Middle Sister Up and Over
This past weekend Alex and I made a bit of a last minute decision to drive all the way to Sisters, OR to climb and ski Middle Sister. We had this tour slated as a potential Memorial Day trip, but when all of Washington looked gloomy over the weekend, I searched for sunnier locations. There was always the option of staying home and having a chill weekend, especially after being in Alaska the previous two weekends, but spring ski season is short and if we could get out there, I wanted to get out there.
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Skiing South Sister
Long weekends allow me the opportunity to head out on a trip that is just a tad too ambitious for a weekend trip. Last year over Memorial Day Alex and I went on a three day ski mountaineering trip to Glacier Peak with our friend Sander. This year the three of us had our eyes on a couple different destinations in the North Cascades but unfortunately the forecast for the entire state of Washington was looking cloudy and wet, so we set our sights on a sunnier locale: Bend, Oregon.
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Photo Diary: A Sunny Slice of the Oregon Coast
This spring in the Pacific Northwest has been a frustrating procession of storms, gray skies, and chill-inducing temperatures but last week, for the first time in what feels like months, the clouds parted to grace us with a shining sun. And just in time for Alex’s and my trip along the Oregon Coast! We’ve been dreaming about driving along this famed stretch of Highway 101 since before we even moved to Seattle.
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Spring Summit of Mt. Hood
I pressed the start button on my Garmin watch and checked the time. 1:04AM. Above us, billions of twinkling stars painted the sky. I was thankful for the calm and clear conditions that would accompany us on the climb ahead. We couldn’t see the finer details of our objective for the morning, but we knew its presence was there. Its hulking mass of rock and ice covered slopes blotted out a huge portion of stars on the northern horizon. It acted like a black hole, obscuring any light and drawing us in like a magnet.
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Crater Lake Circumnavigation Attempt
In May of 2016 Alex and I visited Crater Lake for the first time. We hadn't done much research so we were surprised to find most of the park still buried in snow and the entire length of the rim road was not yet open so we were confined to the Rim Village and a few miles of road along the West Rim. We visited over Memorial Day weekend and it seemed thousands of others had the same idea as us as the park was filled to the brim with visitors.
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A Visit to Crater Lake National Park
During our time in Oregon Alex and I spent a day and night in Crater Lake National Park. Our visit was short but we were able to see as much of the park as we could given the circumstances.
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Exploring Oregon's Waterfalls
Oregon is well known for its rainy climate that produces lush green forests and thundering waterfalls. And no trip to the state is quite complete without stopping at a few of these natural wonders.
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Hiking Tom Dick and Harry Mountain
The extended Memorial Day weekend offered another opportunity to visit a national park without having to take a day off of work and I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me by.
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