Heretofore unseen thanks for this site

[arieshiker]

This probably should get posted elsewhere, but I've reached an age milestone today, and just felt the need to post this rambling note of thanks to all of the many contributors, wordy and brief, to this amazing site. I first moved to the Gorge area in late 2009 at the age of 69, after almost eleven years up on the Olympic Peninsula, where my hiking was usually done somewhere in the national park or British Columbia.

I relocated mostly due to how poorly the park had been treated by storms and the then government’s failure to adequately fund the park service everywhere. I could have waited that out, obviously, however, I found myself taking longer and longer road trips to hike in Idaho, Utah, California and other places not faring so poorly from funding issues.

Usually I started feeling the gut tighten shortly after getting to about I-205 to head north up I-5 towards 101 and on to Port Angeles. From about The Dalles north to Port Angeles is not that far, and maybe only five to six hours on good days, but the more times I made the drive, the less times I enjoyed it.

So I began searching for a better “base camp” for far-away hiking trips, and somewhere in the eastern Gorge seemed ideal since I almost always passed right by, so.....why not make it the place where I could stop? So I did - in late 2019.

I knew some of the Gorge from a prior life in the Seattle area, but now was a time to immerse in all things Gorge, so I did that too. Luckily one of my early strikes was portlandhikers - and what a treasure that has been over the past decade, even with the name change.

Not only trip locating features, but actual recent (and archived) reports from people who walked the walk and loved to talk the talk. I can’t even begin to imagine how much paper I used printing off reports for guides while I tried a trail.

Some of the reports were exhausting in length, but valuable in their details and insight. Some were exhausting because of the young legs that know no limits when it comes to distance, whether on smooth thread or bushwhacking. Early on reports by Sean Thomas used to wear me out before I was finished. Good grief the lad could fly. Eric and the other Loonies - they left no leaf unexamined in their chaotic adventures.

Don Nelson, VanMarmot, drm, Bosterson, bobcat, KepPNW, guy, miah66, Born2BBrad, Eric Peterson, jessbee, Jack & Spitfire, and peder, whose reports from his homeland visits were just remarkable. The list goes on, but these were the favorites.

And of course, Splintercat and Retired Jerry and the folks who keep the site running so smoothly.

A special note of appreciation to RobinB for his reports, which should be serialized in Backpacker Magazine, even if that might encourage more people to move out here. I think our secret’s out by now anyway. And also to the married couples who contribute. Awesome!

Today I’m just hitting 80 - an Octogenarian for heaven’s sake! - never in my wildest......and I have no idea what the upcoming decade has in store for me. Climbing and summits have been off my list for over fifteen years, but I just purchased a new Gregory Zulu 30 and three liter bladder, so the intent is to keep on following details gleaned from old and new trip reports, as well as continuing to pursue my bucket list in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

I planned on a hike today to celebrate, and I rarely hike on weekends since I’m long retired and can afford to let the masses use their free days without me around, but instead I’m home watching old tapes of Everest and K-2 expeditions and old John Wayne movies on youtube.

Anyway - thanks for creating and maintaining such a valuable resource. Now we all just need to stay safe and wait til the dust clears. Live long and hike far - just come back.

End note to RobinB: Hopefully you’ll never change your writing habit or style in these reports. You say so many things many of us feel about what we see and experience out there, but either have neither the vocabulary nor inclination to reveal our deeper selves. Rock on!

[retired jerry]

Great! Yeah, I agree, good information here

That means I have a few more years of hiking, I'm 66.

[jdemott]

+1

[Webfoot]

Nice post.

[Bosterson]

Thanks to you, too! And happy birthday!

[jessbee]

Makes me so happy to read this 🥰. May I have so much zest for hiking when I get to 80!

[Don Nelsen]

Thank you for the uplifting post and Happy Birthday! May you continue to enjoy retirement, hiking, life and good health.

I'll be where you are in only 7 1/2 years and as both we know, time goes by so fast. My dawn-to-dusk Loonie hikes are just about done but getting out as often as possible keeps me healthy and grounded and hope to make it to 80 and beyond still doing what I love.

Thanks,

Don Nelsen

[RobinB]

What a fantastic post - thank you so so much, and happy birthday! My pops is just around the corner from 70; I like to imagine that, in a decade, he'll still be out as much as you are (and maybe more to the point, that we'll still be out together).

Thanks again. What a lovely thing to read.

[arieshiker]

Thanks for the responses to this. Before I tapped on the SUBMIT button, I had cause to pause on several levels, mostly thinking how badly something like this might be received or perceived. There was also the fact that I was probably writing something dozens of site members could write better, and many likely had given thought to at some point, but timing is always an issue for most things, and right now is a serious time for reflection for most of us about many things, on this site and everywhere else in life. Stay safe and stay positive.