2020/12/27: We didn't feel like a long drive on Sunday so settled for Larch Mt. From the 10 mile gate to the top and back, we cut across to the Larch Mt trail on the way up and came back on the road. We were the first there and as always only saw a handful of people until the final couple of miles. No snow until the final half mile or so and then only a couple of inches. Members of the local 4WD goon squad have again opened up a way around the gate so they can drive to the top!
A Covid Christmas Day gift exchange for Mum & Dad on Christmas Day.
20/12/24: A Christmas Eve hike along Bennet Pass up to and around the Terrible Traverse. The weather was kind to us and we arrived to 28F and bright sunshine and we saw nobody on the way up. The Traverse was a bit unnerving close to the point when we should not have past but everything looks stable so we crossed and continued on to and beyond the rock gates. Coming back was also quite until the last 1.5 miles when we started running into a lot of people. Driving home at 1:00pm the roads were fine but passing White River we had never seen it so full with cars parked everywhere and a long line of cars waiting for a spot!
2020/12/13: When the weather forecast is bad, there is no chance of good views and a high chance of road delays coming back off the mountain a quick loop of Trillium from Government Camp is our go to hike.
2020/12/08: Sadly we had to say goodbye to Matilda today. After a couple of days of not eating we found out that she was suffering from Kidney failure. We said goodbye to her at home while she was sitting in her favorite spot on the couch. We will miss you Matilda.
2020/12/06: Our annual December hike to the Multnomah basin, Nesika Lodge & the Christmas Trail. The Basin loop trail is in need of some work again a lot of dead burned blowdown to move. The old '31 Buick is also slowly disappearing under dead blowdown! Lunch at the lodge on the porch then back out through the Christmas trail and back up to the Larch Mt. gate. 12 miles & 1800'.
2020/11/29: Another grand day out at the Beach in November. Roads End State Park to God's Thumb via the Knoll & back followed by a walk on the beach to Roads End Point makes for an interesting GPS track! © Chiyoko Meacham
220/11/28: Making my first batch of Medlar & Apple Jam.
2020/11/27: Chiyoko & I spent our Black Friday slogging our way up from the Cooper Spur ski area to the Cloudcap Inn & back, on Hood. No crowds, no checkout lines, no half price socks or free donuts! We passed 5 people on the way up and saw nobody else on the way there or at the Inn! Blue Skies, cold and snow made for a great day.
Thanksgiving day on Angels Rest
2020/11/26 a quick morning hike up Angels Rest on Thanksgiving morning before the eating begins! Clouds and no views but a good start to the day!
A frosty 12 mile hike along the Klickitat trail from the Harms Rd. to celebrate my birthday! Plus a great surprise of freshly baked that morning Crepes from Pascal for lunch, kept warm with multiple packs of hand warmers!! © Chiyoko Meacham
2020/11/15: So this all started when Mum made Jane an iced Guggy cake for her Birthday. After some "whatsapp banter" it was decided to hold the Meacham family 3 continent Guggy Cake Bakeoff. Mirranda was watching "The Crown" at the time which seems to have influenced her outlandish decorations ☺
2020/11/15: Chiyoko & I headed East today to escape the rain & find some Sun. Our first trip out to the Columbia Hills in quite a while. We started at Crawford Oaks and took a meandering & winding loop up to the Old ranch house, around the old car and back down again.© Chiyoko Meacham
White River to Timberline Lodge
2020/11/08: We arrived to a beautifully sunny & crisp (23F) White River at 8:30 this morning. Our plan was to hike up to Timberline lodge & back. The weather defied the forecast though and by the time we were half way there the Sun was gone. By the time we got to Timberline Lodge it was full on snowing! Snow depth ranged from a couple of inches at White River to 6-10" as we climbed up Boy Scout Ridge. In normal times on a hike like this we would treat ourselves to a Hot Drink in the Rasm's Head bar before returning but in these Covid times we had to content ourselves with a 5 minute warm up by the fire before heading back down again! Winter hiking is here! White River to Timberline Lodge
Devils Punchbowl to Yaquina Head
2020/11/01: Our plan for the day was to hike the beach from Devils Punchbowl to Yaquina Head. Unfortunately our Schedule and the tide's were not aligned and we arrived at Schooner Point at high tide blocking our way forward for the last mile of the beach. Last week we were up on Hood in gale force winds and sub zero temperatures. Today November 1st. shorts & T shirt on the beach. A wonderful Summery November day! We finished off the day with a drive down to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
2020/10/29 A lovely Sunny afternoon had me hreading over to Jonsrud View Point after work (It's only 10 minutes away) to grab some Sunset pics. What I hadn't realized was that was when the Moon would be rising too. One of those right place and the right time events!
