A Weekend in the Gorge

If I ever doubt my decision to move to Portland, all I have to do is wait for a clear day. (And sometimes, that's a long wait...) The scenery around here is virtually unparalleled, and I can't imagine its equal in an urban setting. Just driving to work (when I steal Lisa's car) and watching the sunrise over the mountains to the East.... it's breathtaking. And blinding. Then there's getting out of the city....

Lisa and I drove along the Columbia River Gorge this weekend to celebrate our half-anniversary, and just to get out of town for a while. I'll never get used to seeing things like what I have here on the right. I mean, I grew up in Minnesota. Things there are FLAT. Where I went to college in La Crosse, we got all excited about bluffs.

Our two day journey took us out of Portland to the East. We stopped at various points along the Columbia river, looking at waterfalls and other amazing scenery. The weather, which has been very rainy lately, was very cooperative. We stopped in the city of Hood River for the night, with a wonderful view across the river into Washington from our back window.

The next morning we awoke to an unexpected surprise. Snow! About three inches, which to hearty Minnesotans-by-birth like us was nothing. We had planned a long hike to see the Mosier Twin Tunnels, which looked totally cool in the photos, and over breakfast decided "Well, why not? What's a little snow?"

Indeed.

It was a lovely, gorgeous view as we made our way along the snow covered road. (The hiking trail was a disused road from before they built the modern highway. Now it only exists for hikers, bikers, and as we discovered, skiiers.) Alternately walking in the footprints of the handfil of people who were out earlier in the morning, and stepping out to blaze our own trails, we really had fun as we went. The tunnels at the end were awesome, and we even found a spot in them where some motorists in the 20s were snowed in for four days. (You can see all the trip photos by clicking on the title of this entry.)

I learned something on that walk, as we made our way the four miles to the tunnels and back. I learned that eight miles in the uneven snow is a hell of a lot further than I ever could have imagined. I learned that the same scenery that takes your breath away on the way out can be invisble on the way back when there are far more basic things on your mind. I learned that my waterproof hiking boots are not waterproof, and that they can get wet enough that walking in them feels exactly the same as walking on a beach with the surf sliding over my feet. I learned that nature is a powerful force. I learned when I think I've reached the limits of my endurance, I can keep going if there simply is no other choice.

But most of all, I learned that if I'm out in nature, my shins are killing me, my feet are soaked, it's four miles back to the car, it's getting dark, it's snowing, it's raining, it's snowing again, every third step slips, I'm cold and hot at the same time, and I'm wondering what the hell I was thinking in the first place - the only person I can imagine having at my side is Lisa, who was patient, encouraging, and managed to somehow make even the trip back seem fun. And I know she was as tired, sore and wet as I was. But she stayed positive, and in a feat of incredible fortitude, managed to somehow keep ME positive.

Now that's a girl to hold on to.