Mt Adams, High Camp - Week 34, August 23 to August 29, 2021

Another great hiking adventure this week.  Kyna, Olga, Aubry Sorenson, and I went to Mt Adams and hiked to High Camp.  Both Olga and I had been to this place twice previously - it is so beautiful that we wanted to do it again.  I was a bit hesitant because the trail, though it is only three mile long, is all uphill with stair steps having been built along the way.  For me, the walking was brutal, but I wanted to do it one last time.

The steep trail (with frequent stair steps) was 3.2 miles to where it intersected with the PCT.  

At the junction with the PCT

We decided to not go up to High Camp on the first day, but to go north on the PCT to where there are a couple of waterfalls close to the trail.  So we turned left and came upon this meadow with a waterfall  (or a waterslide) flowing into it.

Taking a little side trail down into the meadow, we set up our tents in the trees next to the meadow.  It was kinda weird what happened next.  Maybe..ten or so..,through hikers came to our site, and assuming that were were PCT Hikers too, set their tents up right next to ours.  We talked to a few of them.  Surprisingly two hikers came into our area and asked us if we knew where the PCT was, so we pointed the way and they were off.

The next morning we headed to High Camp

This next part of the trail was really steep - a lot of handover hand climbing....being very careful not to slip.

Then it was up and around a hill and into High Camp

This is my picture tree

Here we are, hurrying, to secure our campsite.  The wind was getting to be really strong, and we needed to tie everything down.  And, it was cold!

I've never been in such a windstorm - in a tent - before.  It was crazy.  The tent was swooshing back and forth.  The ceiling was being pushed down, practically into my face.  I was worried that the tent pins would not hold or that the two poles would snap, and there we'd be, in a collapsed tent that was kinda wet, and it would be dark.  But...at about 1 AM the wind stopped!  We woke up to a clear sky.

With thick clouds in the valley.

We headed back down to the trail head

Passed a bunch of cairns that were photo worthy

Back on the road we had a great street view of Mt Adams

We lucked out in the little town of Trout Lake and found a café.

I got a Mt Adams Burger with onions and cheese - yummy.

All in all....it was a great trip.  I don't think I'll do it again because I've decided I don't like steep uphill trails.

This week Jessica took Evan to BYU Provo.  He is excited.  Has decided to start out in Business.

Vannessah's funeral was on Tuesday at Skyline Memorial Gardens.  Since she was a veteran, she had a military service.

Ryan said a few words - he did a really good job.

The Louthan kids were here on Saturday because both Bev and Paul were gone.  Dad took them to Home Depot because Jude wanted to look at plants.  They were so excited when they were able to each choose a sedum plant to take home.....so exciting.

There was a lot of playing in the hot tub and they all practiced floating on their back.  Clara nd Holland did gymnastics stunts on a towel.

My birthday is next week....so my cake party was Sunday evening.

 Oregon City, Oregon - Week 33 - August 16 to August 22, 2021

This week was full of five events

1 - I've been going to Clackamas Town Center early in the morning and walking (up and down) the six flights of stairs at one end of the parking garage.  No one else is doing this but there are others around.  One morning I discovered a man sleeping in the elevator.  It was a good thing in disguise because it caused me to walk down the stairs instead of just going up. My "down hill" muscles were really sore at first, but they adapted as the week progressed.  I can do twelve flights of stairs in an hour.  I figure that 13 flights are about equivalent to one mile....I need to "up" my flights.

2 - Malcolm started a n ew job with ProDrain.  ProDrain mostly does drain work, but the company also has sever plumbers on the job.  Malc wasn't especially happy that I took a photo of him on his first day.

3 - I worked lots in the woods.  Specifically I was in in Sector 5 where I sprayed clumps of ivy and blackberries.  I'd done this area earlier this summer (plus twice last year), but I know I will have to do it again as ivy and blackberries are very tenacious.  I also worked on the slopes which were mowed last year about this time.  This was the third time this year that I've sprayed the resilient blackberries.  There are multiple clumps of dead blackberries that I cut off using the brush cutter.  I guess I don't have do do this cutting, but the area looks so much better.

4 - Clackamas County Fair was this week.  Dad entered a bunch of garden vegetables (he won several ribbons) and a loaf of artisan bread which took second place.  I only entered some gingersnap cookies so I could get free admission but later found out that our age allow us free admission who knew?  I used to enter many things but now I'm not particularly interested in doing so......I think mainly because I think the judging is a bit sketchy....or maybe it's because I've already done it.  Warren, on the other hand, entered an uncountable number of veggies, flowers, cakes, cookies. He did win KING OF HE FAIR which was his goal!

The Fair will engrave his name on this trophy.

This is his trophy for the Men's Chocolate Cake

And the cake!!

This is the ribbon for the best "Impress Your In-Laws Main Dish". He  made a rack of pork ribs.

This is Warren posing as Best of the Kiddie Scooter Pushers

The competition for decorating a cake "on site".  He won!

Warren and Whitney winning the "Stick Your Face in the Hole" prize.

Jude won a ribbon for his string beans  Bev also won some ribbons in the ag department.

Dad winning his ribbon for his Artisan bread. 

Coco won a prize for eating a a large chunk of a doughboy and became comatose as a result.

This is just a random photo of grandkids on the tractor

5 - Lastly.....we cut down and cleaned up massive amounts of bushes and tree limbs at Gooding Acres.  I have no photos because my shorts didn't have a pocket for my phone....and I didn't think we'd be doing this for about three hours.  Give Bev a chain saw, give her two men to make piles debris piles, and give her a tractor to grapple the piles, and you have a makeover of her future home.

Sunday evening we celebrated Shelby and Ryan's birthdays.  Shelby is 14, and Ryan is 54.

Next week I along with Olga and Kyna and Aubrey will hike the Killen Trail up to Mt Adams Meadows.  I hope it doesn't kill me.