Goat Rocks Backpacking Loop

Well the summer has officially come to an end with Labor Day and my bucket list is far from completion so I am deciding to extend my “summer” until the rain returns. The thing is though, I have fallen a bit behind on the Bucket List and had to let go of some plans.

Sadly, I couldn’t make definite plans for the 4-5 Wallowas backpacking trip and have had to come to terms with the fact that it’s just not happening this summer. Since I really wanted to go backpacking, I decided to go on a shorter trip that also came highly recommended, Goat Rocks.

Goat Rocks Wilderness is located in Washington between Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams. The rocks are remnants of an old volcano. The main backpacking loop, Goat Lake Loop, is 12 miles but there are a few side trips that make it closer to 20 miles which I decided to include in my 2 day adventure.

I made the 3 hour drive out to Snowgrass Flats Trailhead from Portland early on Saturday morning in order to get started by 11 am on the trail. We atarted off at around 10:30 on the trail to Snowgrass Flats.

Our first side trip began around mile 5, where we took the PCT off to the right and headed up to summit Old Snowy. The climb was nice but a little rocky with a scramble up to the top. Sadly, on Saturday it was a bit cloudy so although views were still really good, it might have been even better on a clear sunny day.

After our little adventure, we came down from Old Snowy and took the Lily Basin Trail to Goat Lake. I was originally planning on setting up camp there but we got there a bit late and all the sites were taken. The views were pretty so if you can find a spot to camp and are okay with being a little exposed, I recommend snagging one of those sites.

In the hunt for a good spot, we headed up to Goat Ridge Trail and ended up finding a spot to set up shop for the night right above Goat Ridge Meadow. We got to watch quite the sunset from here.

If you plan on camping at any of the more exposed spots (they have great views) make sure that you stake your tent. I was greeted by really strong winds in the middle of the night which lasted well into the morning. I almost lost my sleeping pad when I was trying to pack it in the pack in the morning! Oops!

Sunday morning, we headed out around 8:45 and back tracked on Goat Ridge Trail to head up to Hawkeye Point. Once we climbed up towards it, we got a nice sunny view of Old Snowy which we summited the day before.

Hawkeye Point adds another 2 miles or so to the loop but I highly recommend it. We had amazing views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier as well as Goat Lake.

I would even go out and say that the views are much better from there than from Old Snowy.

It was beautiful!

After coming down from Hawkeye Point, we headed back on Goat Ridge Trail and followed it down to Goat Ridge Meadow to finish out the 2 day adventure. We followed the trail back around to Snowgrass Flats Trailhead and started the journey back to Portland around 1 pm on Sunday (just in time for a little football!).

Although I was a little sad to have missed my window to go out to the Wallowas, this trip was amazing. If you are considering getting into backpacking, you can’t pass this up!

South Sister Climb

Another item on the Bucket List checked off! I finally  climbed South Sister!

This past week, I decided to organize a one night girl’s camping trip to Bend with the intention of summiting South Sister.

We headed down to Bend on Thursday afternoon straight to 10 Barrel Brewing. In case I didn’t rave about them enough on my bike ride post, I can’t recommend a better spot for food in Bend. Everyone who we asked where was a good spot for food and beer recommended it. The place was pretty busy for a Thursday but we sat outside and enjoyed a beer out in the sun on their patio. We fueled up with some pizza and the hummus platter (it is HUGE!) and then headed out to look for a campsite.

The trailhead is by Devil’s Lake which has 6 camping spots. We thought it would be a long shot to find a camping spot down there since South Sister is a popular hike and we didn’t get down there until 10 pm-ish. Luckily, we got a spot right down by the pretty green lake water.

Thursday morning, we got a late start. Woke up at 7 am and then had ourselves a hefty little breakfast of oatmeal and some left over pizza. We started the hike around 9:30 am.

The first 1.5 miles are shaded and make for an fairly easy little hike. It was nice and cool in the first part.

It’s not until after you get out of the little forest that you get the first glimpse of South Sister. It was exciting to see it finally but also a little scary thinking of all the climbing we had to do.

The trail then takes you to some gorgeous views of Morraine Lake and Broken Top and also Mt. Bachelor. This part is nice and flat and took us to the bottom of South Sister.

The trail then begins to become steep. We climbed around a mile until a saddle at Lewis Glacier. There was little shade on the climb. The glacier provided us with some cool breezes. We busted out the hiking poles to help with the ascent.

There was a tiny lake at the bottom of Lewis Glacier. We took a little break to check out the lake and glacier and eat to prep for the last mile of climbing.

The last mile was steep! We were climbing on some powdery cinder rock. Hiking poles were a saving grace for this portion of the climb.

