Memorial Day Weekend

We has a nice Memorial Day weekend, despite the fact that our plans to go camping fell through. The weekend turned out to be rather rainy, so all in all I am glad that we ended up canceling our original plans. Friday night we did not have any soccer, so we had Pablo, Jason, and Shelley over for "El noche de paella". Pablo cooked us some delicious paella de pollo (below) and gespacho, and we enjoyed a bit of wine as well.





Saturday we got up early and made a trip up to Washington for a nice hike with Jason and Pablo (see my blog entry below). Saturday evening we had some sushi, and then taught Jason and Pablo how to play Settlers of Catan. If you have not played this game ... you should check it out. We then hit up the Cornelius Pass Road House for some beers (and a Chocolate Shake for Pablo who was having a chocolate craving).


Sunday Janel and I met up with my old friend and roommate Diana, who made a trip up for the weekend from Folsom. It was great to see D again, and to meet some of her friends. We took them to Eagle Creek for a nice hike.


Today was pretty relaxing. We had brunch with Shelley, Jenn, and Lisa, and will be having burgers for dinner with Jason, Pablo, and Shelley.

Siouxon Trail

Jason join Janel, Pablo, and I today for his first hike ever at the Siouxon Trail south of Mt. St. Helens. This was a nice trail along a creek and a few waterfalls. There are no views of St. Helens, but this was okay as it was a rainy day. The waterfalls were not particularly amazing, but it was a nice hike anyway. We were unable to visit one of the larger waterfalls, as it is necessary to cross the river and it was still a bit too early in the season to make the crossing. We probably could have made it, but I don't think it would have been worth the effort. Below is one of the larger waterfalls that we saw towards the end of the hike. Jason and I scrambled across some slippery rocks to get to the view shown below.

Keeping busy, but no more marathon training

I decided last weekend that I am done with marathon training. I was trying to stick with it, but realized that it was not going to happen ... especially with all the travel and such that we will be doing this summer. It also does not really line up with my priorities (read: hiking and camping). Despite being a quitter :) ... we are still keeping quite busy. After two soccer games Friday night, we ran a 5K Saturday morning, and went on a nice hike (see below) today. The 5K went okay ... I did not really know how to pace myself, so I ended going out a bit too conservatively so my time was not all that great ... but on the bright side I was not really that tired the rest of the day.

Salmon River

Pablo joined Janel and I on a hike at the Salmon River up near Zigzag on the way to Mt. Hood today. The weather was a bit iffy today, so we decided to take a nice low-elevation hike. All in all it was a decent hike. No spectacular vistas or waterfalls, but a nice river and some beautiful forest. I would not highly recommend this trail, but am still glad that I went. Below is a picture from rather early in the hike. There were some nice views early in the hike, as well as towards the end.

Larch Moutain Loop

Janel and I went on a nice to Large Mountain today in the Gorge. We were expecting a nice quick 6-7 mile hike before a day of chores ... but the hike ended up being a bit more challenging than anticipated. We were looking forward to the hike because May is supposed to be a great time for this trail because of the wildflowers. However, as a result of the heavy snows this winter, we encountered a large amount of snow instead of May wildflowers :). Snow hiking is a lot more tiring than normal trail hiking :). Below is a picture of Janel on the snow.





Despite the snow, the weather was actually perfect for hiking. I wore shorts the entire time. When we got home, it was almost 80! Anyway, it was a nice hike and we did not see a lot of people until we got to the top (Shepard Point). You can drive up here, and we saw a lot of people. Despite being able to drive to the main attraction, I would still recommend this hike ... it was very nice. Here is a picture of Janel and I at the top. Apparently after all that hiking I forgot how to smile :P





To see all the pictures, go here.

Janel's Future

Janel accepted a job @ Aloha High School today (the same school that she is currently working at). Word on the street is that there are a bunch of girls that she works with that are our age and single. Just another reason for all you Comp Arch grad students @ UIUC to get your butts out here ;).

Things looking good for Janel

Hiring season is starting in the Beaverton district. Westview (one of the schools close to us) called yesterday to setup an interview for Monday. They also called Aloha (the school Janel is working at now) to ask about Janel. As a result, the head of the math department at Aloha told Janel today that they would be offering her a position in about 1 week (after working through some logistics). This takes a large weight of Janel's shoulders (and of course makes my life a lot easier :P). So ... J should have a good idea of where she is going to be around this time next week (or maybe the week after). Maybe I should go out and buy that altimeter watch at REI (there is a big sale this week :)).

Backpacking at Mount Rainier

Got my reservations for a backpacking trip in August made today. The 18th - 21st Allen and Todd and I (I am still looking for one more person) are going to do the Northern Loop Trail, about half of which is on the famous Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier National Park. The 4 day trip will cover about 35 miles, and we will be staying at the James Camp, Berkeley Park, and Mystic Camp sites (see map). It should be a lot of fun. Let me know if you are interested in joining us!