Embracing the Journey

The Columbia River Gorge is the border between most of Washington and Oregon. It is extremely beautiful, and a haven for windsurfing!

As we were driving on the road toward Mt. Adams, we saw a sign that said simply, "Big Tree" with an arrow pointing us in the right direction. We decided to check it out, and found this, well, big tree.

Jess on Mt. Adams looking off at Mt. St. Helens in the distance. We wanted to climb MSH, but due to some volcanic activity, it's been closed for climbing in the past few years.

Mark nearing "The Lunch Counter" on Mt. Adams, a flatter spot at about 9,200 ft. on the mountain that is below the false summit...a great place to camp! Adams is a great climb, but long. We were able to snowshoe the whole way, but it took us a good 10 hours! It's not as steep as it looks in this picture.

Our home sweet home at the lunch counter on Mt. Adams. It was a bit windy, but those that have come before us built up some rock walls to protect you from the gusts. We never made it to the summit of Adams b/c we woke up in a cloud that turned into snow as we waited in hopes that it would clear. Instead of risk getting caught in what could have turned into thunderstorm clouds, we decided to head back down the mountain.

We carried this 4-season tent [read: heavy] on our climb...the coziness and shelter from the wind made it worth it.

We hadn't planned on white water rafting, but we were driving down from the Mt. Adams wilderness and kept passing rafting places. We stopped to ask, and squeezed in a run for the following afternoon. It was a fun run with class 3 and 4 rapids.

On our way back to the Portland airport, our last stop was at Multnomah Falls. It was so beautiful and has this sweet bridge over it!

We had a fantastic time, and miss the mountains already!