The red cinder means we were almost at the top. After that climb, we reached the false summit.

The actual summit lies across the glacier at the top. You can cross this glacier or go around it on a ridge to the right. We went around to get to the summit. In late summer, the glacier melts and Teardrop Pool, Oregon’s highest lake is revealed. We didn’t get so lucky.

We finally reached the summit at 10,358 ft after about 4 hours of climbing.

There were gorgeous views of Middle and North Sister, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood and even Mt. St. Helens (it’s waaaaay in the back on the left).

The views were amazing but we were exhausted by the time we reached the summit. After an hour, we made our way back around the glacier and started the grueling 6 mile hike down the mountain.

We were STARVING post hike. We headed to Bend and grabbed a quick dinner (and beer of course) and then a couple of red bulls for the long drive back to Portland.

A few things we learned on the climb:

1. Taking sunscreen with you is a pretty good idea. The cool breeze masked our sunburns for the day.
2. Hiking poles were VERY helpful in getting up the steep parts and definitely helpful on the way down. I only slipped and fell once!
3. Wearing high socks on this hike will prevent the powdery rock from getting into your shoes on the way down.
4. South Sister is a LONG climb. We hiked for 9ish hours. Driving for 3 hours post climb was not the most fun part of the trip. Camping another night would have been a little easier on our bodies.
5. Some people say it can get cold at the summit. Although we didn’t add layers, I carried some. It was starting to get a little chilly up there after a while.
6. The glacier at the top is safe to cross but it is the only one. Lewis Glacier has plenty of crevasses for people to fall into. It’s not a good idea to venture onto it for a photo.

This is a trip I would do again. It was a great workout and the views are worth it. I’m thinking a night hike under a full moon with a sunrise on the summit might be in my future.

Happy climbing everyone!!

Scenic Gorge Bike Ride

I think I am officially becoming a cyclist. I have been getting a huge kick out of finding long rides to do that are fun and scenic in preparation for my century out to the coast. A few weekends ago I ran across this ride that happened this past weekend called Tour de Hood.

The Tour de Hood is a ride which takes advantage of the road closures for the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and opens it up to the general public. The best thing about it, is that riders get to ride the course while the Classic is going on. It’s exciting to be riding a race course with some of the country’s best cyclists.

I was VERY tempted to sign up for the ride this year, but was a little unsuccessful in finding a partner in crime (because you know…misery loves company) so I ended up talking a friend into doing the Tour the Hood scenic gorge route a week earlier.

The ride was amazing!! The course is 42 miles and starts from Hood River on the Columbia River Historic Highway to Mosier. In Mosier, we climbed to the top of the Rowena Crest Lookout and then descended the Rowena Loops to the Dalles. From the Dalles, we headed up (and I mean up!) Seven Mile Ridge and then back down to Mosier before returning to Hood River.

I didn’t take as many photos as I would have wanted but managed to take a quick break after the long Seven Mile Ridge climb and snap a picture of Mt. Hood. We had amazing views of the mountain the entire way back to Mosier. It was amazing.

The roads were great to bike on without any shady parts or a ton of car traffic.

I have yet to try the day 2 summit challenge route. It looked a little intimidating with the HUGE hills but maybe I’ll check it out later this summer.

Until then, if you are looking for a good bike ride in the Gorge, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Happy cycling!

Eagle Creek Hike and “Backpacking” Trip

I just penciled in the Wallowas into my calendar! I am so excited for the 44 mile hike but a little nervous about the backpacking piece.

This past weekend, I decided to give backpacking a try and headed to Eagle Creek in the Gorge for some hiking and backpacking practice and also to check out all the waterfalls I’ve heard so much about.

It was amazing! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The trailhead can get pretty crowded from what I hear. We got there around 4 pm and packed planning to hike in about 5-7 miles and then find a camping spot.

2 miles in, we came to Punchbowl Falls. It was breath-taking (in more ways than one). We decided to take a little trail down to the beach and decided to get in the water. It was FREEZING! I ran in and took a dip and it literally took the air out of my lungs. Would I do it again? Yes. Probably. It is so pretty in there and apparently a popular swimming hole in the summer. It looked like you could maybe jump down but there was a death a few weeks ago so we decided not to take any crazy risks.

I would recommend taking a dip. It’s cold but kind of surreal.

Once we warmed up a bit, we continued down the trail. I don’t think I can do justice to this trail with my words. Trust me, if you haven’t checked out Eagle Creek, you are missing out. It is amazing. There are several short hikes or even longer backpacking trips that can start at this trail head. It can get crowded in the summer so be aware in case you decide to come check it out.

