Annual Kings Mtn Summit Hike

Fourth year in a row that the dogs and I have made the 2.5 mile, 2500 ft incline trek to the top of Kings Mtn. This year was a gorgeous day with blue skies, wildflowers, & lots of sunshine. 

"Come on, E, get up here!" :)

Sometimes it's incredible how much a trail can teach you. The first year I hiked this sucker was when I realized I have a fear of heights. The ex patiently waited while I coaxed myself up the mountainside. The next year the dogs and I did the trek in record speed, not stopping once til we made the top, as I needed to prove to myself that I was tougher than I thought. Last year we let Tall D join us again and I smiled through the rain that fell on us. This year...well sunshine & wildflowers, again speedy, and with a trail jog back down. I'd randomly woken up at 5:30am that morning so we made the trailhead by 10 and were back off the mountain by noon, which meant limited people interactions on the trail. With summer approaching, Kings Mtn gets used quite a bit so going earlier in the day definitely lessened the number of people we came into contact with along the way. Beautiful day...and I can't help but wonder what year 5 will be like! :)

Lay Your Burdens Down

Some days when your soul gets overwhelmed with its past burdens, you take to the woods...where you process, work out excess emotions, accept hard truths....

...enjoy beautiful water sources...

...relish happy dog faces...

...appreciate wildflowers holding tight in unlikely places..

...soak up needed shady patches...

....relish the multiple wildflowers along the trail...

...finally at a past view point, you might choose to talk to God...

....and read a final chapter in your book while lunching back along the river...

....and then finally, finally...choose to lay your burdens down...to truly hand them over to a source more powerful than yourself...and to trust that you are not a product of only what was and that life will present you with what you need.

What overcomes you is relief, lightness, happiness, and stability.

What a great place and time to finally lay old burdens down.

Scappoose Bay Kayaking

Cunningham Slough trip:

Daddy osprey bringing home the feed, while mama circled around us

Saturday Evening Outing:

Bald eagle nest w /baby in nest

Gorgeous views

Heading toward sunset thru the channels

Heading toward the wetlands 

Wetlands Tour:

Beaver house

Lots of geese by the docks

These tours were full of great views & wildlife. I was so impressed with the amount of bald eagles and great blue herons that we saw each time on these tours, and there is something so incredibly peaceful about spending time just paddling out on the water. The trips weren't always 100% smoothly completed (ie there were too many people on one trip, a trainee who fell in, issues with going against current to get out of the wetlands, & a late return on one trip), but the general location, friendly staff, and quality of rentals are great. There is much to explore in Scappoose Bay and I enjoyed renting through Scappoose Bay Kayaking. I love the friendly staff at Portland Kayak Co also, but the boat traffic around Ross Island can be pretty intense, so I'll probably be doing most of my rentals from SBK these days. Regardless, kayaking is...amazing! And I can't wait to eventually be able to attempt a kayak camping trip :)