Sunday, November 15, 2009

Oregon is Gorges!

Just kidding...don't get your panties all in a bunch you Ithacans...we're not gonna steal your saying! ;0) The phrase is popular in Ithaca, NY and is often seen on t-shirts and bumper stickers because of the glacially formed gorges in the area. They really are gorgeous!

But we have an awesome gorge here in the Pacific Northwest called The Columbia River Gorge. I have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot of time exploring this area and am just scratching the surface with the few beautiful, challenging runs I've done in the last four months. It's about 30 minutes to an hour east of Portland depending on where you go. I spent a couple hours there today with Jim B. and Lanny G. running about 14 miles up Eagle Creek. What a great trail! There were some sketchy, rocky spots that we had to stop and walk for, and some steep cliffs just a foot off of the singletrack. At the beginning of the run 18-inch salmon were spawning upstream right next to us and we were greeted by many waterfalls. My favorite was Tunnel Falls because of the fact that we had to actually go through a carved out tunnel that was behind the waterfall. Sweeeeet! check out the picture below
School is keeping me really busy right now but we were able to escape to the gorge this past Wednesday as well for Erica's birthday. We found some hot springs and had a really nice stay out there on Veterans Day when P.S.U. was closed. We also climbed the infamous Multnomah Falls and were in awe of it's natural beauty. All these falls definitely reminds me of Ithaca!

I've also been getting some really good workouts in at a local gym called Recreate Fitness. If you're in the Portland area and want an alternative way of building strength and fitness check this place out. I'm sold on the philosophy and style and it's a great way to supplement my running and to meet new people. Even though the days are getting really short here I'm trying to stay positive. It's tough when it's getting dark at 4:30 pm though! I guess it's good training for running in the dark in 100-milers! Just like my momma taught me...there's an up-side to everything :0)

Quote of the week: “Running helps me stay on an even keel and in an optimistic frame of mind.”—Bill Clinton, former President of the United States

2 comments:

Gallow said...

It's great to see that you are running again. How's it feeling?

That's an incredible waterfall. It looks like you would have to be very careful running there. One slip, and you'd set a PR for distance, but the abrupt stop at the end might be a little devastating.

Yassine said...

Thanks Steve...I'm feeling pretty good...not 100% but I'm easing back so hopefully everything will fall in place.

Yes...that part of trail we definitely walked! Hope you're doing well and still taking pictures :0)