Hiking season is upon us in the great Northwest, well sort of. Julie, our friend Joe, and I were all anxious to get out into the great outdoors and get our new REI equipment dirty, so we searched many trails online that were good to hike in, camp, and then hike back out. With the northwest having tons of rain and snow this winter, it was a bit early to hike in elevations of more than 3500 ft, so the only low-elevation trail that was near town and interested us all was Eagle Creek Trail. I’ve been on this trail a couple of times in years past, but not as far as we were planning to go this trip.

Eagle Creek Trail is one of the most popular trails in the Columbia River Gorge and, with the nice weekend weather, we had to hit the road early. We all met up and left for the trail around 6:30am. When we arrived at the trail an hour-and-a-half later, the parking lot we wanted to park in was nearly full; there was one more spot available and we took it. We were all pumped up to hit the trail, especially Joe as you can see below.

The trail wandered along the creek, which was so breathtaking. Due to all the snow melt from up above, the creek was roaring. We soon began to climb a bit as the creek slid between the mountains and sooner or later, we were walking on the ledge of the mountains, holding onto ropes for safety. The views were just fantastic. We passed many fellow hikers of all types and ages (I should say more people passed us than we did them); it was just unbelievable how popular this trail was, but we were about to find out why.

Around each corner seemed to be some type of waterfall, whether it was a tiny one going towards the Eagle Creek or a huge one that defined Eagle Creek itself. We just had to stop for a few minutes at each one and stare at its’ form and watch how it flows over and carves out the rock. When we got to Lower Punchbowl fall by hiking down the side of the mountain, there was plenty of ground to explore near the fall. We went as far as we could in the canyon before we would get our feet soaked with water. However, there was a loud noise coming from around the corner that Joe, being a nature photographer, could not pass up seeing. He took off his socks and shoes and began trotting through the water with his camera. I’m sure it got quite cold after a couple of minutes, but he was able to see Upper Punchbowl falls, which Julie and I were able to see down the trail about 10 minutes later.

After the hike down to the falls, we continued on the trail, passing little streams, rich vegetation, and rocks where slides have occurred. A little over six miles into the trail, we saw one of the most awe-inspiring waterfalls Oregon has to offer. It is called Tunnel Falls and behind the waterfall is the tunnel the trail goes through. This was the spot that attracted a fair amount of people to hike this trail. Joe and I spent the next 30 minutes to an hour there taking photos and taking in the sights and sounds of the waterfall that people could interact with.

A couple of miles down the trail, we set up camp near the river and explored the surrounding area. We walked through the rest of the camping area to a pretty neat little waterfall and then back to camp. Much of the next day was hiking back to the trailhead, going back through the tunnel at Tunnel Falls and down the trail to our vehicle. It’s amazing how views of the trail change when you’re going down compared to going up, but they were all so beautiful that I kept snapping away with my camera. Enjoy the photos!!

View the Eagle Creek Trail Gallery

It is that time of year again, to travel up to Seattle and see a Major League Baseball game with our friend Ryan. This time, my beloved Red Sox weren’t in Seattle to stomp the Mariners. Instead, Seattle welcomed the Washington Nationals to town. We left Portland to go to Ryan’s sister’s house up in Maple Valley, WA, which was approximately 30 miles southeast of Seattle. When we arrived in town, we noticed that traffic was terrible. It happened to be the weekend of the Maple Valley Days Festival where there was parade, a small carnival, many vendors, and a run. We were lucky enough to by-pass a lot of the traffic to get to Karen’s.

Julie and I always enjoy going to Maple Valley, not only because of how grateful it is to spend time with Karen and Ryan, but how beautiful the town is that is not too far from the huge city of Seattle. There’s plenty of forested land in the area as well as many farms that I enjoy. Karen lives in an awesome neighborhood with a forested park behind her house with walking trails that take you to a lake called Lake Wilderness. While we were there, Ryan, Julie, and I took many walks the two days we were there.

Sunday was the day of the game. We headed to Seattle early and had lunch at an Asian market called Uwajimaya in Seattle's China town, which was very near Safeco Field. I've never been in such an active China town with the type of people, stores, and restaurants they have their; it's one of my favorite places to visit while in Seattle. I'm not sure how Seattle's China Town compares to San Francisco's or Los Angeles', but Portland's China Town is not much at all. Many people view it as drug town.

The baseball game itself was a good one. It was a sunny day for the game and actually got a little hot until the shade from the roof covered us up. It was a close game (2-1 Seattle) until Washington tied it at the top of the 7^th. The 8^th inning spelled disaster for the Mariners when Kory Castro hit a controversial home run out of right field. It was controversial because many people thought that the ball went right of the post when, in fact, it bounced off the post. The stadium filled with “boos” from the crowd throughout the remainder of the game even though the umpires made the correct call. Even though the Mariners lost 6-2, it was a great day to be at the ballgame.

View Baseball and Abtract Gallery