The best of the cascades

For those of you who remember that hilarious moment in Sunriver several years ago; I found this recently in a Bend newspaper.
"QUIT STARING AT MY BACKFAT!"

So yea, responsibility just smacked me upside the head this week. I am engaged, deep in the throes of planning a wedding(no bridezilla yet!), got a real job that pays really well, stopped smoking herb, don't have internet or TV at home, and have a new pet ferret. My only fear about these changes is how it will affect my climbing schedule...Holy Hell!
Speaking of the wedding, the official date is June 21st 2008(summer solstice). It will be outside of Redmond (sounds like a weird place for a wedding, I know, but it is a nice place, Really!) Besides, if it is in Redmond, you can come to the wedding and then climb at Smith the next day! You should be stoked we are so considerate of our guests! For those who don't climb, we are going to have a bunch of other fun stuff to do for the day before and after. I feel like such a dork, wanting to tell everyone about wedding stuff, but then I have to remind myself that that is just chick stuff and no one really cared how easy it was to get the location or how great the event is going to be. That is all chick stuff anyway right? Ok, I will try to keep a lid on it, unless you ask. Don't tell anyone I am geeking out about a wedding, k?
My summer out here is drawing to a close and I figured that since I have seen some of the most incredible terrain that Oregon has to offer I should share it with the rest of you. Hikes to add to the "To Do List":

Spring:
Metolius River East and West; Two trails travel from where the river emerges out of the ground from under Black Butte through INCREDIBLE wildflowers from may to July.
Park Meadow; a long day emerges into a large perfect meadow with views of all the Sisters and Broken Top.
3 Finger Jack/PCT; See the B&B Fire rejuvenate itself and get excellent views in every direction as you climb the ridge to the base of 3FJ.

Summer:
Lava Camp Lake to Scott Pass; Hike a steep trail through massive old growth western hemlock and emerge amidst two alpine lakes nestled in the craters of several geologically recent lava flows. Overlooks EVERYTHING! (Mary's Peak to the Ochocos, Mt Jefferson to Mt. Thielsen)
Tam Macarthur Rim; Start at a large alpine lake and gradually hike up a rim trail that puts you atop a thousand feet wall directly above where you started. Continue on to the base of Broken Top's jagged peaks to add another 2 miles.
Green Lakes to Soda Creek Trail; If you can survive the crowds on Green Lakes trail, continue on 1/3 of the way around the base of Broken Top through alpine meadows and drop back down to the parking lot on Soda Creek Trail. This trail is unique for its flower diversity and longevity because numerous springs emerge along the trail allowing wildflowers which arent usually found in the area to grow in giant colorful fields. One of my absolute favorites!

Mountain Biking:
Deschutes River Trail: Offers easy riding in a gorgeous setting.
Mt. Bachelor to Lava Lake: Winding trails allow a lot of fast riding.
Mrazic Trail: The "best" according to the locals. 3,000ft + elev. loss
Bachelor To Bend: Some of the most varied riding I have ever done. 3,000ft elev. loss

Oh, and if you are cooped up in a big city, or weather has got you down, or are drunk want to get a workout, try "Table Traversing!" This was introduced to me by Logan and some friends of his. What you do is lay on top of the table and traverse over under and back over the long ways of the table without touching the ground. It is Intense! I highly recommend trying it at home.

It rained on Mt Rainier

Well, snowed really at the higher elevations. Several of us tried to summit Sat night but got turned back by gnarly winds and several inches of snow. Greg and Kalin were the only ones sane enough to stay in their tents while we went out in the storm. We woke up at 11pm to start the climb from camp Muir, left at midnight and were back in bed by 4:30 am. My body has no clue what happened. Maybe it was all just a bad dream. Well, we did eat pretty well. We had 6 boxes of Annies andI think there was nearly 7 lbs of 4 different types of cheese for the 7 of us to mix into the various meals. Yum!

The hike up was pleasant.
The whiteout hit us just before camp muir.At camp gearing up the afternoon before the summit attempt.we consoled ourselves by climbing in crevasses on Sunday.I don't know if we could have timed the wildflowers any better.CMFs! (charismatic mega fauna)

Col survived

yea, she is ok, as we all knew she would be. It is just relieving to hear it for sure. I will let her tell everyone about it when she gets home, TOMORROW! Woo hoo!
*Ian does a little dance around the computer*

major Peruvian earthquake

Peru just experienced a 7.5 quake today(huge). It was centered off the coast of Lima and seems to have shaken that city pretty badly. I wanted to let folks reading this know that after doing some figuring, Colleen is probably out of harms way for now. She was six(?) hundred miles southeast near lake titicaca and I am hoping that that is far enough away from the epicenter. Keep your fingers crossed that we will hear from her soon.

Holy Hell! I got a ferret. Is that really the pet that you imagined me getting as a first pet? No. But the little guy needed a home because his original owner decided ferrets weren't her thing. My roommate had Sid (I added "Vicious" for a last name) for a while but I saw what was going on there and that ferret was going to end up dead or lost by the end of the month if Vanessa kept him. So I took over the little bugger. I really like him. Yes, he likes to get in trouble ("Trouble" is his nickname). The first night I let him stay in my room out of the cage, he tipped over a full glass of water onto my head at about one in the morning. It was all I could do not to strangle him. And living up to the ferret reputation he likes to hide things. His favorite items seem to be my crocs, a baggie of change, the kitten's hemp mouse, and best of all, my dayplanner. I love the little guy though.

I am finally getting a little burnt out on hiking. I was wondering how long I would make it this summer. I still haven't started the new job. This hiring process is getting a little too drawn out. I have verbal confirmation that I am the guy, but havent signed anything yet. I met my new boss last night for dinner when he was passing through Bend and that was nice to connect up with him again at least. I am going to be busy this winter though; I have a 400 question test that I have to take to get my herbicide consultants license and the study materials came in a big box. I thought I left school so I could make fun of Colleen for having to do work at home. Now I am getting it. Although, I guess I am going to be working from home part of the time. *big smile*
(wow, I managed to start almost every sentence of that last paragraph with "I")

On Friday Logan, Dev, myself and some others are heading to WA to attempt Emmons Glacier route on Mt. Rainier. I'll let you know how that goes. Thats all for now. I have more pictures but cant post them from the work computer. They'll get up eventually, I just had to post something so you wouldn't think I was dead.

china hat burns

So, um if you were planning on going caving any time in the next week or so out on China Hat Rd.; don't. someone just lit a fire out there today and it is growing in a hurry. I went up to Lava Butte this evening and watched it burn over Bessie butt and continue southward got some sweet pictures of the planes dropping retardant on it too.
If anyone is ever in the Bend area and wanting to go backpacking or hiking or just find some really sweet places to check out for an afternoon, give me a call. I think what I haven't made in social contacts out here, I have made up for in mother nature contact. I have gotten so much "local" knowledge of the mountains around here after such a short time it is incredible. And I am getting paid to hike! I rule.