Garden Update

Thanks to a little bit help from my friends, I now have a raised garden bed with soil.  I have been following (mostly) the recommendations of the Square Foot Gardening method.  The soil is a combination of a compost blend, peat moss, and Perlite.  Whew it was quite an effort, but I have put this chapter to bed.

Although it is hard to see in this photo, I built a vertical frame on the north end and laced it with nylon netting.  It is my hope to plant some climbers.

Gut Feelings

I have been interested in intuition for some time.  My interest peaked during a climb on the Brothers in the Olympic Mountains.  We were ascending a steep snow slope when an experienced member of our party stopped and confessed that he was experiencing irrational feelings of fear.  Moments later someone from a climbing party ahead came down and told us that there was a cliff ahead, which meant there was a dead end ahead. If that was a classic case of connecting to the whisper of ones inner wisdom, it was a powerful illustration of the benefit of developing intuition.  So when the librarian at the Saint Johns library handed me a flyer about a book group discussion about Gerd Gigerenzer's Gut Feelings:  The Intelligence of the Unconscious, I promptly signed up to participate.

Gigerenzer's book goes behind the science of intuition.  Part of me objected to the notion that intuition could be explained.  Perhaps I wanted intuition to be part of the magic of being human, not some algorithm buried deep in my psyche.  What I found in between the covers was testimony to the KISS principle:  keep it simple silly.  The author argued that our minds use simple rules of thumb which take advantage of the evolved capacities of the brain.  Rather than making complex calculations, our brain ignore useless information and focus on what really matters, even if it one critical piece of information.

The book group at the library was a join venture between the library and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  The organizer had invited Professor Dalton Miller-Jones from Portland State University Department of Psychology to participate.  Interesting enough, most of the people in the group did not like the book.  Some were disappointed there was not more scientific research, others thought there was too much.  As usual, I enjoyed the forum, as it gave me fresh insights into the book.  I do not believe reading should be a solitary activity.

Anyway, I found the book gave me some good insights into intuition.  Just to be aware of the of the rules of thumb in my mind's toolbox will make me more apt to use them, whether I'm at the store or on the mountain slope.

Mazamas Advanced Rock

Tuesday was the first lecture of the Mazamas Advanced Rock class that I am taking.  This year the class is coordinated by Ryan Christie, who was a fellow Intermediate Climbing School student with me a couple of years ago.  The Assistant Coordinator is Eugene Lewins, who I climbed with up Mt. Washington in the Oregon Cascades this past summer.  This class is going to keep me busy this Spring and I am really looking forward to the upcoming lectures and field session.   

There was mainly an introductory focus for our first lecture.  Someone from Climb Max Mountaineering gave a talk on climbing gear.  We were encouraged from holding off on going on spending spree right away.  Instead we were advised to try out the gear the instructors have and then decide what kind of climbing rack to build.

The most valuable part was when Ryan reminded us not to let personal egos dominate our climbing.  I could see how it could happen in this activity, just as any other.  My main goal for this is to improve my ability to build anchors and learn how to place rock protection.  While I am interested in improving my ability to rock climb, it is not my main focus.

Adventures in Gardening

I have set the goal of putting in a vegetable garden in my backyard.  Ever since moving to North Portland I have thought about growing my own vegetables.  When I started planting flowers in my yard I discovered how much I enjoyed watching them grow and bloom.  Reading In Defense of Food further strengthened my resolve to enjoy the fruits of my labors.  So last September my parents helped me clear out the northwest corner of my backyard.  Since then I had assembled the building materials, all that I needed now was to put it together. 

Going for a hike Saturday was a calculated risk.  The weather forecast for the weekend called for sun on Saturday and rain Sunday.  I figured I much rather risk getting soaked in my backyard than in the Columbia Gorge.  As it turned out, it did get a little muddy and wet as I was assembling, but it wasn't more than I could handle.  The tough part was that the plastic recycled lumber proved to be tougher to drill than I expected.  This drained the batteries of my power drill faster than I could charge them.  Thankfully my neighbor Gene came to the rescue and loaned me his drill.  In the end I was exhausted, lining everything up by myself was a lot of work.  But I had successfully put this phase of my garden to bed.

Wauna Point

While I was tempted to stay home and work on projects, I jumped at the chance to go hiking with the Adventurous Young Mazamas in the Columbia River Gorge.  The wind at our gathering point was daunting, but we thew caution to the wind and headed west to the trailhead.  Our goal was Wanua Point, on the Oregon side of the gorge.  Typically this hike is done as an out and back, but the hike leader made this a more interesting loop by following an abandoned trail up a steep forested ridge. 

 

Having a blast ascending the trail less travelled...

As we ascended there were views of the Bridge of the Gods and Mt Adams.  This portion of the trail was the highlight for me.  Up on Tanner Butte we found Wauna Point and descended down a steep snow slope.

...and then descending down to Wauna Point.

