Rhonda

December 19, 2015 7.5 miles 2,000 feet gained

Quick run up to see the ornaments.

November 29, 2015 12 miles 2,750 feet gained

Went to Zig Zag via Burnt Lake today. It was a brisk 19 degrees at the trail head but warmed as we climbed. Trail was anywhere from dry and clear to patchy snow and ice up to Burnt Lake. There was one nasty section of ice to maneuver through but manageable with spikes. Once we headed up to Zig Zag, it became all snow, anywhere from just a few inches to aroun...

November 21, 2015 20 miles 5,250 feet gained

We have done it! We have completed our first ever 20+mile hike this past Saturday and we did it on none other than Tanner Butte. Fitting huh? Karl planted the idea a few weeks back when we had a conversation about wanting to get our first twenty under our belt before the end of the year. We sat around and waited for the perfect weekend weather report and onc...

November 20, 2015 3 miles 1,000 feet gained

Goal of the day. See some snow. Had snow at the trail head. Well icy snow. strolled about a mile and half up and then headed back down. We have a large full day hike planned tomorrow and didn't want to tire ourselves on on slippery, icy snow. Saw several tracks including fresh bear prints. Fresh as in 20 minutes fresh. Wasn't there when we went by and 20 min...

November 15, 2015 4 miles 1,000 feet gained

Did a quick 4 mile stroll on the Little North Santiam trail. Hadn't been here before and really enjoyed it. It was raining really good so we opted not to do the full 9 miles today but will go back on a drier day and finish it up.

October 24, 2015 15 miles 1,750 feet gained

Took a Saturday jaunt up to Twister Falls. Wasn't too crowded going up, but coming down it was packed. I think we had to have passed well over 50 people going in on our way out.

October 3, 2015 10.5 miles 2,750 feet gained

September 27, 2015 8 miles 1,000 feet gained

Did the 8 mile loop out at Silver Creek Falls today with a long lost cousin. Was a nice relaxing hike and had a great day catching up with him.

September 20, 2015 8.5 miles 1,250 feet gained

Took my first but definitely not last trip to the Indian Heaven Wilderness today. Day was overcast and it was lightly raining by 130 as we were leaving but I have to say seeing all the fall colors out there was amazing. The pictures I got did not do it justice at all.

September 19, 2015 6 miles 2,000 feet gained

Had a day to myself so went a solo stroll to Pechuck Lookout. Beautiful blue skies and perfect temperatures. Hiked much slower than normal and just enjoyed the time alone. Had a lazy lunch at the lookout and lounged for a couple hours and then headed out. Just in time to, ran into a couple of backpackers coming in and then two sets of dayhikers as i wandered...

September 13, 2015 11.5 miles 2,750 feet gained

Took a trip to Mary's Peak. It was our first time there and we came in via the North trailhead so we could get a little mileage as well. We've had a busy few weeks and haven't hike since late August so the elevation gain was kind of grueling today but we pushed through and made decent time. We have been adding some trail running on our trips out especially o...

August 23, 2015 3.5 miles 500 feet gained

A secondary trip to Lopez Hill to do the largest loop and get some more practice trail running in.

August 22, 2015 2.5 miles 500 feet gained

Quick afternoon jaunt while out on Lopez Island this past weekend.

August 19, 2015 15.5 miles 3,000 feet gained

Was curious what the mileage would be for this trip so decided this past Wednesday to check it out. Once your past the Whitewater trail and on the Triangulation trail, it's obvious this area doesn't get much love. While the trail is easy to follow it is overgrown in areas and we even came across a wasp nest practically on the trail itself. Highly recommend l...

August 16, 2015 3 miles 1,000 feet gained

Since our hiking time wasn't working out to do a long mile hike this weekend, we decided to do some shorter hikes near home. We had never been to Coffin Mountain before and I have to say for a 3 mile round trip hike, this hike gave us one of the best 360 views in all of our hikes. Impressive! The gal manning the lookout was friend and informative and gave us...

August 16, 2015 2 miles 500 feet gained

On our way back from Coffin Mountain we stopped and did a quick run up to Independence Rock per the advice of the Lookout staff back at Coffin Mountain. This was a quick but nice jaunt up with a great view of the Marion Creek area!

August 15, 2015 4.5 miles 1,500 feet gained

Our hiking time was short for Saturday so we took a quick trip to Stahlman Point. We had never been here before and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The views up top were amazing! I did my first ever trail run back down to the car and I loved it. 6 months ago I wouldn't have been able to run even a tenth of what I did. Love how hiking among some added week...

July 26, 2015 14 miles 2,000 feet gained

What a great hike to do on a cloudy day. Never been up here before and we enjoyed it quite a bit. Want to go back when it's clearer out and explore some more of the area. Pictures to come...

