We see each other a few times a year, we catch up, and we appreciate each others quiet company. We take a few hours to reconnect, and I head back to my world and Elk Meadows resumes its quiet contentment on the side of a beautiful mountain. The rivers run, the snow deepens, and everything is right.
I don’t often camp out at Elk Meadows in the winter – I’d love to, don’t get me wrong, but unfortunately the trailhead is snowed in this time of year, and the only parking area nearby is day-use only… and it’s well frequented enough that I worry about getting towed instead of just ticketed. Day trips are the name of the game in the winter.
Which is a bit of a bummer… but it means that I don’t stay overnight, and drive home… which also means that I can get dinners on the drive back. At… ohh, say the Timberline Lodge, as a specific example relevant to tonight’s story.
I… uhh…
I hiked Elk Meadows. And then had dinner at the Timberline Lodge.
That’s basically it. The rest, as they say, are just details.
One interesting detail, though… I ran into a guy backpacking! Right on the river… definitely an interesting spot, but it was neat to run into someone else snow camping. Not something I see particularly often, which made it a bit memorable.
Let’s see… it’s been just about two months since my last excursion to Elk Meadows. Not too bad! Means I’m finally branching out, at least a little bit, right? Maybe?
Ehh, you know what? It’s all good – I love Elk Meadows, and it’s a perfect hike for me. A nice drive, a simple walk, and beautiful views that never fail to stun the senses and alight the mind. Just… yeah. Wait ’till you see these.
So July 4th was a bit weird this year… The world isn’t doing super great, if we’re being candid, and I know a lot of folks are skipping July 4th due to a distinct lack of independence and freedom… But you know what? It’s a day off work, and I don’t usually go in for big celebrations or fireworks anymore anyways.
I mean… don’t get me wrong, I do miss fireworks, but… After so many years curled up with Ollie in the closet comforting her against the explosions and scary sky noises I’ve kinda grown accustomed to not going out. Combine that with the whole pandemic and everything and… yeah. I’m okay with laying low and going for a hike instead.
I met up with my friend Lexi, quite spontaneously as it turns out. She’s been in the States for quite a while, but somehow her Australian origins meant that she’d forgotten that the 4th is actually a holiday… dangers of working in Academia, I guess? People don’t tell you that you don’t need to go into the lab that day, when there isn’t really a scheduled work schedule?
Anyways. We were texting as I ate my brunch, and made a spur of the moment decision for her to join in, and for us to get some miles under our boots together.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day – with just a bit of clouds scraping over Mt. Hood as we ascended up toward the meadow. Lots of stops for photo ops, and lots of good time chatting and enjoying the weather and good company.
We even saw a snake, and tons of tadpoles!
Yeah. Hike. Hard to type a story about it… we explored, walked around, visited my favorite campsite and lounged at the shelter for a bit. Then hiked down, enjoyed more views and photo ops… and even hit up the Timberline Lodge on the way back into Portland!
Since Timberline didn’t have quite a… extensive selection in terms of food (in short – COVID’s hit them hard, and all they had were a few appetizers), so instead I headed back home for dinner. Dropped Lexi off in Portland, said goodnight, and then braced myself to brave the July 4th traffic on the way home.
Because, you see dear reader, I have the benefit of hindsight to know that the highway would be jammed due to the fireworks. Not because of people driving… no. No, that would make sense! Instead, the highway had become a parking lot for people watching the fireworks on the river.
Which… seems… slightly unsafe, to me, but then again I am very prissy about “not parking on highways” and “using roads to drive on”.
So I got home, thankfully no worse for wear, and made tortellini. It was delicious.
Don’t worry, this all happened after my Mother’s Day celebration!
It’s been a while since I’ve had a good reason to pull out all the stops and have a fancy picnic. I mean… yes. I know that I’m worth it, and that I deserve having awesome picnic, but… you know, it just seems off to do it for myself. Picnics need to be shared for them to be really worth it.
I had been chatting with Ash for a while, and we finally found a time that worked for both of us to meet up for a nice hike in the woods. And since it would be right around lunch time… I offered to pack us a lunch. Let me tell you – when I offer to pack a lunch, I offer to pack a lunch.
What did we have in store?
Well. Sit yourself down and let me brag: – Fresh baguette, picked up earlier that day – Brie cheese – Apples, two variety of sweet & crispy – Prosciutto – Aged & smoked Gruyere – A bottle of wine, with glasses and a corkscrew (we didn’t end up having any of this… but I get credit for schlepping it on a hike) – A bar of dark chocolate – A thermos of hot cocoa… a home-made mix of light and dark chocolate, melted into steamed milk
Yyuppp. I threw down.
The rest of the adventure? I mean, it was a hike, yeah? I got to the trailhead early, took some time to read my book, and then we headed in. We went in the Elk Meadows trail (Which was completely lost in the snow… so we ended up tracking on GPS as best we could), and stopped for lunch at the Newton Creek trail junction.
We ate, we chatted, and we headed back. Grabbed a secondary meal at the Timberline Lodge, and then I headed back into Portland.
