2014.1.26. Dry Creek Falls to Pacific Crest Falls.

Saturday was too nice and sunny to spend indoors. To make up, I went for a Sunday hike. However, it is rather chilly, and the short hike is so flat that I never warmed up. Dry Creek falls is quite lovely now with all the ice around it. Very slippery close to the water. Only 2.2 miles and 700'gain. There's a bridge here and construction remnants. Our Sierra Club hike leaders told us that the city of Cascade Lock is/was planning on selling this water to Nestlé.

To make the outing more substantial, we continued to the small Pacific Crest falls. Really not worth the time. If continue further south on PCT, we could reach the Herman Creek trail head. Instead we retraced to the 3 pinnacles for lunch. View to the Columbia is quite nice. But not flat enough to accommodate all who came up. stopping for lunch is cold.

Total 12 today. 4 came on MAX. We encountered 20+ on the trail. PCT trail head parking at Bridge of the Gods is closed for winter. We continued on Moody Street. Parked on a gravel road close to the trail. The parking area at the trail can only fit 2 cars. Mary spotted some hedgehog on the trail. I cooked my 3 frozen mushrooms for dinner.

2014.1.25. Chocolate Festival

My first time to Portland Convention Center. The main event this weekend here is the Comicon. Lots of people. Some inventive costumes.

~90 chocolatiers set up booth in exhibition room A. Chocolate confection, chocolate popcorn, cookies, fudge, chocolate flavored wine, chocolate flavored whiskey. Also a booth distributing opal apple, a booth selling balsamic vinegar, a couple of places sell tea, and non chocolate wine. A demo stage and a lecture room having sparsely scheduled programs. I tasted too much chocolate and my stomach started to act up on my way home.

2014.1.5. Forest Park

A rare sunny weekend. My first hike of the year, albeit short. Met with Mary and her neighbor Duncan at Jeld-Wen Max station. We biked to the trail head for Aspen Trail, and hiked to Dogwood and Wild Cherry trail, via Wild Wood trail. Quite a few people and dogs. Some very big trees. The invasive English Ivy is taking over many territories. As usual, Mary shared her vast knowledge of plants and local history (including the efforts to remove the ivy). I tasted the licorice fern's root, miner's lettuce, pepper weed. The smell of grand fir is grape fruit like, very pleasant, when you rubbed its needles.

Both Mary and Duncan are old timers here. This is my first hike in this largest urban park in US. Here's a detailed map of Forest Park. Going uphill, I pushed my bike half of the time, due to frosty streets (at 11am!) and my terrible skill. Coming back ~2:45, already chilly without sun on the east side of the hills. No more frost, but the downhill speed, even on brakes, creates enough wind to chill, especially to fingers and toes, as I was not properly dressed like the other two.