July 3, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: June 25, 2006
distance (planned): 6.1 miles
distance (actual): 6.8 miles
highest elevation: 3283 feet
elevation gain: 1633 feet
time: 5 hours

kelli and i are sitting here trying to decide which hike has been our favorite. we have no answers or decisions…so we’re taking a poll. we are quite famous for polls. and…as kelli says…most people don’t cooperate…so we’re hoping this will make you comment and take pity on us. here are some previous polls we’ve attempted (in case you’d like to offer a dissertation in the comments section):

1. at what time (exactly) should you turn around when on a hike? please take into account that we chicks don’t like to turn around and we like loops. for example, if it is 10 pm, should you start heading back to the car…or should you keep hoping it is around the corner?

2. at what mileage should you turn around when on a hike? again, consider that whole liking loops thing before you throw out a number. and remember, i (annie) suck at hiking.

3. what equipment should you take while hiking (and for a real twist…in what circumstances)? for example, is it mandatory to have a compass? many of our colleagues seem to think so. of course, our theory is…what good is knowing which direction you’re going if you don’t know which direction you’re supposed to go? (please refer to our disclaimer after reading this sentence.)

so here’s a poll for today:

which of our hikes do you think you would enjoy the most?
1. hidden falls
2. ape cave
3. indian point loop
4. hamilton mountain
5. saddle mountain

speaking of saddle mountain (did you like the segue?)…this was a beautiful view. the mountain is about 14 miles east of the pacific ocean. you can view the columbia river delta from the top of the mountain.

while at the top of the mountain you can also see mt. rainier, mt. st. helens, mt. adams, mt. hood, and (with binoculars) the astoria column. on this hike you need shoes with good traction. sneakers are not a good choice. we saw people sliding on rocks…and for once it wasn’t me (annie). it also helps if you have a “fearless leader”. the fearless leader (kelli) directs steps much better and makes falling optional. you want a clear day for this hike…so weather forecasters unite. we actually hiked on a day that was extremely hot and hazy…so although we had spectacular views of the mountains they were not as clear as the ideal.

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July 3, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: june 27, 2006
distance (planned): 2.7 miles
distance (actual): 3.1 miles
highest evelation: 2400 feet
elevation gain: 400 feet
time: 3.5 hours

oh my gosh…remember i (annie) told you that kelli was trying to kill me? yeah well…true. just because she has a halo….

ape caves. what do you say? i (annie) realized i’d never been in a cave before, except while scuba diving. it is really dark in there. really dark. really, really dark. good thing we rented that lantern. oh…and for the record (and a particular co-worker will use this opportunity to say, “i told you so.”) a 3 inch mini-maglite does not work in a cave.

ape cave is actually a lava tube. geologically speaking, it is all quite fascinating. hiking it is another story…not so fascinating. did we tell you it is dark? and there are almost 30 piles of previously caved in boulder piles to climb over…IN THE DARK! yes, we are perseverating.

funny thing about us chicks…we don’t like to have to turn around. so when we are on our stomachs, crawling through a tube, with sometimes an inch to spare…we never stop to think, “maybe we went the wrong way?” interestingly, unlike previous explorations into the unknown, this time we had tyler (annie’s son) along. we decided the picture explains it all.

he’s quite the comedian. anyway…after he insisted he’d require therapy for the rest of his life if we continued, we turned around. lo and behold, we found another path. after that, we finished the hike. by the end, we were soaking wet and cold (the cave is a constant 42F degrees). the return hike is above ground through an ancient eruption area/lava flow (from mt. st. helens). we changed into dry clothes and went to eat at red robin’s. here’s a pic of mt. st. helen’s from the return trail. we should also mention that a few days later, tyler conveniently ’stubbed’ his toe so he didn’t have to go with us again. jeesh…he’ll probably need therapy after all.

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July 3, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: June 17, 2006
distance (planned): 9.0 miles
distance (actual): 10.3 miles
highest elevation: @ 2400 feet
elevation gain: @ 2000 feet
time: 5 hours

things are deteriorating quickly. my (annie) mind has turned into jello. and those of you that know me…know i (annie) hate jello. i (annie) can’t seem to recall anything adventurous about this particular hike. alas, we are accepting the fact that hiking is synonomous with adventure. trauma and foolishness are not. so hamilton mountain hike = adventure - trauma.

this is beacon rock. you can actually hike to the top of it…it is an extremely popular hike. we chicks have been there/done that…so it was hamilton mountain for us! at the top of hamilton, there was an incredible view of mt. adams. the pics just do not capture it.

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July 3, 2006 by annie.

date hiked: July 2, 2006
distance (planned): 8.4 miles
distance (actual): 11.4 miles
highest elevation: @ 3,000 feet
elevation gain: 2,720 feet
time: 6 hours

gosh, what do you do when a hike is relatively uneventful? as least in the comedic area? fabricate? nah…we figure you should tell it like it is.

this is a view down the columbia river gorge from the indian point outlook via the gorton creek trail. it offers a breathtaking view of mount adams and mount st. helens. it was an awesome hike…and yet i (annie) was still cursing for kelli to “get me off the #^&$% mountain” by the end. some things never change!

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July 3, 2006 by annie.

date(s) hiked: June 10, 2006
distance (planned): 10 miles
distance (actual): 23 miles
highest elevation: unknown
elevation gain: unknown
time: 9 hours

have i (annie) told you that kelli is trying to kill me? it is official…she (kelli) is plotting my demise. see…it all started when we decided to hike to hidden falls via the tarbell trail. it was supposed to be a 10 mile out and back hike.

we got to the falls but we had a dilemma. it was still really early in the day and the trail didn’t end at the falls. so what do you do? in honor of thelma and louise, “you keep going”. (we should again mention that we are somewhat insane.) so, we did. we also have some deeply rooted psychological problems when we are faced with these situations. number 1, we believe in loops. number 2, we hate to turn around (which is tied to number 1, but has its’ own stubborness involved). number 3, we have a very clear definition of “lost”. number 4, we find these scenarios hysterically funny.

i (annie) should take the opportunity to mention that 23 miles is a reasonable hike for many people. but i neglected to mention in that get-to-know-you phase that i (annie) am not one of those people. kelli is. i love to hike. so does kelli. i suck at it. kelli doesn’t. kelli puts up with me due to that aforementioned mental instability (either she’s crazy enough to keep taking me, or i’m crazy enough to keep going).

so we follow a trail after the falls, expecting to loop, but have to create our own loop (using roads and neighborhoods). after 23 miles, i (annie) was sure i was going die. we were offered rides by kind souls and one used his GPS to give us an estimated arrival time. all in all, it was awesome, wonderful, and beautiful. we even got to see some deer.

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