At this point there was a good 6 to 8 inches of snow at our feet.  We carefully made our way out to the Diving Board, which has a dizzying, commanding view of Bonneville Dam and the surrounding Columbia River Gorge.  We were surprised how little wind there was out on the point.

Out on Wauna Point aka The Diving Board.  Swimming trunks are not recommended.  Kevin Clark photo.

After lunch we hiked back up to Tanner Butte and sought out the Tanner Butte trail.  The hike leader had done his homework as his GPS lead us to a set of footprints heading in the right direction.  We did it!  We descended down past several waterfalls back towards the trailhead.  Since we had made such good time, we hiked down the Gorge Trail to Eagle Creek and returned via the Tooth Rock Viaduct. 

We really lucked out with the wind.  Returning home I read reports from fellow Mazamas getting blown about at Table Mountain and Devil's Rest.

Returning home I cleaned up and then biked out to Mago Hunt Theater at the University of Portland.  There I joined some friends at saw the play Fuddy Meers.

Happy 150th Birthday Oregon!

To mark Oregon's sesquicentennial, I though I would post some of my photos from around the state.  Believe me, I have not yet even scratched the surface of what my home state has to offer.

Mt. Hood from Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain.

Umpqua Dunes, Oregon Dunes Recreation Area.  This place is incredible.  Hello Jamiee and Roger!

Looking north from Middle Sister summit.  North Sister is in the foreground.  In the distance is Mt. Washington, Three Finger Jack, Mt. Jefferson, and (barely) Mt. Hood.  Hi Ginny!

Erath Vineyards, Dundee.  Hi Jen! 

Oregon Coast from Neahkahnie Mountain.  Hi Tom and Carol!

Painted Hills in John Day National Monument

Monkey Face and the Crooked River in Smith Rocks State Park

Tunnel Falls at Eagle Creek.  Hi Keith and Susan!

Umpqua Lighthouse

Anroid Lake from Pete's Point, Wallowa Mountains

Blue Basin, John  Day National Monument

Steins Pillar, Ochoco Mountains

Eagle Cap, Wallowa Mountains

Columbia River Gorge from Crown Point

Nesika Lodge

Even though most of my outdoor activities are with just the Mazamas, it is refreshing from time to time to see what other organizations offer.  This weekend provided such an opportunity with a joint activity of the Adventurous Young Mazamas and the Trails Club of Oregon.  While the Mazamas have their lodge at Government Camp, the Trails Club of Oregon has Tyee Lodge at Government Camp as well as Nesika Lodge on the rim of the Columbia River Gorge.  This weekend I spent the night at the latter.

Who needs the Elevator Shaft, we got Wahkeena Falls in the background

We assembled at the Multnomah Falls Lodge parking lot, splitting into three groups.  One hiked up via the strenuous Elevator Shaft while another hiked along the Multnomah Falls trail.  The group that I was with took the long, scenic route passing by Wakhneena and Fairy Falls.  The weather was sunny and we had a pleasant walk through the woods.  At one point we saw our fellow hikers hiking above the Elevator Shaft.

At the Nesika Lodge Gate

Nesika Lodge consists of the main lodge plus two dormitory buildings.  After relaxing in the sun we took a short hike to Big Cougar Rock and climbed up this 4th class scramble to soak in the view of the Columbia Gorge.  The snowfall has been tame compared to the previous year as there was not a whole lot of snow on the hills across the gorge.

Nesika Lodge

Back at the Lodge we assembled a potluck dinner.  My Quinoa salad was one of two that were offered.  Despite my dislike of beets, I sampled both of the beet salads.  At one point of the evening we ventured outside, away from the cozy fireplace, to another stellar viewpoint of the gorge.  It was not necessary to have our flashlights one because the moon was incredibly bright.

It was a easy Sunday morning by Mazama standards.  Our Trails Club host didn't even set his alarm for getting up to start preparing the pancake breakfast.  We cleaned up, locked up the lodge, and set out back to the trailhead.

Our return hike did not turn out to be a routine hike back to the trailhead.  Near Weisendanger Falls (the name of this cascade should have tipped us off) we had a near miss with some rockfall.  I was at the bottom of this zigzagging portion of the trail when the hikers above us started yelling, warning us of rockfall.  As I yelled to alert others I saw a large rock bouncing down the hill.  It dislodged another rock that flew within inches of Keith, who was standing near me.  I cannot remember if that rock went by before or after I hit the deck.  Thankfully no one was hit and the hikers above us were able to safely descend.  We learned from them that the rockfall was spontaneous, not triggered by hikers.

You don't have to be mountain climbing to get rockfall.  Kevin Clark photo

Looking back at this near miss, I observed two things that the hike leader had done well.  First, he had noticed the potential for rockfall and had the front of the group waiting for the everyone else in a safe location.  Second, he promptly cleared everyone out of the danger zone, then focused on getting the rest of our party safely down.