Angels Rest

Today I hiked in the north of Oregon about 24 miles from Portland.

I am thankful that my Uncle drove me up there while he waited in the truck with his various reading materials. The hike itself was about 4.4 miles total. Prior to going up the cascade mountain range, I dropped off some thrones (pictures coming soon) at a very kind Indian family house. Raj was the guy's name; he was the photographer of my cousin Alex's wedding and he was kind enough to give me a quick lesson on how to use a camera flash. He gave me insights into his freelance photography business and I was very delighted to see the inside of a Hindu home. It was a good preface to my 3 hour hike up the mini mountain since I happened to have a copy of the Baghavad Gita in my backpack. The mountain was called Angel's Rest. It provides a nice view of the Colombia River gorge which separates Washington state with Oregon. According to my uncle, many ages ago a huge glacier melted and carved out this present-day gorge. Throughout my hiking experiences throughout the world, I must say, I'm a pretty big fan of gorges, they really make beautiful scenery. I also am a big fan so far of Indian families. Before we left, Raj's mother said, "Hey it was nice meeting you, we like you!!!"...as they waited by the doorway and waved bye.

Perhaps I shall post more pictures. Most of the photos I took atop the mountain I took on film, which I shall develop soon.

Some of my thoughts about hiking that I will post mostly as mental notes for myself:

♔ What's in front of you matters most....if you look too far ahead, you'll fall.

♔ Quiet the mind. Say a mantra inside. Not for its meaning, but for the way a singular thought can reverberate in your interior. Pretty soon, all thoughts fade away and the inner voice blends and vibrates with all the natural sounds around.

♔ I wore the wrong ass shoes. Walking is a pleasure, but not to your knees. Be good to your legs and feet.

♔ No matter how many difficult walks I've been on, my experiences don't make me any better or less proned to a challenging path. I have to respect each one.

♔ At one point in my mantra, I reached a moment of utmost clarity and concentration. I only focused on the ground in front of me, not even looking up. I saw all the rocks moving by and I realized that God views life this way. It keeps moving, it never stops. I told myself I shouldn't dwell on things. Sometimes at home, I sit and dwell a lot, trying to perfect things. Keep the show moving.

View from about 30% into the hike

I was getting tired at this point. Looked up and thought, "That's probably where I'm going."

Dead trees at the top made me think I was almost there

Oregon on the left. Washington state on the right of the river

This is Maltnomah Falls. After the hike we drove there. I was tired and my Uncle asked if I wanted to go up that bridge. I said, "Nooooo, I just walked four miles on rocks and leaves....let's just take a picture down here."