Hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail

This is a trail blaze for the Pacific Crest Trail, a long distance hiking trail that begins (typically) at the California and Mexican border and ends in British Columbia. I am taken with this trail and was before we even moved here. Lucky us that it is a short drive from Eugene. This weekend we were finally able to hike on it for a few miles. We chose a stretch through the Three Sisters wilderness area in Deschutes National Forest. First we drove through the lava fields on Highway 242, stopping at the Dee Wright Observatory. Here is a picture of the observatory, built from the surrounding lava rock:

And here is a picture inside the observatory:

Here is our view from the top of the Observatory. That is North Sister mountain with a storm cloud blowing over it:

More lava rock around the Observatory:

After our visit to the observatory we found our trail head for North and South Matthieu lakes and began our (chilly) hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Highway 242, also known as the McKenzie Pass, is only open mid July through October and last year at this time it was already closed because of the snow. So, we were eager to explore while we had the chance.

 

Nearby Mt. Jefferson:

Mt. Jefferson in the foreground and Mt. Hood to the right:

You can see North Matthieu lake in this picture, one of the two lakes we hiked by.

While much of our hiking was down in the forest we did get some views of the nearby Sisters. The storm cloud over the North Sister changed a lot during our hike, which was neat to witness.

More lava fields. Apparently, the large lava rocks were lava bombs, meaning they were blown out of the cinder cones in their molten states but solidified during flight. 

 South Matthieu lake. It was cold. We did not swim.

Look at that good-looking couple!

And here is North Matthieu lake. 

I threw a big rock into the water.

And lastly, another picture of North and Middle Sister. 

Six miles of the PCT done! Only 2657 more miles to go!

More Ryan!

So I was looking for videos of Ryan Adams on YouTube (like I do) and I found this one of him singing "Come Pick Me Up" from the show last week. The sound quality is actually pretty decent. So, here you go!

Thanks to the fellow Eugenian who took the video!

Some Good Folk(s)

Last week was a week for good music. On Tuesday we saw The Head and the Heart play at Wow Hall and then just a couple days later we saw Ryan Adams at the Shedd. I've been listening to the former for only a few months, but I really fell in love with their self-titled album and so Michael had to hear it a lot. We invited our new friends, who also like folksy rock. As much as I loved the album, the show was just ok. And if you haven't listened to them at all, I would encourage you to do so even though I don't have great things to say about their live show... or their lead singer (who is kind of a weinus).

Thursday was Ryan Adams day. When Michael and I talked for the first time (EVER!) we were sitting next to each other at the Derby Bar discussing the Gold album. The music of Ryan Adams appeared on all the mixes we made for each other (I know, right). We danced to "When the Stars Go Blue" at our wedding. So, you see? We love Ryan Adams! But the show sold out fast and we didn't get tickets. He hasn't toured in a couple years and he's only playing a dozen or shows along the West Coast, so we were really feeling the loss. But! Craigslist is the shit! We found two balcony seat tickets being sold at a very decent price. I called and it was like the guy was looking for a good home for his puppy. He wanted someone enthusiastic about Adams and wasn't looking to swindle. We ARE enthusiastic and weren't looking to BE swindled! So that was that! We went to the concert for dirt cheap. Here are the faces we made most of that night:

And man o man, Ryan Adams does not disappoint. He played an acoustic show without a band and it was magical. He opened with "O My Sweet Carolina" and then moved into a lot of his new stuff from Ashes & Fire, which is a great album as far as I can tell. And Ryan Adams the dude is kind, weird, and really really funny. We took a not so great picture of him:

After the show Michael and I walked home with the happiest, silliest grins. We talked the entire way about how wonderful the show was. Three hours of Ryan playing song after wonderful song on guitar, harmonica, or piano. It was the best concert either of us have been to. And it was a stark juxtaposition to the show we saw earlier that week. What a songwriter. What a voice. For you fans, you must go see him. His voice is better live than on album. For reals.

Ok friends! Go listen to some good music and feel happy. It's fall!

Love from Eugene,
Katie and Michael

Fall Colors and Camping

Michigan has a beautiful fall season and so Michael and I were sad to miss the changing of the leaves this year. We thought Eugene would turn gray and monochromatic and then we'd know it was winter. However, the pacific Northwest has some stunning color change too! Here are some pictures of us camping with friends at Clear Lake. Some 3000 years ago lava flows from the Cascades higher peaks dammed the river and created the lake and her clarity. We hiked through a lot of lava rock and old growth forest.

Hiking on the McKenzie River Trail

This is a dry riverbed that we played in for awhile. Michael found elk tracks!

Clear Lake:

Hiking through lava flows:

That's all for now!

Love and hugs,
Katie and Michael

Fall Updates

This week I (katie) traveled across the country and back. I went to work and worked on new poems. I went out to dinner with Michael. We went rollerskating, carved pumpkins, and packed bags for camping (we're leaving in a couple hours). Quite the week, eh? From the beginning.

When is the last time you've been to a roller rink? Over a decade? There's probably a reason for that. But Michael and I thought it would be a fun, cheap thing to do on a friday night. We invited New Friends and they were, of course, really into the idea. Skateworld has three types of skaters: 1. people like us who enjoy mixing nostalgia with a little bit of falling on asses. 2. those who take it really seriously. These people tended to be in their mid-forties. They bring their own skates, even installing blue lights on the bottom for dark light laps. And finally, the third category: tweens. I guess skating rinks still market to the pre-pubescent. 

The four of us had a great time. We played pinpall and The Simpsons arcade game, which really brought me back. We made a request to the DJ, who was a solid ten years younger than me: Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. They played it and the tweens did not know what to do with it... or us. My request for Billie Jean was not honored. We skated a lot and I fell a few times. 

The next morning at 5:20 I flew out of Eugene to New York City, with a brief layover in Portland. When I learned this summer that my Bennington classmates were gathering for a party in downtown NYC I asked Michael how he'd feel if I made a very impulsive and maybe irresponsible decision. He told me to "go be with my people." Serendipitously, Bennington sent my deposit back to me, covering the entire cost of the trip. Because I thought it would be fun I decided to surprise my friends and not tell them I was going. The party host aided me in my coup and we pulled it off quite well. 

Nearly half of my graduating class came to the party. It was a love fest, of course. And a lot of "So, are you writing?" The trip ended nearly as fast as it began. I flew in Saturday afternoon and out on Monday afternoon.  A whirlwind of goodness.

En route to NYC. A view from my plane window:

A view from my friend's place:

After sleeping for about day (16 hours spent traveling on Monday), I made a full recovery. Michael received his first quiz back: an A plus! It went straight up on the fridge and we went out to celebrate. 

Finally, we carved pumpkins this week. I like to do it mostly for the seeds. We had New Friends over and for one of them it was her first time ever carving a pumpkin! We named ours Barb, placed her on our steps, and put a headlamp in her. Here is a picture of her (not aglow, unfortunately): 

Forthcoming: Next week we're going to the Head and the Heart concert at WOW Hall. In November we are San Francisco bound for Thanksgiving weekend. And camping! As much camping as possible! 

Love from the West,

Katie and Michael