July 25, 2015 4 miles 1,000 feet gained

Had permits to climb this past Saturday. Go figure no measurable rain in two months until the day of my permit. Made to end of treeline and it was too wet, cold, and windy. Several other climbers called it quit this day. Miserable day to attempt it.

July 19, 2015 13.5 miles 5,500 feet gained

Took our first trip to Mississippi Head. I have to admit it was a lot harder than I anticipated and we had our 17 yr old who doesn't hike with us much, on this hike as well. We definitely took this one much slower than planned. Ran into a few PortlandHikers throughout the day which is always a treat! Long, taxing day but what a hike!

July 13, 2015 13.5 miles 3,000 feet gained

Took our first trip to Goat Rocks. Fell in love! We dealt with clouds most of our trip but it did not take away from the beauty of this area! Can not wait to go back.

July 4, 2015 9.5 miles 1,500 feet gained

So my 4th did not go entirely as planned. I had watched the weather all week for South Sister and It was looking pretty good so we decided that it what we would do on Saturday. Woke up Friday with a scratchy throat, not a good sign but I was hoping it was just a fluke and we headed out anyway. Woke up at 4:30 am on Saturday with plugged ears and swollen sinu...

June 28, 2015 10 miles 1,250 feet gained

Took a trip up to Pamelia Lake with the intent of going into Hunts Cove. It was supposed to be well over 90 that day so we dressed in shorts etc. Day started off pretty good, ran into quite a few backpackers coming out. We were shocked when we got to the lake. The water level had dropped dramatically in the last two months, it appeared nearly empty! Ranger w...

June 21, 2015 9 miles 2,000 feet gained

Decided to head out to Mt.Hood and do a new to us hike and head into Elk Cove via the Vista Ridge Trail. Started off kind of late for us and got to the TH at 10 am. Ton of cars already there. We headed up the ridge and noted the lily extravaganza had passed but oh my it was the Bear grass' turn to shine. Bear grass was everywhere and I really enjoyed the con...

June 20, 2015 7.5 miles 750 feet gained

Took a late afternoon hike with the family to Jawbone Flats. So many people. Not a fan of the summertime crowds.

June 14, 2015 5.5 miles 0 feet gained

Took a quick hike with the family around the park.

June 13, 2015 17 miles 4,250 feet gained

We planned this hike with the intent of doing a Whittier loop. Have not done this before and it's high on my wish list. Started the day at Norway Pass, also a first, and began the climb up. I was having hamstring issues from the get go but hoped to walk them out. Got a couple of miles in and rounded the bend to the most scenic spot of Mount St. Helens I thin...

June 6, 2015 18 miles 4,000 feet gained

With the expected heat this weekend, we decided to head somewhere that would be a bit cooler but still be beautiful and sunny. We decided to give Indian Henry's on Mt. Rainier a try. What an amazing hike! We started around 8:30 am. The sun was shining bright and it was a balmy 55 degrees out. Perfect weather! We headed out on the Wonederland trail and made o...

May 30, 2015 9 miles 2,500 feet gained

I was on call this weekend so no day hiking for me, but it was too nice of a day not to get out so after work, we took a quick trip up to Hamilton Mountain for an evening hike. This was my second time doing this hike. The first time was just about 11 months ago. took us 6 hours last time to do this loop. This time it only took 3.5 hours. We nearly cut our ti...

May 27, 2015 8.5 miles 0 feet gained

The weather was too nice to sit inside after work so took a long walk at our local park.

May 24, 2015 17 miles 4,500 feet gained

Sunday we decided to go wander around the Table Rock Wilderness. I had found a gps track we were going to go by and include Table Rock and Pechuck Lookout in the days activities. The morning was cloudy and drizzly like yesterday. We started off at the Table Rock TH and headed out into the clouds. We got the the Table Rock summit junction fairly quickly but d...

May 23, 2015 14 miles 2,500 feet gained

Saturday I took my best friend to Ape Canyon up to the Plains of Abraham. The day was cloudy and drizzly and there was not much in the way of views, but I had a great time! While up on the Plains we got about a 20 minute window of the perfect mountain views. What an absolute treat! She had never been up there before or that close to the wonder that is St. He...

May 17, 2015 7 miles 750 feet gained

Our hiking plans got changed at the last moment and we decided to do a quick trip to the Lewis River Waterfalls. We had never been before so figured we'd check them out. We were not let down. They are very beautiful! We had the whole hike to ourselves from the Lower Falls to the Upper Falls however coming back we ran into people off an on all the way back. N...

May 16, 2015 11 miles 2,500 feet gained

My best friend wanted to go on a hike with me and I thought a Multnomah loop out to Nesika would be the perfect hike to introduce her to the world of hiking. Nesika was opened up and the people up there were wonderful! They fed us yummy goodies and warm drinks and sent us out to the lookout to enjoy them. The trails weren't terribly crowded for once, always ...

