Today Emily and I decided to get out of the
house. I only have two weeks before my surgery so I definitely wanted to make use of my legs before I lose them for a couple months. I knew the 1,500 feet of vertical would be tough on my knee without an acl, especially going downhill but I wanted to give it a try anyway. We chose a hike in the gorge called Angel’s Rest Viewpoint that was 4.2 miles round trip and would bring us past a couple waterfalls to a great overlook above the Columbia River. We started off the hike at 1:30 and were back to the car by 4pm. On the way up the trail we passed by Coopey Falls which is a 150 foot tall horsetail shaped waterfall with an upper tier as well that I walked down to check out. Walking down the mud with a sore knee was definitely tough.
Gradually as we ascended we encountered more and more snow and the
trail became a sheet of ice in some places which had me worried about the trip down. Soon we could see our destination above us which was a rocky outcrop. When we made it to the top there was about 3-4 inches of snow over everything and the views down to the Columbia were amazing. There was also a very cool volcanic steep ridge heading up and away from the viewpoint into the woods that we walked up for different views. It was really a beautiful place and I wouldn’t mind coming back in the summer to relax in the sun at the top. Thankfully, the rainy weather held off while we were there and we were able to have great views west and east down the Columbia River. On the way home we stopped for a delicious dinner at Season’s & Regions Seafood restaurant in Portland. They have $3 menu that would be perfect on the ride home from skiing at Mt. Hood. We’ll have to go back there again.
Emily and I were invited over to Tim & Lindsays for a pizza dinner and drinks before Emily’s soccer game. When Nick Hatch showed up with his new little puppy Riyu I decided to stay there and have a few drinks rather than go to Emily’s Game. It was cute to watch Riyu and Dromi play tug of war with each other with a towel. Definitely makes me want to get a dog soon. We hung out for a while until Lindsay started to fall asleep so we all took off. Awesome pizza!
