Overcoming Obstacles Part II

Our next obstacle would to go over this patch of possible poison oak, Yikes! Fortunately none of us got any.

Roger and Kathy leading us up the trail, I don't think I have mentioned that this was an uphill climb all the way.

Ok up over or under, Kathy is contemplating.

Some of the logs I would go under, backpack, camera and all!

Hiking over many limbs had it's challenges.

We would make it though!

There would be moss lined rocks to skirt over and around.

Here Roger is checking out a tree, believed to have Bear claw marks. Yikes!

It was time to refuel.  Do you see these two Indian maidens?  I am the one with a cedar bough attached to back of my hair and Kathy has a fern. Just a little fun we girls have!!

Kathy heading up the trail.

The Cabela's app on Roger's phone, as you can see we did a lot of zigging and zagging.

At one point both Kathy and I went down, she did very gracefully, me not so, I won't post the picture here. We will just say I landed on a bed of soft moss!

Another log gone over. Whew!

When we realized that we could no longer find the trail to the view point, we had to come back the way we came, yes, that meant over and under all those logs. We took a side trail to Perham Creek, another mile down to find the bridge below.

I guess we won't be crossing this bridge. 

Roger went up stream to see if we could cross over and take the trail on the other side, we would soon learn that trail had the same conditions as the trail we had just come from.  We elected to go back the same way we came.

Kathy and I taking a break by the Perham Creek.

OK I think this was our last log to go over. My legs were so heavy by now!

The cool flowing water was just what we need to finish our hike.

Thank you Kathy for choosing this trail. Maybe next time lets do one that is a little more groomed for hiking.

These boots have done a lot of hiking this year, they will continue to do more. I am overcoming my obstacles one at a time, one to get healthy.  In 2010 of September I reached my weight goal and lowered my Cholesterol to a normal range. After a year and half, it raised again, so this woman is determined to keep it down.  If that means more walking and hiking and tweaking my diet I am determined I will keep it down and go through this season of my life with gusto! How about you?

Overcoming Obstacles! Part I

Overcoming Obstacles. My husband Roger, my sister-in-law Kathy and myself were about to embark on a trail that would prove to be full of obstacles.  The information on this trail said it was not well traveled and at times could be grueling. Here Roger is setting his Cabela's app so we would know how far we had gone, plus map our adventure.

This should of been our first sign.

Kathy and I are always ready for anything.  We Can Do It!!!!

We started at the Wygant Trail head up in the Columbia River Gorge, the trail would lead us here, so we thought.

There would be creeks to cross. No problem for us!

Um only the beginning of what was to come!

OK here we go! I am ready!

We would soon go over and under trees.

Kathy and I looking ahead at the trail, what are we thinking?

A log to go over. Ugg!

A fallen log leaving a sink hole to climb over, praying I don't slide down.  Thank God for good hiking boots!

Speaking of hiking boots, my laces always come loose, so my bright and shining honor comes to my rescue. He knows how to really cinch them up!

Yes we had to skirt around this sink hole too!

Roger and Kathy checking out our trail information.  Thanks for smart phones! I think I am going to have to do this post in sections, so stay tuned, it is worth it!

My cook book has arrived. The Best Recipes from Jeanne 'd Arc Living. I ordered mine from French Larkspur. It came wrapped like this, I felt like I was receiving a beautiful gift. I love the detail in this presentation. Thank you French Larkspur!
The Best Recipes from Jeanne d'Arc Living. I received mine this weekend. Oh the eye candy and the recipes look so appealing. You really should check it out.
A treat for me, well deserved after a busy weekend of some serious hiking. You can go here to order your copy, French Larkspur.

Easter at The Baker's

A beautiful day to celebrate Easter with the family. We all went to The Baker's for brunch and some time together. Chants, Ashton and Kevin enjoy time to do well what boys do. I can't wait for this tree to bloom, it has some beautiful pink blossoms, perhaps by mother's day? We had a wonderful relaxing afternoon, finishing up our day going for a hike with Julie, Jessica and Chants.
Julie, me, and Jennifer, we were missing Heather and her family. Clearly I am the shortest one here, what is happening?
Brayden and Jennifer, Brayden is one of the best little babies I know. I look at those eyes and see such depth into his little mind.
Jordan, what a sweetie, love his smile.
Chants my oldest grandson, he is so handsome. We got a great smile here.
Jessica, Julie, roger and Brayden sitting on the porch swing. Ahh to have more days like this.
Two beautiful girls. Jessica my granddaughter and Jennifer my middle daughter.
I gave all the kids glitter filled silly puddy, oh my did they have fun. Jessica, Brayden, Roger and Jordan. Oh the memories of our girls playing with silly puddy when they were younger.
Jeremy decided it was time to get his raised beds ready for planting, as you can see Jordan was wanted to help. The boys had a lot of fun finding all those great worms that were aerating the soil.
Dinner was on, here is Jeremy with his ham, he is the chief cook at the Baker household. We are very blessed to have his culinary talents. This ham was very yummy!
Julie my oldest was asked to bring her yummy cheesy potatoes, lets just say they were a hit.
I was asked to bring a salad, so I chose a vegetable salad and a fruit salad, also Jennifer ask me to bring cinnamon rolls. Well I tried to make them healthy using wheat flour, well you guessed it, they did not rise much and were very dense. Anyone out there have better luck using wheat flour for cinnamon rolls?
A yummy fruit salad sweetened with agave.
This was my plate. I passed up the cheesy potatoes for a mimosa, a wise choice for me.
After our Easter brunch the Muma's and the Hoff's were off for a six mile+ hike. On the agenda was Molten Falls. The weather was absolutely perfect.
Chants found a perfect little sitting area at the falls. I think he was happy with it.
That's my Jessica eating healthy, good girl!
My goal was to enjoy the view, of which I did; however my pace is clearly faster than the rest of my family. You can see the rest of the group in the distance. Could it have been the fact that I knew how far we had to go and that we were going to be beating daylight to get back to the car?
The waterfalls are roaring right now. You need to get out there and explore them.
Do you see the horse in the rock formation that Jessica is standing by?
This little guy wanted to hitch a ride, we would see two of these on our walk. We moved it to be closer to the water.
Trillium are abundant now, have you seen them this spring?
A view of the Lewis River from the train trestle.
Although it looks like Chants is looking like "ok Grandma what did you get us into. We still have to walk the 3+ miles back to the car at the Hantwick Trail Head. We did it before it got dark, but it was close. What kind of adventures did you do on Easter?