Some of my favorite hikes in the Pacific North West in Oregon and Washington overlook the Columbia Gorge. Depending on where I am, the view is different but still incredibly beautiful. I went on two hikes last Spring that were on either side of the Gorge, and lucky for me, both times I went the weather was clear and sunny! I'm so blessed to live in such beautiful part of the world, and have so many amazing hikes so close to home! These first two photos are from the Oregon side and the bottom one is from a viewpoint from a hike in Washington. I can't remember the names of the hikes off the top of my head, but there's so many similar ones along the Gorge that are great!
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After coming back from Hawaii, I wanted to do some hiking of my own around Portland. One of my favorite hikes was Silver Star Mountain. It was very steep and along the edge of a cliff for a lot of the way up, but when you got to the top, the main appeal was the 360 degree view of mountains. Although the day we chose to go we couldn't see all the mountains that are sometimes visible, it was still incredible, and because it was on the edge of a cliff, the whole way up was beautiful as well.
What sparked my interest in hiking last year was when I went on a truly amazing hike in Kauai, Hawaii with my family. It was unlike any of the hikes I had ever been on mostly because the scenery was so vastly different than in the Pacific North West. Throughout most of the hike, you could sea the water, and it actually went for many miles and was a popular spot to backpack into, but we just chose to go to the beach that was a couple miles in.
One of the first hikes I went on after returning to Portland was a short portion of the Wildwood trail starting at Pittock Mansion and ending at "The Witches House". Even though this was technically part of the Wildwood trail, it was before we started our goal of hiking the whole thing, so we couldn't include it in our plan (it's close to being right in the middle). Also, the weather was somewhat rainy and not the best day for a hike, but the fog in the trees made it beautiful.
A few weeks ago, me and my friend decided to challenge ourselves and hike Dog Mountain. Known for being a very steep climb all the way to the top we sort of knew what to expect but it was a little more intense than we had planned. When we made it to the last .1 mile it was so foggy we could only see the view for a few seconds at a time when there was a short break in the passing clouds. The wind was freezing cold and it felt like we might get blown off the narrow trail at any time. When we actually did make it to the top it was raining and there was a huddle of people staring under a few trees eating their lunches. We're planning on going back at some point when the weather clears up a bit and the top will actually be satisfying to get to, because soon all kinds of wildflowers grow up there and when it's a nice day the view of the Columbia Gorge is hard to beat, but despite the conditions, it was satisfying to know we had made it to the top.
The Wildwood trail in Forest Park is the longest hike trail in the park, running for 40 miles. Me and my friend decided we wanted to hike the whole thing piece by piece as a challenge this Spring. We started from the far Northern part of Forest Park where the trail begins (or ends, depending on how you look at it). A challenge of taking a trail and dividing it up into pieces that we discovered, is that sometimes you can't get to where you ended the first part very easily. Also, when you aren't going the full way, it means you have to backtrack on where you walked to get back to the car, so after we've completed the whole thing, we'll actually have hiked a total of 80 miles, not 40.
As I slowly continue to explore different parts of London, it really makes me realize how big of a city it is. I'm halfway through my stay, and there's still so much I haven't seen. So far, I think my favorite places have been in central, (especially along the Southbank) even though there's always masses of tourists and it's crowded pretty much all the time. It has some of the classic tourist locations such as Big Ben, The London Eye, and the Themes River. A little bit past the river in the real center of town, there's Regent Street, which has amazing Christmas displays in the shop windows, and lights strung up across the road between buildings and it feels almost magical. The place I plan on visiting next is the main library, (not exactly sure where it is, I'll have to look it up again) but apparently it is quite large and a good studying location.
My third week in London is coming to a close, and I'm realizing its time to start regularly posting on this blog (which I've been wanting to do for a while). The weather is (strangely) lovely, and has been sunny practically every day since I got here, however I'm preparing myself for the rain that I know will start any day now. Now that I've gotten into a sort of routine I'm planning on going on more adventures around the city and to coffee shops and such. I've gone to a few cute coffee shops around the neighborhood and took buses into the middle of the city a few times.
I'm getting to the point where occasionally I forget that I'm in as amazing of a city as London, and I have to remind myself that I'm in Europe, and that there are all these wonderful things I have access to and should take advantage of while I can because if these three weeks have gone by this quickly I'm afraid my stay is just going to whiz by! I'm hoping to post an update on this blog once a week minimum (not including recipes / DIY etc. ) hopefully more. Once I start exploring the city a little more hopefully I'll have more to say! Feel free to write me letters and to see more pictures from my trip you can follow my Instagram: @itslulug and @changing_seasons and my Tumblr: midnight-reign.tumblr.com (my pictures are on midnight-reign-pictures.tumblr.com) |
AuthorLulu. I like crime shows, cooking, and photography. From Oregon. Currently living in London. Archives
April 2015
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