Hiking Poem

Snow covered paths
soaking boots
mounting drifts
in peak pursuit.

Elevation exacts
a heavy toll
blinding sun
on melting snow.

Red-faced we
laugh and lunge
through banks knee high
prepared to plunge.

Grindstone Lake

Nicole and I are in New Mexico for the week, staying in the mountains. It's about 20 degrees colder than it usually is here this time of year but we came prepared with many layers and are enjoying the truly awesome beauty around us.

 Went on our first hike today. Chilly but really wonderful.

In The Mountains With A Friend

I'm in Denver the next couple days visiting one of my oldest friends Beanpole. He's lived here since shortly after college and this'll be my fourth visit. He's a teacher so his summer's are free but that time is typically pretty precious, doubly so now that he has a little boy. So I took a little time off, easy for me, and came to visit. Plan to make visits more frequent moving forward because we've known each other for close to twenty years at this point, there's not a whole lot of people I know better or have a more extensive history with. And now that he has a son I want to be a part of that kid's life, even if the most I can manage is every other year, that consistency adds up.

We went for a long hike today, something I always want to do when I visit because of all the wonderful options in the Denver area. Beanpole and I worked at a summer camp together for a number of years and even when we were just hanging out we'd typically trek around the various parks in Rockford so the activity has a bit more resonance for us above and beyond the obvious pleasantness.

We walked and talked and enjoyed the day. It's been a great visit so far, been able to spend some QT
with Beanpole's wife Jen and son Matthew and get a sense of his life here. Feels good to be here and be a part of it for a little bit. Much better than going through a catch-up check list on the phone.

Gorge Hike

We got up reasonably early today to head out to the Columbia River Gorge to go hiking. Per the recommendation of some of my relatives we did the Eagle Creek Trail. A beautiful hike past a couple waterfalls to the Punchbowl which is a pond in a hollow with a waterfall on one end. The day was gorgeous and the hiking was just rigorous enough. Wonderful.

Winter weather had damaged a bridge so we had to ford the creek.

The Punchbowl.

After the hike we stopped by Multnomah Falls. Majestic but packed with tourists.

A little ways down the road we randomly pulled off at Rooster Rock State Park. Home of a basalt obelisk dubbed "cock rock" by Lewis & Clark and also home to one of two of Oregon's clothing optional beaches. There wasn't much to it and it was mostly abandoned(presumably everyone heads straight to the nude beach section) but it was very striking and surreal to walk along the river, quiet and alone relatively close to a major highway.

On the way back we got dinner in Portland and got ice cream at the justly lauded Salt & Straw. A fun and exhausting day.

Nature

Yesterday Matt and I went on a hike at Pocahontas State Park. There's a lot of nature in and around Richmond. It's one of the big things that Chicago lacks. Some place to go and be away from the city. We hiked for a good two hours and talked sporadically.
I feel the most comfortable and at peace out in the woods. I realized while we were hiking this is what I'd been missing. I need to make time for nature in my day to day life. I need to make time to get out of the city and decompress. This trip is making me realize you need to get out of your life every once in a while to insure the richness of it. You can only create in a vacuum for so long.

Sometimes you need to go listen to the trees.