Kevin's Weblog

Yesterday, I went on the first of what I expect will be many hikes with Mazamas. We did the Multnomah - Wahkeena Loop, which is a route that I’ve been on both ends of but not the 4 miles or so in the middle. It was a nice hike; the area above Multnomah Falls is quite beautiful and it was good to get some serious exercise. The first mile did have me worrying a little if I’d overestimated my current abilities, but once we got past the steep edge of the gorge it got a lot easier.

At times I regretted not bringing my camera with me, but it would have been hard to keep up with the pace of the group if I’d stopped even a fraction of the times I saw something worth photographing. I figure none of it is going anywhere soon, so I’m not worrying about it too much. Besides, if I had brought it along, I might have been regretting having the extra 10 pounds during that first mile instead.

I’m viewing this hike as the beginning of my preparations to climb Mt. St. Helens later this year. And that climb, in turn, is preparation to climb Mt. Hood as one of my 101 in 1001 goals. My current thinking is that I’ll attempt a non-technical ascent sometime next summer, but there’s still a lot of research I need to do about the easiest routes. I might later attempt a winter ascent, but I definitely need much more preparation for that, since I haven’t touched an ice axe in over 10 years.