Upper Coeur d’Alene River National Recreation Trail, Murray, Idaho
Finding ways to feel good in the gap of space between where you are and where you want to be is everything. I was supposed to go on an epic trip to the San Juan Islands on the Washington coast, courtesy of J Go. We were going to stay at her family cabin on Lopez […]
Olympic Coast North: Shipwreck Coast, Olympic National Park, Washington
If walking on Legos for 20 miles sounds fun, I have the hike for you. I have never been angry while hiking until this adventure. Actually, that is not true. There have been a couple of times that Barbarian Scientist’s family did something so offensive that it caused anger, and we went angry hiking until […]
Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Bend, Oregon
Newberry National Volcanic Monument, in the Deschutes National Forest, near Bend, Oregon, is meant to protect the Newberry Volcano. The Newberry Volcano is an active shield volcano that covers over 1,000 square miles. The monument has two visitor centers, a full calendar of park ranger-guided tours, camping, a cave, waterfalls, and many hiking trails. I was […]
McKenzie River National Recreation Trail, Chapter Two
Four days, 12 women and children, 14 miles of rafting, 27 miles of hiking, loaded with laughter and some tears. Memories were made. Trailkat and I scouted out this trail last year. I wrote about that here. It was really fun, and really really icy, and really really really cold. Like last year, I scheduled […]
Spokenya 7k Run, Spokane, Washington
I wasn’t going to write about it, but I keep thinking about it, so here I am. Running is on my list of no-nos, which launched me into depression. I’ve started bicycling, hoping to find a happy replacement for running. But there’s no such thing. Nothing else gives you that runner’s high like running. That’s […]
Spokane River Loop, Riverside State Park, Spokane, WA
I was supposed to be backpacking for two days on Mount Hood. It sure seems like many of my sentences begin with “I was supposed to.” Sigh. I was especially excited about this trip. This trip was to a place I have never been, with people I have never met. And I had nothing to […]
Trail of Ten Falls, Silver Falls State Park, Oregon
May our misguided spirits always be bulletproof and our mad-hatter minds be drunk on imagination forever – Erin Van Vuren. I’m convinced that to not give up when learning to live with chronic illness, I have to be the most stubborn I’ve ever been and “drunk on imagination forever.” I freely shed expectations put on […]
Dog Mountain and Spirit Falls, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Add professional fucking hill climber to my fucking resume, thanks. Especially if it gets me places called Dog Mountain with views of Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens, and there is a fancy 10 am summit cocktail. Dog Mountain, in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, is approximately 6 miles with nearly 3,000′ elevation […]
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Following our backpack trip to Eagle Creek Recreation Trail, J-Go suggested we go to Cannon Beach, Oregon – a place she loves and that I’ve never been to. It was a two-hour drive from the trailhead. The drive is beautiful, winding through incredibly lush coastal forests almost the entire way. We camped at a private campground […]
Eagle Creek Recreation Trail, Cascade Locks, Oregon
Many months ago, while all adventurers in the north were aching for winter to clear off trails so we could go back to the wilderness, J-Go and I had made a plan to backpack Eagle Creek Recreation Trail. Five years ago, this trail was closed due to the devastation caused by a teenage boy who […]