Saturday, 15-July-2023


The original plan for the weekend was a light and chill backpacking trip up to Elk Meadows – nothing heavy, but nothing too light either… that’s the joy of Elk Meadows, yeah? Simple and short backpack, but then if you’re still energetic there’s the whole meadow, on top of that trail around the ridgeline with all the fallen trees! Stages and levels to the hike galore!

But… we didn’t quite make it that far.

See, it turns out I’m not the only one prone to injury. Maybe that’s one reason Jess and I get along so well – we both break various bits of ourselves with concerning regularity.

This weekend was, unfortunately, Jess’s turn. An injured back, combined with an injured hip, made carrying a pack not the greatest plan out there. At least for Jess – I’d already packed my bag, and… well, no reason to leave it in the car, right?

The plan was simple and clean – we grabbed my traditional brunch at Pine State Biscuits, then headed to Elk Meadows.

“But Ben, didn’t you just say that wasn’t a good idea?” Quite right… quite right. But bear with me.

Then, instead of doing the full ascent, we did the simple part – the flat section up to the steep bit! A little over a mile each way, with basically no elevation change to speak of. Enough to get some healthy motion into the limbs (and some good training for me with the full pack), but not so much that it risks exacerbating any pre-existing injuries.

We hiked, we spent some lazy time relaxing by the rushing river, and I even flew the drone around a bit. Then, we headed back – made a nice dinner, relaxed, and… flew the drone around a bit! Nothing huge, mind you, just straight up far enough to get a nice view of the Portland Skyline, and even a few of the Cascades nearby!


A good day, and a lovely light hike.

(Pancakes from the next days breakfast included!!!)