Tag Archives: Portland

Feb19

A walk in Forest Park

Posted on February 19, 2024 by perfectusvarrus

Saturday, 06-Jan-2024

It started at Pine States Biscuits. Because obviously I love Pine State, and need my biscuits and chicken.

I’m at a crossroads, in life. 2024 rolling around has kicked off some major changes – things I’ll get to in detail, here in this blog, when the time comes. Suffice it to say that I’m excited, terrified, manic, and crashing. It’s a lot, and it’s made getting out of the house to go on trips rather challenging.

When that happens, we do our best. I try to be gentle with myself, and reward small achievements. Like, for example, getting out of Wilsonville and going into Portland for a simple walk in the park.

Forest Park is… unique, among parks. The Wildwood Trail, the one that I picked, is 29.5 miles long. I’ve mentioned it in this blog before, but not for quite some time… and, of course, I wasn’t aiming to hike the entire trail. No – instead, today I was aiming for a much more modest (yet still quite respectable) 9 miles.

I parked, I walked. It rained a bit, and I put my hood up. I planned on stopping for a snack… but then the Sun started setting earlier than I’d expected (thanks, rain) so I pressed onward. The Sun set, my ring glowed creepily on my hand, and I made it back to the car.

I had a solo picnic in the passenger seat.

It was lovely – the rain pattering off the soft-top roof, the car lights passing by… it was excellent.

I got pizza for myself. I grabbed a few language books from Powell’s books, in preparation for the changes coming, and relaxed. I drove home, proud that I’d gotten out of the house and finished an adventure… no matter how small.

Jan11

An afternoon and evening on Cannon Beach

Posted on January 11, 2024 by perfectusvarrus

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Saturday, 11-Nov-2023

After a day hiking out in the Snow on Mt. Hood, I felt the need to switch it up, and embrace one of the many excellent attributes of Oregon. I felt the need to go to the beach.

The morning found me brunching at a new spot in town, which has the best BLTs I’ve had in years, sipping a latte and getting myself ready for the adventure. I wasn’t running; instead, I was aiming for a later start than normal with a goal of finishing my walk after dark had fallen on the beach.

Not quite sure why I had this goal, but… you know what, we embrace the gut feelings that we’ve got, and sometimes we find some excellent adventures along the ride.

This time was one of those times.

I got to Cannon around… 2:00, maybe? With approximately three hours left before sunset. I mean, less… but three hours of light, at least. My goal was to use all that light up walking outbound – then, I’d turn around once the sun was down, trekking my way back in the dark.

The plan went smoothly. The tide was out (not a surprise, that was why I went on Saturday, vs. Friday or Sunday), so I had an endless beach surrounding me to walk on. The sand was well-packed, the views were beautiful, and I even flew the drone a bit to get some pictures of myself.

The sun dipped down, then fully sank below the horizon, and I turned back to town and warmth.

The hike back was glorious. I’ve spoken about hiking after dark before, how your whole world condenses and focuses down to a small pool of warm light, shining from a headlamp into the darkness… this was absolutely one of those times. The endless beach surrounding me, the light fog rising up from the warm sand into the cold night air, the immense distance between surf and full shore… I legitimately couldn’t tell where the sand ended and the sky began.

My world wasn’t just focused into the thin ray of my headlamp… it devolved and unfocused into a well of grey. The sand, the horizon, the sky… I couldn’t tell the difference. I had to check my GPS every so often to make sure I was still moving, still heading toward my destination… still on Earth, even.

It gave me space to think, to disconnect, and to let my thoughts wander.

I could have strayed further toward the surf, or to the shoreline, to get a handrail for my senses… but I chose not to. I was enjoying this sense of limbo, of slowly walking through the infinite plains of purgatory. It lasted long enough for me – The lights of town started shining through the fog just as my mind was starting to miss the stimulation of the world.

It was lovely.

Jan10

Seeing the sunset at Elk Meadows

Posted on January 10, 2024 by perfectusvarrus

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Friday, 10-Nov-2023

As it should, our story begins with breakfast. Pine State Biscuits, fried chicken, and coffee.

We proceed to the trailhead, where once again it’s a Mustang… and a couple of huge, lifted, offroad doom-machines. I mean, sure. If you need a doom machine to drive in the snow… us New Englanders just drive. Not to brag or judge, of course…

Then, I dove into the woods.

It’d been a while since I’d gotten out into the snow, and this was just what I needed. Cold air, cutting crisply into my lungs, with that unique type of deep silence that only snowfields bring.

While there were the two other vehicles at the parking lot, the trail held tradition and I didn’t see either group while I was hiking. I had the mountain all to myself, it seemed, and I took full advantage of that to soak in the quiet, take two quick drone-flights, and simply let my mind wander as long and as far afield as it felt the need.

I hiked back in the dark – night fell quickly, so close to the Solstice, but I didn’t mind. I had my headlamp, my warm clothes, and the emergency gear to see me home (or to stay safely on the mountain) if needed. I lived in my warm little puddle of light, illuminating from my headlamp, and forged my way back to the car.