Mum & Dad celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary October 26th 2020! Thanks to Jane for the then & now photos!
2020/10/18: A very wet but successful day mushroom hunting in the woods! We found enough Chanterelles for everyone and one giant cauliflower mushroom!
2020/10/25: We headed for the McNeil Shelter today from Top Spur. 23F when we arrived at the trailhead just before 9:00. 28F when we got back just after 3:00. The wind was not an issue until after the ponds after which it slowly got worse. The final climb up to the shelter was brutal with gusts so strong that you had to stop and brace yourself from being blown over! We spent 5 minutes cowering against the shelter walls then beat a hasty retreat! It was still a fantastic day up on the mountain!
2020/10/16: We took advantage of a Mid October Sunny weather break and made a dash for Crater Lake on Friday! We drove to Redmond after work on Thursday then the rest of the way there and all the way back on Friday. Early morning temps on the drive from Redmond to Crescent were 24-28F but when we reached the Rim drive just before 9:00am it was 59 and soon moved into the 60s! When we decided to go we were hoping for a dusting of snow but we are not going to complain about shorts & T shirt weather on top of Mt Scott at 8900' in mid October!
2020/10/11: With only half a free Sunday pouring rain with no plan we didn't know where to go & hike! In the end we settled on Dry Creek Falls on the PCT out of Cascade Locks. A section of trail we had not hiked since the before the Gorge fires. We beat the rain to Cascade Locks hiked the 2.5 miles up to the Falls then made a loop out of it comming back on the old dry creek falls road into Cascasde locks. We managed to get 5.5 miles in and our only ice cream of the year from the Eastwind Drive In (We got in line with the cars & walked through the Drive through). We made it back to the car by 11:30 just as the rain was really starting!
2020/10/04: Summer in October, an absolutely beautiful day on the North side of Hood today. We slogged our way up from Cloud Cap to the Bandit Boulder (Just to make sure nobody had stolen or moved it or anything!) We are pleased to report it's still in the same place 😉 An inversion meant that while Sandy was 43F Cloudcap was 69 when we arrived just after 9:30am!
2020/10/01: An attempt at some Harvest Moonrise pics from Jonsrud Viewpoint this evening. Too much smoke for good shots, it made the moon a nice Orange but the mountain was completely hidden in smoke and getting a sharp In focus shot was hard if not impossible.
2020/10/02: Sunset at Vista House
2020/09/18: The Peter Iredale. Canon A1. Metropolis Film.
2020/09/20: Analog Portlandia Olympus XA. Kodak Pro Image 100.
2020/08/25: Just some Sunflowers at work. Camera: Olympus OM10. Film: Fujicolor Pro 400H . I think the film did a nice job capturing the yelloe & green colors here.
2020/09/27: Mountain Milers Socially Distant poking around High Valley with our buddy Seamus Daly.
2020/09/24: A rare week day off work and news probably not wide spread yet that Silver Falls State Park had opened up the Canyon loop trail again seemed like a good opportunity. We crossed paths with only 8 people on the whole loop & only one wasn't at the North or South falls. Our buddy Mr. Gene Blick 🙂 We made it back to the car just as the heavens opened up and the rain began to pour!Silver Falls State Park - Lower North Falls
2020/09/17: The Astoria - Megler Bridge at night from our hotel room.
2020/09/22: Just a few shots of the Canby Ferry, $3.00 got us across & back as foot passengers. On the way home we stopped of at the Oregon Still House for a pint of Old Speckled Hen & some Haggis Balls!
Day 1: Lunch at Buoy Brewing.
Almost a 100 years old and retired in 1966 after the Astoria - Megler Bridge opened she's the last of the Astoria - Megler Ferry Boats. In 2016 she crossed the Columbia Bar & returned to Astoria from Bremerton WA she now sits somewhat derelict & up for sale on the Astoria water front. Renovation attempts have stalled and her future is uncertain.
2020/09/20: With most of the forest closed due to fires we went for a loop walk around the East & West banks of the Willamette River with a side trip to Pioneer Courthouse square. Some of the old graffiti around the federal courthouse had been cleaned up but there was still plenty of paint & plywood in downtown. The whole place remains quiet people still obviously staying away.
2020/09/19: Taking a rare weekend brake from hiking some of the Mt. Milers go crabbing at the mouth of the Columbia River. We caught our limit (12 per person) with 3 passes on 4 crab pots in 4 hours. Many thanks to Black Dog Guide Service for showing us the ropes!
