Category Archives: Outdoors

Elk Mountain and King’s Mountain

I knocked another hike off this year’s to do list! The hike was the Elk and King’s Mountain loop in the Oregon Coast Range. Here’s a quick summary of the hike along with some photos.

Distance: 11 Miles
Elevation Gain: 3,700 Feet

This loop is rated as very difficult, so I was expecting it to be fairly steep and rugged. Turns out that’s exactly what this hike is like. Right off the bat, the climb to Elk Mountain was very steep. It reminded me a lot of Mt Defiance only the climb to the summit is shorter (and half the elevation). Continue reading →

I Kicked Ash On Mt St Helens

Standing On the Crater Rim of Mt St Helens

After weeks of anticipation, I finally got to accomplish my goal of climbing to the top of Mt St Helens. At 8,365 ft, it’s the second tallest mountain I’ve ever climbed. The trip was a success and everyone in our group made it up to the top. Here’s a full trip report of the days events:

Distance: 12 Miles
Elevation Gain: 5,622 Feet

We started the day off by meeting at 5AM at the climber registration office (the Lone Fir Resort). …

Mount Defiance and Ruckel Ridge

As I mentioned in my last post, my main goals this year is to hike a thousand miles. So I plan on posting trip reports here as often as I can. Here’s some quick trip reports from this past weekend:

Ruckel Ridge to Eagle Creek

Distance: 16 Miles
Elevation Gain: 4,000 Feet

Depending on what guidebook or forum you read, Ruckel Ridge is considered to be one of the toughest hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. The trail gains almost 4,000 feet of elevation in less than 5 miles.

I can honestly say this was by far the hardest hike I’ve ever done in my entire life. The total distance came out around 16 miles and my legs were pretty sore when we got back to the car. Snowshoeing along the Benson Plateau was also a challenge, especially since it was difficult to find the trail. Continue reading →

The Oregon Coast

Here are a few photos from a weekend camping trip along the Oregon coast:

Cape Lookout State Park

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The Dog Mountain Trail

Distance: 7 Miles
Elevation Gain: 2,800 Feet

I’ve been really anxious to get out and hike now that we live near mountains so we tried out the Dog Mountain trail. It’s located in Washington within the Columbia River Gorge. The total distance up and down is just over 7 miles and has an elevation gain of 2800 feet. It’s a really good workout and well worth the climb.

The top of the mountain is covered in snow right now but we were able to make it to the top without any issues (though it was a tad slippery in spots).

Here’s some photos from the hike:

Continue reading →

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