We passed up some campsites along the way but decided to settle on a spot close to the river about 5 miles in. My pack was not the most comfortable (I borrowed a friend’s) so I wasn’t too disappointed about not going all the way in.  The camping was amazing. The stars weren’t as visible as they are in Bend but being by the water is so relaxing.

Backpacking was nice. We set up camp and then spent some time cooking which is really enjoyable. As a car camper, my experience when camping is sitting by a fire and drinking some beers. This trip, however, was a little different. We cooked  Gado Gado Noodles and had ourselves a feast with cherries for desert. It was so nice cooking and enjoying the whole outdoor experience. So refreshing! I HIGHLY encourage taking the time and looking up some fun backpacking recipes if you decide to stay a night. Cooking was so fun!

The next morning, we hustled back and took all these wonderful pictures in order to get to Hood River to get a nice bike ride in! Gorgeous ride. I’ll post about it soon!

Until then, happy adventures!!

60 Mile Cycling Adventure in Bend, OR

In order to prepare my legs for the century from Portland to the Coast (Item #9 on the bucket list), I decided to join a friend this past weekend on a 60 mile ride in Central Oregon.

One of my girlfriends is doing the Pac Crest Long Course Triathlon later this month and was dying to preview the bike course so I decided to tag along and make a little trip out of it.

We headed out to Bend on Friday afternoon and got there around 8 pm. The downtown area was packed! I was a little shocked by the sheer amount of people walking around on the streets. We headed to 10 Barrel Brewery for dinner (delicious by the way!) and a few beers (you should try the wheat IPA…it was amazing!!) only to discover that the downtown was crowded because Bend hosts an art walk that they call First Friday. Much like the Pearl’s First Thursday, a lot of local galleries hand out wine and food so people will come in and maybe do a little shopping. It looked fun!

After dinner, we headed out to Deschutes National Forest to grab a camping spot for the night. We ended up camping at Sheep Bridge Campground (for a whopping $12/night). The night was amazing. I slept without my rain cover and just gazed at the stars until I fell asleep.

In the morning, we made a huge breakfast and headed out to Gull Point Campground which is where the transition area between the swim and bike portions of the tri. The area was gorgeous. The swim is in Wickiup Reservoir and it looked so beautiful and peaceful that I even entertained the thought about going for a dip.

The bike ride starts from Gull Point and then crosses the Deschutes River before turning onto Cascade Laker Highway. It was mostly rolling hills.

Miles 24-40 were climbing and pretty exhausting but the views were very rewarding.

The entire ride was filled with amazing views of the Sisters and Mt. Bachelor and beautiful lakes.Devil’s Lake was amazing. The water was a gorgeous shade of green.

There was snow on the course at the higher elevation. The wind was keeping us cool up there on the climbs which was refreshing.

After 40 miles, the ride had a nice descent and then flattened out for the remaining 20-ish miles to a nice ending in Sunriver, OR. The ride is point-to-point so we organized a ride to pick us up at the finish conveniently meeting at Sunriver Brewing Company which was the perfect way to toast 60 miles.

If you round out the route, the mileage would come to about 80-ish miles. The ride map is available on the Pac Crest site and also on MapMyRide. http://www.mapmyride.com/us/three-rivers-or/pacific-crest-1-2-ironman-bike-route-7739162

A few things I learned:

1. Sunscreen is your friend – I have the craziest tan lines on my body right now.
2. Water. Water. Water. – I ran out of water on the ride but luckily made it through the climbing with plenty of hydration. I carried a 70 ounce Camelbak bladder and a single bottle. I think an extra bottle would have been just right.

I would definitely be up for doing the ride again and making it a long loop! I highly recommend you cycling fans to check it out!

Happy riding!

Summer Bucket List

Last year I moved to Portland, Oregon in the middle of one of the wettest springs on record. While all my friends were enjoying the warm (okay…more like unbearably hot) Missouri summer in May and June on the lake and at ball games, I was stuck in low 60s and rain. When July finally rolled around I was giddy with plans and adventures to have. Only 1 catch. I couldn’t seem to drag anyone out with me.

This summer I am taking charge. I’ve decided to put together a bucket list for the summer. The plan is to complete it by Labor day (or I can buy myself some extra time if the weather stays nice) and blog my progress.

So let the fun begin! Here is my list thus far…although I might find a couple more things to do along the way:

1. Host a BBQ

2. Make a trip to the beach and build a sandcastle

3. Make at least 2 trips to Smith Rock

4. Climb Mt. Adams

5. Drive up to Seattle for a Mariners game

6. Go for a boat ride

7. Have a bonfire

8. Backpack East Eagle Creek Loop in the Wallowas

9. Ride my bicycle from Portland to the Coast

10. See the swifts in August

11. Climb South Sister

12. Run the entire Wildwood Trail in Forest Park