July 1st came and went. It was a Friday, Payday, and I remember that it was very, very warm for our area. The summer weather has been late in coming to Portland, Oregon, and I'm not complaining. The days that reach 80 degrees Fahrenheit are nice, but the days at 72 are even nicer.
One of the things I hadn't thought to much about when I decided last year to enter in this an annual quest of giving up alcohol for one year was all the holidays and celebrations, often toasted with a cheer. Whatever the occasion or depending on the drink (Beer, Wine, Margarita or Liquor-Spiced Cider) I would look forward to the social event as an opportunity to enjoy a good drink. Saint Patrick's Day, Father's Day, Anniversary, Birthday, and Fourth of July have all passed, and we really didn't do anything special for those days as most of our friends were off celebrating, many with alcohol. I don't mind missing this year's parties, the chance to benefit and learn from my experience is far more rewarding then enjoying a drink of alcohol. And the time away from drinking has allowed me to reconsider my relationships with alcohol, and the friends that come with it.
I don't see my regular drinking buddies on Friday afternoon at Bridgeport, not to mention the many staff-members I became friends with over the years. McMenamin's Edgefield is still a big part of my life, but it's coffee, breakfast, reading and writing for me there. One of my favorite birthday destinations is Full Sail Ales in Hood River, Oregon. Of course I'd have an elk-burger with fries and needless to say, Kandy could smell the grease and garlic coming out of my pores that night and a day later. That's one of the things we don't notice as much as the foods kinda came with the drinks. Instead, the Non-Alcoholic beers and wines are infrequent, but more often we are drinking fresh juice made from or Brevelle Juicer.
Last night, we saw a good documentary on Netflix called, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" about a guy from Australia who decided he'd had enough with being sick and fat, and he set off on a 60-day fast with nothing but water and fresh juices from fruits and vegetables. He came to the United States for this test because of all the fast foods and noticeably overweight people in our nation. I'd have to say, this was one of the best health related documentaries, liken to "Super-Size Me" with Morgan Spurlock, but I found this recent film very motivating with an excellent positive feel to it. This film starts my recommendation list that will soon become a regular part of my blog along with books as well.
Speaking of reading, I've already mentioned "The Gift of Adult ADD" by Lara Honos-Webb, PH.D. Along with the essence of relationship and self-help, I'd also like to recommend "Getting The Love You Want" by Harville Hendrix, PH. D. (no Relationship to the other PH.D.) as good reading for anyone trying to understand the science and evolution behind partner relationships. I can't attest to it improving your relationship with your partner, but it will surely explain why we feel certain ways and where the unsatisfied or unmet needs of one or both members in the relationship.
On a business side, I found "Success on the Step" the story of Kenmore Air very enjoyable and I'm now reading "Remember the Magic" the story of Horizon Air. I enjoy these accounts of aviation business entrepreneurs and their challenges and successes endured over the course of setting up their businesses. On my nightstand are two other books in waiting; "The Sustainability Revolution" and "Trekking Patagonia, A Hiking Guide." Kandy and I were planning to go to Patagonia the year Makenna was born, and although we had to delay our trip, I'm sure we'll put it back on the schedule for too long.
Finally, I did something last week that I'd not done in quite a few years. With the role of stay-at-home dad and homemaker--not to mention breaking my leg and being mobility-challenged for almost a year--I hadn't really gotten out to the wilderness with any real quality time with nature since our Wonderland Trail hike in 2006. On Tuesday, July 5th, I drove to Olympic National Park to discover all the high places in the park were still covered with six to eight feet of snow. The weather was nice with freezing levels slated for around 6,000 feet, but since I'd never been to this area before, I was unsure of what to do for a four-day wilderness experience. But studying the park map for a short while, I found a solution that would work out perfect.
The Hoh Rainforest lies on the West side of Olympic National Park. Continuing my drive westward on Highway 101, I drove around to the river road entrance and hiked three miles to Mt. Tom Creek camp for my first night. There I met, Jay and his wife Ursala along with their five year old son, Max. We had the entire area to ourselves and enjoyed a blissful setting of swift-running creek water and about an hour before sunset, a huge herd of about 60 elk crossed the river west of us and hung out on the north bank of the river about 100 yards from our campsites. I was able to sneak down through the willows and low washouts to a point about 20 yards from the herd where I snapped a few photos before one elk spooked off, taking the rest with them. This was the first time I'd seen so many young calves and head so many cow calls for the little ones.
The next morning, after stepping on my camera case and cracking my LCD, I packed up and heading eight miles up to Lewis Meadows Camp at just under 11 miles on the trail. This trail goes for about 16 miles inland before climbing up to the Blue Glacier and the summit of Mount Olympus. I passed many hikers along the route to my next camp and one hiker told me to press through Lewis Meadows to the river bar on the other side where I would find great beach camps with fire rings and lots of logs for firewood and exploring. But when I got to the river's edge, I found only two forested campsites and decided to explore downstream where I found a secluded campsite with good water but not too noisy with the sound of rushing water. By virtue of having the entire area to myself, it became the best nudist colony I'd ever created. The temperatures were warm for this area and the sun felt great. I had to be careful to not stay in the sun too long, especial the white private parts that rarely see the light of day outside the home.
WARNING, The Following Photos May Contain Images Unsuitable for Couch Potatoes.
Never-the-less, I explored the river, found the original campsites upstream of me, and filtered drinking water, all in the nude. This was refreshing as sun-bathing is great for hiking trips where showering isn't available, and plunging into glacial snow melt waters is very uncomfortable. I used a bandana to rinse, wring, and bathe my body on the shore of the Hoh river, and it was good.
That night, low fog moved into the valley and it was very dark with no stars or moon light in the forest, although it was very quiet all night long. I enjoyed this area, but felt lonely for conversation, so the next morning I headed back down trail to Five-Mile Island Camp where my new friends from Maine were going to be camping. On the way, I stopped at the Olympus Ranger Station and had lunch and rested my pack legs and back.
I saw lots of wildlife on the trip, but no bears. On my last day, while hiking the five miles out on this somewhat easy trail, I observed three cow-elk just a few yards off the trail. The seemed to not care that I was passing more then 20 feet from them as they kept eating as I walked by after snapping a few photos.
Just after this spot, I came across two separate Ptarmigan hens with a brood of chicks under their wings. The hen was "buckl, buck bucking" like a chicken and the chicks were "cheep, cheep, cheeping" like little ones, so I decided to join in on the conversations. First I "bucked" up to mother hen to see how her day was going, and she was obviously frustrated from chick rearing as she got upset as soon as I imitated the chicks. I started "cheeping" with my whistle lips and the hen immediately fanned out her tail, spread her wings to look bigger and she started hissing at me like a cat. I noticed if I stopped, she stopped and moved on, but when I started "Cheeping" again, she started again, but this time, she fluttered airborne and flew just pass my head as a warning to stop eating her babies. I hope I didn't break any wildlife laws, but it was neat interacted with nature on such a personal level.
This entire trip was refreshing, something I'd almost forgotten was part of my rebooting process, I'd done on a regular basis before full-time parenthood took priority. As my little one gets bigger, and my relationship with my spouse mends, I plan to enjoy the wilderness experience again, as early as this fall. We're planning a trip to Mount Rainier National Park where we plan to camp for three nights at Sunrise Camp, about a mile from the parking lot. From there, we will take long day-trips into the higher country for huckleberries and alpine vistas as well as the occasional wildlife sighting. But that's all for now.
Keep on trekking,
Don
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