Wilsonville, and the Portland are in general, don’t tend to get much snow. Once or twice a year we get a bit of a storm, everything shuts down, and I get the chance to smell the beautifully cold air of the snow from the comfort of my own neighborhood.
This year was no different – As the middle of January came around, we got a storm, and everything (except my office, for some reason…) shut down. I ended up working from home, and so was able to appreciate the impressive sheet of ice that covered the world around me. It wasn’t as intense as that one ice storm back in… 2021, maybe…? but it was definitely a good chance to strap on my crampons and go out for a winter adventure!
Pancakes included, obviously. Along with a bite of gloriously home-made ramen, and a cup of coffee from a lovely little cafe nearby that also braved the storm!
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!!!)
Wow… How long has it been since I’ve done an international trip? How much longer since I’ve gone international solo?
Let’s see. The last international trip was to Scotland, right before the Pandemic hit. When I had that really bad flu… right before the Pandemic. With COVID. That presents sort of like a flu. That I’ve somehow avoided getting, as if I’d already gotten it and gained an immunity… Okay we’re not going down that road the last time I went abroad was January 2020. Three years and change.
The last time I went on a solo international trip? Well, that’d be New Zealand, back in 2012. 11 years.
It’s high time I explored.
I got accepted to Trinity College’s MBA program back in November, and accepted the offer that same month… though I delayed admission until 2024, to give me some time to finish up in Oregon and save up a bit more money. While talking to the admissions officer though, I learned about a Business forum put on by Trinity in March – a perfect opportunity for me to stretch my international adventure legs and see if Dublin would make a good home for a year or three!
I planned, I packed, and I set off on my first solo international trip in over 10 years…
(Please note that these are my raw notes from the trip. I’m proofreading them for obvious mistakes… but they’re still short-hand. Because life is busy, and blogs don’t need to be perfectly edited.)
Saturday, 11-Mar-2023
A day of hiking! But… in the city, so… does it count as hiking? I vote yes, since it was like… so long. Literally, checking the map, I did about 10miles (16km) of city walking.
I’ll be candid here – my legs did not feel great afterward. Definitely feeling the sore shins up in this biz, and definitely looking forward to a few days of downtime this coming week. That’s next week though; for this week, I had city walking to go on!
I started with pancakes and crispy bacon, because that’s a good way to start a big hiking day. Then picked up a suitcase from a nearby department store to schlep all my loot back to the States in, and then had a bite of lunch at the apartment. Like… a banana, I think, before heading to a coffee shop for a rest before the main leg of the hike – heading to the Irishtown Nature Park by the coast!
The hike was beautiful – I worked my way through old city architecture into modern apartment buildings, then back into small Irish cottages by the water. I didn’t go quite as far out as Katherine and I had the previous day… which makes sense, since I was walking.
It was long, it was beautiful, and it was a great chance for me to enjoy the movement and spend a bit of time alone with my thoughts. I put on a bit of music every once in a while, but wasn’t really consistent with music vs. quiet… I let myself slip between the two as I felt fit, enjoying both the freedom of the quiet and the comforting blanket of familiar songs.
It spattered rain intermittently, and soon enough I was walking along the damp trail along the harbor and into the greenery. The rain was actually appreciated, as interesting as that sounds, since it really tied the whole adventure together – It kept me cool, and fleshed out the feel of Ireland… While helping give some interesting lighting to the various scenes that I found myself gazing on.
It wasn’t a short walk, by any stretch of the imagination, and by the time I was back in Dublin center I was absolutely ready to put my feet up and nap for the rest of the day… even after a coffee and croissant on the walk back. I’m an adventurer though, and I still had a bit more excitement planned – so instead of a nap, I had a slice of pizza, a good glass of water, and made my way toward the final distillery of the trip – The fourth largest distributor in the world, the legendary Jameson Distillery.
I’ll be honest – Teeling was better. Maybe that’s because the Teeling tour was just three of us, vs. 15 at Jameson… but the fact that the Teeling Distillery is a working distillery and not a museum made a pretty big impact… at least, in my mind. Either way, it was still lovely and gave me ample opportunity for some excellent pictures (and a chance to buy yet more whiskey to carry home), so I’m not complaining in any sense!
After finishing up the tour, I made my way home for some well-earned rest and relaxation… followed by a quick adventure out to the nearby restaurant for some live music, Irish stew, and the chance to just kick back with a Guinness and read a bit of my book.
