a snap judgement on Wednesday evening, and fortuitously mentioned it to a friend / coworker on Thursday – turns out, he’d been really wanting to get out of town but didn’t have a strong thought on where to go… perfect chance, we felt.

I met him in the morning, after grabbing a quick pair of bagel sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. We started onto the trail sometime a little bit before mid-day, and trucked pretty quickly through the first part of the trail.




It was lovely – great conversation, good quiet interludes, and amazing views. Unsurprisingly, quite a few of Mt. Hood itself… but aside from that, we had a ton of great wildflower views too – the meadow wasn’t quite into full bloom yet, but it was definitely well on its way.

Sunshine, soaking in the river for a bit, and continuing on… it was a really great day. Quite a few miles in total, and quite a good time had.

Dinner was ordering in from a slider restaurant near my friend’s house, with delivery arriving literally as we pulled in. Can’t ask for much better, let me tell you.

Klimbing at Klinger – Fourth of July!

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Tuesday, 04-July-2023


I’m actually getting a fair number of rock climbing trips in this summer!

Not as many as I’d like, mind you, but… Frankly, I’m okay with it. I’m happy with the backpacking, and the climbing that I’ve gotten to do has been exceptionally fun and solid. No one will hear me complaining, and the 4th of July was no exception.

I was worried it’d be slammed – I mean, everyone has the 4th off, right? But this is Oregon, and you never can tell… But it was beautiful out, and warm, and quite dry… Ahh, who knows.

Bri and I took stock of options and picked a crag that we figured would be the least likely to be inundated with climbers – a spot on the Eastern side of Mt. Hood, far from Portland, called Klinger. We got going early, met up at her place, and even got ourselves breakfast sandwiches on the way. We drove, found the last spot at the parking area, and started in.

“The last spot at the parking area” doesn’t bode well for our heroes, but keep in mind – this was a parking spot that’s shared between climbing and a nearby trailhead… and it only held eight cars or so.

In the end? No one else nearby. We ran into maybe 8 people the whole time, none of which were climbing near us, so… I’ll consider it a win.



What did we climb, you may ask?
Hanging Chad – 5.7, Sport, Lead!
Hot Pockets – 5.8+, Sport, Lead!
Blue Grouse – 5.9, Sport, Lead!
Felsschlupfer (Rock Wren) – 5.10d, Top Rope
GSR (Good Sport Route) – 5.7, Sport, Lead!

Yeah – I felt strong. Lots of leading, though I was sad that we didn’t get any trad routes in… but I felt strong – even doing that 10d was pretty solid!


By the time we left the crag, we were the last car in the lot. We headed back, snapped some pictures of a cool little shrine we’d found in the woods, got a photo or two of Mt. Hood looking beautiful, and then I made a glorious dinner.

Not a bad 4th, huh?