Donner Lake, Truckee, CA

Three Sisters Wilderness Mini Backpacking Trip

 As life rushes along and we cater to the velocity and ferocity at which it goes by forgetting to stop and take breathes or stare at something other than a screen, something else grows.  There is a lion urge in each of us, I believe, that calls us to the wild and unknown, untamed.  This yearning can only be ignored for so long.

Recently, I fed my lion for a couple days and explored a bit of the Three Sisters Wilderness.  A fellow adventurer friend and I decided that even if it meant only two days into the wild, that was better than no days at all. We threw together our backpacking gear and raced out of the city, taking the scenic route to Bend.

We hiked in from the top of the Jeep trail about 2.5 miles until we found where we wanted to camp.  We had gotten a later start since we had to drive the 4 hours from Portland so the sun was setting as we pitched our tent and did our best to make a fire with some seriously wet wood.  There was snow on the ground and the wind picked up at night so we huddled together as best as we could to stay warm until the morning when we left our campsite to wander along part of the Pacific Crest Trail to three beautiful lakes hidden away behind Broken Top Mountain.  

The beautiful thing about this trip was how short but refreshing it was.  In the same time it usually takes to catch up on chores or laze around until Monday hits again, we went hiking through pristine, remote wilderness and re-energized our minds while toughening our bodies.  Invaluable.
   

Brothers and the Columbia River Gorge

I grew up sandwiched between two brothers.  This is a major part of my identity.  I also grew up forced to play outside with these two hooligans and am not lying when I say I loved every minute of it.  Forts, pine cone wars, believing we struck it rich on the discovery of blue clay which was thought to be a good sign of gold, these were parts of my everyday life.  If I never have another good day in my life, it would be fair, because I had the best childhood a person could ask for.

That said, my brothers and I got together over the weekend and did a little exploring in the Columbia River Gorge.  This happens to be one of my favorite places.  There are so many hiking trails and waterfalls beyond counting.  It truly is a magical fairy-tale land.  We decided to walk along the road for a bit just to stay safe.. (Totally kidding.  I led us on a mild goose chase that kept us within view and earshot of the lovely road that runs along the river and highway..whoops.)  We eventually got back on track though and landed upon a gorgeous little falls that I can't remember the name of.

There is something so special about going out in nature and enjoying all that it has to offer but doing it with people you love is even more spectacular.  So grab a sibling, spouse, parent, grandparent, friend, whoever, and take a walk in the woods.  If you're needing some inspiration on where to start and you are in the area, check out the Columbia River Gorge.  It is only a 30 minute drive outside of the city of Portland and there are wonders on both the Oregon and Washington side of the river.  

Many blessings.

Clearest water, greenest moss...heaven.

On top of the world.

The waterfall!  Not sure what this one is called.  This link will tell you about many of the falls in the area though. :)  http://www.columbiarivergorge.info/waterfalls.html

Overlooking the train going by down below. 

OREGON ZOO, on a rainy day..

...is still fun!

One might think that going to the zoo on a gray and somewhat rainy day isn't all that appealing but there are actually some serious upsides.
The obvious first is that there are far less people than on a sunny day, which makes jumping to see over people's heads and feeling bad that you're taking up the looking space of the little kids happen much less or not at all.
The second great thing about the zoo on a rainy day is a result of the first.  Although most animals do enjoy the sunshine just like we do, they might be a little less shy without all the people around gawking at them, so there is a good chance you can actually see more of them.  Not to mention, these animals are Portlanders too and a few rain clouds doesn't stop them from doing their daily activities.

The Lorikeets and I had a fun time together.  This one and I got real friendly!

So if the day is grayer than you hoped don't forget the upsides that come from that fact.  The Oregon Zoo in Portland is a great place to visit any day or the week, no matter the weather.  

And I'll leave you with a message has always inspired me that I found in the Ape exhibit:

Three things that are good to loose when you are finding your way.

Astound Yourself

Hawaiian Flower in the Rocks