May 19-28, 2017
Pacific Northwest
During our down time between climbing volcanoes in the region, Laura and I made an effort to explore the area. After 3 consecutive days of climbing 4,000 vertical feet or more, we stayed near Portland and headed off the next morning. We had only planned to go to Crater Lake National Park, but since we were now a few days ahead of schedule, we decided to add in the coastline as well.
Driving west, we arrived at Cannon Beach, very scenic, the site of the windows computer background and according to my cousin, the site of the filming of the movie The Goonies. We walked the beach in a cold wind, had lunch and headed down the coastline.
Since we are out on the trail quite a bit, I look for foods that keep for a week or more and taste good even when you don't want to eat because of elevation or high activity levels. For years I have been taking Tilamook cheese wherever I go, so it was a perfect place to stop when we came across the Tilamook Cheese Factory! We did a quick tour, sampled some different cheeses and bought a block of my favorite, the smoked and aged cheddar. Of course, we couldn't leave a dairy farm without ice cream too!
Pretty soon, we were at Crater Lake National Park. We always try to visit our parks if we are in close proximity because they are almost always amazing places. Many of them are overrun with tourists, but Crater Lake was different. Due to the high levels of snow this year, only one entrance was open and most of the hiking trails were closed. This kept the visitors away, so we enjoyed several viewpoints and a quick lunch before heading on down the road.
It was amazing to us how dense the forest is in Oregon. Just feet off the beach, the trees are thick, and at our camp spots near lakes along the way, you wouldn't even know you were at a lake unless you walked to shore. Home in Colorado is very different, but I guess that shows the difference consistent moisture makes!
Along the way, we stayed at several lakes and took the time to walk a short section of the Pacific Crest Trail since through hiking has been a subject of conversation for us lately. The last part of our tour was the waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge everyone hears about. We spent a day waterfall chasing, as Laura called it, and saw some of the most amazing falls in the area!
Along the way, we stayed at several lakes and took the time to walk a short section of the Pacific Crest Trail since through hiking has been a subject of conversation for us lately. The last part of our tour was the waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge everyone hears about. We spent a day waterfall chasing, as Laura called it, and saw some of the most amazing falls in the area!
