Snowy Pines in November

When we arrived in Cleveland late last year, I had a bag full of film in my bag - rolls of photos I'd taken over the time we were out in Portland. It was mostly 35mm film, taken on the 30-year-old Nikon I've had since college that used to be my grandpa's. When I got it developed, the film lab guy was amazed at all the places I'd been to...and I guess they were some pretty amazing places!



I never posted any of them on the blog, since I didn't scan anything until March or April of this year, but I was editing unrelated stuff the other day and thought I should post some every once in a while! I've definitely fallen into the easiness of digital photography and phone snapshots, but in my mind nothing tops film. It could just be that I can't afford a nice enough digital camera to replicate film. Or it could be that there isn't a digital camera that can replicate film. I'm not sure...all I know is that I like the pictures I take with my film camera a million more than digital. They can somehow capture the mood of a time better. Maybe there's an organic warmth that pixels can't capture and analog film can? Who knows! Enjoy some photos :)

These are from my mom's first visit to Portland, early November. A snowy, magical trip to Mirror Lake, on the slopes of Mt. Hood.











Then, a few days later, a trip to Hood River, a yarn shop with cats named Knit and Purl, and the Columbia Gorge (a slightly different season from our hike!).

Hiking : Timberline Loop Trail

This is one of the hikes we've wanted to do since we got our hiking book - part of the Pacific Crest trail, which goes from Mexico to Canada, and part of the Timberline Trail, which circles Mt. Hood. The part of the trail that we did starts at Timberline lodge and goes under ski lifts (still carrying skiers up to the slopes!) through alpine meadows to a lookout over a 700' canyon. Our book told us to go in August to see the wildflowers and we were skeptical (it's so late in the summer!) but the book was right, as always. There were tons of flowers everywhere!

After about a mile, we came to the Little Zigzag River and its tiny canyon - and a stream crossing! The landscape was constantly changing from meadows to forest to barren rocky hills. We didn't expect any shade on the trail at all, so we were happy to find ourselves walking through trees for some of the hike! We even had views of Mt. Jefferson, the second-tallest mountain in Oregon (second to the one we were on).

There were so many other hikers on this trail! It was probably the most heavily trafficked trail we've ever hiked - and we were a little surprised. We should have known, though, since late summer is the best time of year up here! There were lots of backpackers, solo and in groups, and hikers who looked like they were going all the way around the Timberline Trail (40 miles or so). Maybe someday! Another mile past the Little Zigzag River, we got to the regular ol' Zigzag River...and a slightly deeper canyon.

That tiny river all the way down there is actually pretty big! We sort of felt like we were on the moon, or in the desert, in these rocky slopes. We stopped and had a snack (and so did a bunch of other people) and headed back the way we came. We realized that the trail had seemed so nice and easy on the way out because it had been ever-so-slightly downhill the whole way. The way back was, unsurprisingly, just a bit more difficult. Luckily, we had Timberline lodge waiting for us - and delicious food!

We had drinks and a tasty cheese plate full of some of the best cheeses we've ever had - and they were all locally produced! After we'd regained some energy, we headed back down to the campground and drove home (thunderstorms forced us out a day early). All in all, a wonderful trip up to the Cascades!