Walupt Lake Part III

So, now that I can load pictures again, here's the rest of the story:

The next morning, Andrea and I arose early (actually, I arose early and fixed coffee, and then she got up ;). Then, we each had a granola bar and headed off for Walupt Creek. I hiked there a couple of years ago, and have never before or since seen a creek with water so clear. So I was happy to be taking Andrea to see this, considering last year, the creek was dry.

When we got to the far side of the lake, we stopped and had some breakfast and just looked out across the water...
















After that, we headed off to the creek. Crossing the creek with Kirby was a bit of a trick...















Two years ago, while hiking up here with my dad, I found a waterfall tucked away in the woods just off the trail. It's pretty nice, but you can't get a good angle on it safely. Just feet from where this picture was taken, there is a long drop.





















We got back just after noon, and took a long nap before having some lunch and heading over to my uncle's camp site to visit my folks and my aunt and uncle. Then, Andrea and I went out on my uncle's raft and rowed around for a about an hour. I rowed out to the far side of the lake, and the we motored back in.

It was the end of a long, but fantastic day...



















We went home the next day. We stopped in Trout Lake, and got burgers and huckleberry milkshake and huckleberry pie. It was goooooood. :P Along the way, we stopped and took more pictures. Here's us after three days camping!

Walupt Lake Part II

So I've kept you in suspense long enough. Here's what happened after we started back down the trail:

We decided to follow some tracks down the snow left by some previous hikers. Simple enough. They were headed back down the hill. I figured they must have better route finding skills than me, so we'd find the trail in no time. Well, they didn't, and neither did we. We lost the track, and then couldn't figure out exactly how we had managed to climb up the hill in the first place. We were lost. Shortly after this revelation, we found bear scat... We stopped and prayed.

I knew, that if we stayed to the right, we would eventually come across a trail. So I kept us traversing along the hillside. Soon, I heard voices, and then I even saw people walking on the hill above us! I headed up and to the left, because they were on top of a cliff, so we had to get around it to find the trail. Soon, we found it. In fact, the picture of Mt. Adams that you saw in the last post was taken right where we found the trail again.

So we hiked the rest of the way down, warning other hikers of the risk. :) Needless to say, we were exausted. We went for a brief swim in the lake though, because we were quite dirty from the hike.


Well, there will have to be a part three later, because Blogger is not letting me upload pictures right now. So, pictures will have to come tomorrow. I guess that explains why I couldn't load them at Andrea's.

Walupt Lake

Andrea and I went up to Walupt Lake for 4th of July weekend. Don't know where Walupt Lake is? Good. ;) My Uncle and his family go up there every year for the 4th. There's no crowds, good fishing, great hiking, and no fireworks! It was really good to just relax and take it easy for a few days before diving into my new job.

Walupt Lake is about 3 hours northeast of Portland. It's in the mountains above Packwood, Washington, due north of Mt. Adams.

Day 1: We packed up and headed out of town. We stopped about four times to pick up supplies and lunch. Then we could officially get on the road. We went through Trout Lake, and stopped at the local grocery to pick up some huckleberry syrup. yum... We drove on gravel roads for a solid portion of the drive. Since Andrea has a Subaru, the going was quite nice. :)

Once we arrived at camp, we set up camp, and went to see my Aunt & Uncle, and my Mom & Dad. We visited into the night, and then went to bed tired but happy to be there.

Day 2: The plan was to hike to a place called Nanny Peak. This was better said than done. The hike is all up hill, and we were tired to start with. I don't really know why though, because we ate a good breakfast, and even had some decent coffee (the most crucial ingredient ;). We soon began to hit paches of snow. Kirby was especially happy to see these. It was a hot day, and he was a hot dog!































The snow began to cover the trail for short stretches, but we could always see where it came out again. However, when we neared the top, the trail disappeared into a snow field. Fortunately, it wasn't hard to simply go up and find our way to the top. We eventually made it to the top, and saw some spectacular views Of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens amongst other things.





































Of course, what goes up must come down. Remember the part about the disappearing trail? Well, we thought it wouldn't be too hard to find it again. Wrong. Stay tuned. I'll tell you what happened in a couple of days. ;)

The Lighting of the Christmas Tree

Every Fourth of July, Marilyn (the lady who owns the house that I live in) and her family get together for a tradition. This year, it happened a little early, because the entire family could be there, and no one is going to be around on the fourth.

The tradition goes something like this: After Chirstmas, the tree is taken down. Instead of throwing it away, it is stored in the poll barn till spring, when it is taken out doors to dry to a nice crisp.

Around the Fourth of July, the tree is "planted" in the front yard. Once the sun goes down on the evening of the event, a propane bottle and a road flare are produced, and placed beside each other under the tree. The flare serves a double purpose: first, it lights up the propane bottle. Second, it is the ignition source. You're thinking, igintion source? Yes. The next step is for Matt to take his trusty rifle and take aim at the propane bottle. When he shoots the bottle, the propane needs a source of ignition, and the flare provides such a source. The bottle "explodes" blowing up the tree in the process! If you don't believe me, here it is in pictures:


1. Flare and propane bottle

















2. The propane bottle is shot, and explodes, igniting the tree. The small flame to the left on the ground is the propane bottle.














































4. The tree burns out within about five minutes.






















It's a spectacular show. This was the first year I actually got to see it live! Hope your Independence Day is just as exciting! ;)

Turning the Page Part III

I HAVE A NEW JOB!!!!!

On June 30th, I'll start work at Eastside Music as their newest repair technician. Not much else to say except that it's a fantastic opportunity. I'll make more money, but most importantly, I'll be working in a healthy environment.

God is indeed good. His timing is perfect. His mercy and grace are greater than I can fathom. I don't deserve to be blessed in this way. Praise Him, whose mercy upon me, a sinner, goes far beyond what I can possibly grasp. He chose me and blessed me when I deserved it least, and He continues to do so.

My words have become nonsense now. So I'll just express my joy with a picture that is worth only one word:

Turning the Page, Part II

I gave notice this morning. It wasn't easy, but they seemed to be expecting it. I feel like a weight is off my shoulders. Like I'm free. Even though I still have two more weeks before I'm actually done. My last day will be the 29th; a Thursday. Andrea Barney offered to start a bon fire on Friday and have a party for me. I didn't realize that everyone knew what a source of emotional and spiritual stress I was really in. I appreciated the offer, and I think I will be taking her up on it. Thank you all for praying. The day went pretty smoothly all in all. Now to begin writing chapter two of Nate's Life in Oregon.

Turning the Page

Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I will be giving notice to my bosses that I will be leaving at the end of the month. I currently do not have any job offers, but the environment is now such that I cannot continue to work there and remain a healthy individual. Please pray for me when you read this no matter what time it is. God, who lives outside of time, will hear and answer it no matter what. The next two weeks will be stressfull for sure, as I am not sure how they will react. Please pray specifically that I will have wisdom, and most importantly that I'll keep my mouth closed (Sean, remember the three most helpful words! Please!).

On the bright side, I do have another bench test at a music store I've been in contact with. Please pray for God's will. It would be an exciting job, and the environment is much healthier. I'm also turning in applications with Clackamas ESD to be an instructional assistant to special needs children, and with an employment couseling firm called IDAK to be an administrative assistant.

So I'll be ending yet another chapter in my life. I always seem to go in concrete stages. There's rarely any transition period. I just end one chapter, and move on to the next. School to school. Job to job. State to state. Nothing in between. Well, I always say, the best way to get used to the water is to jump right in!

WEEEEEEE...