Category Archives: Travel/Places

The Silver Star Grand Tour

Standing on the Silver Star Summit

The sun decided to come out this weekend so it was the perfect opportunity for some more hiking. I decided to give the Silver Star Grand Tour a shot, which I can easily say is my favorite hike so far. The hike was guided by the Mazamas, which is a Mountaineering organization here in Portland.

Distance: 15 Miles
Elevation Gain: 5,250 Feet

The hike started off at the Starway trailhead, which is not the easiest place to find. It requires driving down dirt roads …

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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