April 30, 2015 10.5 miles 2,500 feet gained

I went back east to Virginia to visit my son and he took me to hike this fabulous hike called "Old Rag" in the Shenandoah National Park. OMG I had so much fun on this hike! This is a hike/scramble type of hike. The first mile is a boring road walk and then the next two miles starts a steady climb up. Around mile 3, the scramble starts. You can see blue on th...

April 26, 2015 13.5 miles 3,250 feet gained

Today's hiking plan was a track I got off of Gpsfly. A trek up Wahkeena to Angel's Rest, on to Devil's rest and then back down Wahkeena. Somewhere along the way that plan got skewered. On the way to Angels' Rest, I decided to skip it and we headed up the Foxglove trail to Devil's Rest (which btw was super crowded and I'm not sure what the fascination is with...

April 19, 2015 15 miles 3,000 feet gained

Spent the day out at Coldwater Lake yesterday. It was not our original destination however. We had planned to hike into Coldwater Peak and beyond if possible but ran into snow/snow drifts that bordered on unsafe and we turned around and just did the loop around Coldwater lake instead. It was our first lake loop and had a good time regardless of the unanticip...

April 11, 2015 11 miles 2,750 feet gained

We took our friend who just moved to Seattle on a day trip up to the Eastern Olympics and hiked the Tunnel Creek trail. We have never been to the Olympics yet and since snow advisories were in the weekend forecast for all the cascades, we figured it was the best bet for the least amount of snow. All I can say...such a pretty hike! We did hit snow starting a ...

April 9, 2015 5 miles 0 feet gained

Needed out of the house so took a quick 5 mile jaunt to Minto Brown Park. Was sunny and cool out. Thankfully did not have the usual crowds like there are on the weekends.

April 4, 2015 12 miles 2,500 feet gained

What a beautiful hike! Started the day in pretty foggy conditions with a fresh dusting of snow. Felt like wintertime for the first time in a couple of months. Saw about 10 people total through the day for the most part had the day to ourselves.Ended the day with sun and partly cloudy skies and melting snow as we made our way down the trail. Great day on the ...

March 26, 2015 5 miles 750 feet gained

Did a quick 5 mile trip to Silver Creek Falls after work tonight. It was too beautiful of a day to pass up the opportunity to get out in the woods, even it was just a quick trip.

March 21, 2015 12.5 miles 750 feet gained

Took a stroll on the Metolius River today. It was our first time there. Very pretty! The water was this fabulous shade of blue. Stopped and fed the fishes at the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery. Continued on to the 99 bridge and then circled back on the eastside of the river until we got back to the hatchery, then worked our way back to the car for the ride home....

March 15, 2015 6 miles 1,250 feet gained

Took a trip to Peavy Arboretum for a quick hike. We have never been before today. It's a great place and will go back again. Just about 6 miles today, windy but not much rain. Perfect way to spend our Sunday!

March 8, 2015 12 miles 2,000 feet gained

Took a fabulous stroll up to Jefferson Park this past Sunday. It was a clear, sunny day and I figured it would be crawling with people but we only saw and handful of people and most of them were on their way out. Snow was a little mushy and we sank quite a few times but well worth it as we had the most amazing views all day long. Couldn't have been a more pe...

February 28, 2015 6.5 miles 1,500 feet gained

Had a great family day. Did a casual loop hike from Wonderland Trail and around Ramparts Ridge. Then spend rest of afternoon seeing the sights up to Paradise.

February 21, 2015 12 miles 3,000 feet gained

Had planned to go to Pamelia Lake to Hunts Cove today but got waylaid by massive wind. The blow downs on the Hunts Cove trail covered the trail in so many places just at the beginning that we decided to backtrack and try Grizzly Peak instead. Grizzly Peak was the winner. There was debris about and some small blow downs but nothing like down at the lake. Hit ...

February 16, 2015 17.5 miles 4,250 feet gained

I headed out on a Saint Helens Lake Loop with a new hiking friend on Presidents Day. It was a beautiful, sunny day, even if the winds battered us all day long. We started at Hummocks and worked our way through the blast zone to JRO and past Harry's Ridge. We continued up to the Arch and around Coldwater Peak and finished the day on the Coldwater trail. We ha...

February 13, 2015 7 miles 1,250 feet gained

Had a nice family hike into Marion Lake and Marion Falls today. Not many out on the trail, but I did see a forest ranger for the first time on the trail as we were heading out. He was heading in with a ticket book in hand.

February 7, 2015 12.5 miles 500 feet gained

We ran away from the rain this weekend and took a 12 mile stroll on the Deschutes River Trail to the box car. Only had showers the first 35 mins of walking and then it turned into beautiful sunshine. There was crazy wind from about mile 3.75 on. Didn't see another soul until on our way back. Ran into a small group around mile 8 and a couple more at mile 10. ...

January 30, 2015 9.5 miles 4,000 feet gained

It was a beautiful day up on the mountain. Couldn't have picked a better day to go.