The Edgefield in Ektachrome 64T
2020/09/05: I walked around the McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale with 2 cameras. An Olympus OM1 loaded with 2006 Ektachrome 64T purchased on E bay as frozen and loaded into reusable cassettes. I Deliberately did not make any attempt to counter the Tungsten Film for daylight use as I was curious what the effect would be. The other camera was a Conon AE-1 loaded with FPP's Retrochrome (To be posted later.)
2020/09/14: No respite yet!
2020/09/11: Its been a week from Hell for most folks in Oregon. Beginning with strong east winds on Monday evening that blew for the next 48 hours. Soon there were multiple Forest fires around the state spreading at great speed. Then came the smoke and the distinction of having the most unhealthy air in the world! This is my drive home from work at Lunch time on Friday. There were no clouds in the sky!
2020/09/08: Monday 09/07 as Labor day weekend ended the forecast high winds began! They didn't seen to bad at first but we could hear the wind blowing through the night. The next morning we walked around and saw that the neighbors tree has fallen onto our property blocking the road to our greenhouses. Still Not too bad we thought & I left for work as the wind continued to blow. Then a phone call from Chiyoko at 9:00am one of the big leaf maples had fallen on the house! One hole in the mudroom ceiling and a severely caved in roof! Then at 3:00pm another side of the tree fell just missing the house but doubling the cleanup in the Garden.
2020/08/22: A few pics of our overnight trip to Paradise Park. Photos taken with an Olympus XA1 and Lomography's Color Negative 100 film. On an overnight trip to Paradise Park on Mt. Hood's South side I packed along my Olympus XA1 loaded with a roll of Lomography's CN100. The choice of camera was decided by it's small size for a backpacking trip and it was the first time I'd tried Lomography's Color Negative film. I was pleased with the results from the film how well it scanned. I was also happy that I remembered to focus all the shots! The first few rolls I shot with the XA1 it took me a while to remember to focus with the rangefinder and some of my photos would be blurred and out of focus. I'm beginning to really like the camera and appreciate all of it's capabilities that are packed into such a small package!
2020/08/31: Hiroshima Rock up on Cooper Spur. Photos taken with an Olympus XA1 and Lomography's Color Negative 100 film.
2020/08/30: A lovely garden BBQ & Tempura party at Pascal & Kazuko's with Chizuru, Fumi, Akitomo & ourselves. Olympus XA1 & Lomography's Color Negative 100 film.
Old Fujichrome Provia before & after.
2020/08/27: Shot with a Cononet 28, this Provia 100 expired in 2002 and had not been cold stored or refrigerated. All the shots came out with a distinct red cast due to the age of the film. I pulled the reds back in ON1 Photo Raw curves but didn't make any other changes. Amazingly fine grain and not bad color for film that expired 18 years ago!
2020/09/07: We had a plan to loop around the Palmer today, climbing up the East side then coming back down the west. Things started out Crystal clear but that didn't last long! Just shy of 8000' with the smoke getting thicker, another 800' feet of climbing to the top of the Palmer we called it a day and bravely retreated :)
2020/08/27: A evening walk around Troutdale with 2 Canonets. A Cononet 28 loaded with Fujichrome Provia 100 (2002) & a Cononet GIII loaded with Kodak Elite Chrome 100 (2012). The Kodak film was purchased as frozen since purchase & that seems to be the case. Very vivid colors. the Fujichrome Provia was not frozen or refidgerated. The originals came out with a red cast but by dialing back the reds in post processing the results were not half bad for 18 year old room temperature film!
Some photos of last Wednesdays 2020/09/02: Sunrise from Crown Point. Photos taken between 5:45 & 6:45. As the days get shorter I have to find places closer to home so I can still make it to work by 7:30 ☺
2020/08/30: Chiyoko & I slogged our way up Cooper Spur on Sunday from Cloud Cap. Perfect conditions. The White River fire smoke was penetrating as far as Gnarl Ridge but Cooper Spur was clear at least for the morning. The highest "on trail" hiking you can do on Hood with the trail ending at about 8900'.
2020/08/30: 110 years ago, on their way up or down the mountain Mr. Takahashi from Hiroshima prefecture & Mr. Ito from Mie prefecture sat down for a while & chiseled out this. 110 years later we still don't know who they were. Did they come from Japan on a climbing expedition, at this time Cooper Spur was the most common route to the summit of hood often with fixed ropes. Or where they from the large Japanese community living in Hood River at the time. All we know is 110 years later the (Hiroshima) rock is still there.