hike 1/60 -- tryon creek state park

completed: 1/24/10
time: 1.25 hours
3 stars
moderate (due to some steep inclines!)

so kyle and i were busy last week and started our hikes! we did number 1 last monday because it was supposed to be a pretty nice day out--and it was! it was about 45-50 degrees out and cloudy. the hike was mostly covered by all of the trees though because it was also lighly raining, but we couldn't really tell!

so the first hike we did was at tryon creek state park which was about 20 minutes away from our apartment on the northeast side of town. the state park is located in the southwest part of town and its a little more south than it is west! tryon creek is oregon's only state park in a major city but it doesn't even feel like it. while driving there we exited off the interstate and drove for about 2.5 miles and it felt like we were out in the country on winding roads in a forest. so the whole area had been logged back in the 1880's for an iron company and so the forest now is a second growth forest and is considered young. while hiking through it, the forest didn't seem young to me!

one of the reasons i chose to do this particular hike first was because it was close to town, it is open all year round, it is free, and there are things to see in every season. the author of the book recommends hiking the state park in the spring to see wildflowers (trillium blooms specifically), to go in the fall for the leaves changing colors, and in the winter to look for steelhead trout. unfortunately kyle and i didn't see any trout when we crossed the creek (we crossed a lot of different creeks too!).

the hike we did was about 3 miles long and was a loop (it was the one described in our book). kyle and i definitely want to go back sometime because the park has approximately 8 total miles of hiking trails, so we only scratched the surface! plus i want to go back to see the wildflowers!

the hike did take us longer than what the book said it would take (book said 1 hour but it took us an hour and fifteen minutes) and we also thought it was a little more difficult than the "easy" it was described as. the hike was not even close to being as hard as our hike to neahkahnie mountain was in september, but still not flat. so we described it as moderate. this also worries us both because there are a lot of hikes in the book described as strenuous!

overall we rated this hike 3 out of 5 stars because it wasn't the coolest or most challenging hike we have ever done but it is conveniently located, there are lots of hiking options, and it was a pleasant little workout but not overwhelming!

so now i am going to go plan the hike we are going to do on kyle's birthday (its wednesday...don't forget to wish him a happy birthday!!!!!) because the weather is supposed to be nice and that is one of the things he wants to do! so we are going to do a longer hike since neither of us has to work!

and here are the other pictures we took! oh and one notable thing: kyle and i again noticed a TON of moss growing on the trees (this was first pointed out to us by kyle's dad that the trees are just COVERED in moss) and we couldn't remember from previous hikes if this is always the case. so we don't know if the trees in the winter have more moss on them than normal due to all the rain or what. i could look it up...or it will just be something that we keep an eye on while out hiking!

so as kyle so optimistically put it "1 down, only 59 more to go!" good thing i am looking forward to those!

a little overdue...

so i just thought of this: one of my new year's resolutions should have been to blog more! well too bad i just thought of that now. but true story: i am going to start blogging more (and hopefully kyle will add some new stuff too!)

i have a few reasons behind this new desire to blog again:
1. i read quite a few blogs on a daily basis. most are related to fashion and more specifically anthropologie (which is becoming my favorite store more and more everyday...if only i could afford it!).
2. kyle's family visited in the beginning of the month and we all went to powell's bookstore and kyle's dad, bill, bought me a new wonderful book:

so far i have really enjoyed everything about the book. the descriptions are good enough, there are recommendations about flat hikes, urban hikes, steep hikes, hikes with a view, and others. the book also has a bunch of different areas: the coast, mt. hood, mt. st. helens, clackamas river, willamette river valley, and a bunch of other areas around portland! one of the only issues i have with the book is that there are some hikes that aren't within 60 miles...as in they are closer to 90 miles away! but thats ok...if it is worth the hike!

and a couple of the hikes that kyle and i have done are in here so we are going to do them again-the hoyt arboretum and the coast hike we did! but the arboretum is so close and easily accessible that of course we will do that one again. plus neahkahnie is still one of the best hikes i've ever done in my life! so i definitely want to do that one again!

but kyle proposed this idea: we hike all 60 hikes this year! and i loved it! he also suggested about the 2nd week into january and i did the math-it adds up to 1 hike every 6 days so we were already 2 behind! oops!

but the book also suggests the best time to go do these hikes. a bunch of the hikes around mt. hood aren't even open until may because of snow! so one of my projects that i want to do is organize when we will do most of them. i think we will be doing a LOT of hiking come july, august, and september! but thats ok! we also need to work our way up to the strenuous hikes! and our endurance because there are a few hikes that are 12+ miles!

so coming soon will be pictures and information on these! so that means there will be at least 60 more posts this year! which i believes quadruples the amount of bloggings from last year =)

as for a little update in our lives:

kyle and i are still looking for "real" jobs or even better, careers. i am meeting with the dietitian who does the hiring at OHSU (oregon health and science university) hospitals on tuesday so hopefully something good will come out of that informational interview. i am also in the process of applying to a corporate wellness company that i have a good feeling about and seems awesome to work for. kyle went to the trail blazer's career fair yesterday and then we got to go to the game afterwards! most of the positions open were not payed internships, but still we have our fingers crossed!

we have also been rock climbing (bouldering to be specific) at this awesome place call the circuit. we both have an annual membership so we can go as much as we like. last week we both went 5 times! and we have both improved a lot since we started. there are 2 locations in portland and the gym we go to the most frequently is about 2.5 miles from our apartment! today we ventured to the other location (its in the southwest...we live in the northeast...so its a little bit of a trek!) and had a hard time of it! but still fun! we are planning on going climbing again tomorrow! kyle's brother and sister got to join us for a climb while his family was here! so when anyone else visits, kyle and i get 2 free passes a month for guests!

tonight kyle is working and i took some time to clean the house a little (dishes are drying as we speak!) and made cookies! i also rented dinner for schmucks from the redbox for us to watch tonight!

this weekend kyle and i are headed up to seattle to visit our friend dan...we are going to go to the portland international auto show on friday morning and then head up after that so we can do some shopping! and then once dan gets off work we will probably hit up a seafood restaurant or something awesome!

so thats about it! stay tuned for the blogs about the hikes!

oh and i almost forgot--kyle and i are SUPER happy that the packers are going to the superbowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps: i already forgot how to add captions to photos because it has been so long since i've done this! but the picture of kyle and i is from when the johnson's were visiting and we went to multnomah falls and horsetail falls while there was ice on it and it was awesome! the picture is in front of horsetail falls which is one of the places we took a picture at when we first moved out here!