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Renovation and Hiking
When I was young, we used to go hiking quite often. Or it seemed often to me. I think avid hikers would snort in disdain. The Gorge area between Washington and Oregon has some very nice mountain and hill trails. I’ve also been up Mount St. Helens four times (which is, admittedly, an easy mountain) and Mount Adams. One of the places we went to often was Dog Mountain. If you get there at the right time of the year, the wildflowers are blooming and it is beautiful. Supposedly it is a hard hike. I didn’t learn that until after we’d done it multiple times before I was 12, so I don’t know if that’s true. Beacon Rock is just climbing stairs, and that is hard. That one is also boring, but the view is nice, I guess.
My uncle loved hiking and caving and found lots of little-used side trails to explore. He didn’t have kids, so he borrowed his nieces and nephews to help him explore. My mother used to come with until our much younger siblings got old enough to coin the phrase “My legs are broken, carry me!” When they were really little we could carry them in the hiking backpack. But it’s no fun to have to hike with a whiner. Apparently, the oldest four kids did not whine in that context, or if we did, maybe not as much? I remember enjoying going on the hikes, even in the rain, and thrilling at the views at the top and the exhaustion and soreness at the end.
I’ve done very little hiking since I got married and moved away. My Uncle died and with him some of the incentive to hike. The most we’ve done in years is hike the whole trail to the top of Multnomah Falls. We stop there often, but just as a rest stop on the way back and forth to visit family. On the day we decided to hike it, it was pouring down rain and we got completely soaked. I still had fun.
This lack of hiking has been bothering me for a while so last summer I decided to go back and revisit one of those hikes with my older kids. I chose the Ape Caves, a lava tube near Mount St. Helens, because it is by far my favorite place to hike. It is also one of the places we spread My Uncle’s ashes, at his request.
The local wildlife conservationists have a campaign going to stop the spread of white-nose syndrome in bats there. There were a bunch of informational signs, boot cleaning stations and a booth manned by two… uh… rangers? I realized again that I’m getting old because they looked like kids. Otherwise, everything was the same.
It was about 80 degrees outside but inside the cave, it is a constant 42 degrees. This is one of the reasons I love this place. I love the climate control. I don’t like being hot and sweaty and I don’t like my feet being wet from the rain, so the cave is a perfect place to hike. The lower cave is an easy 0.75 miles, but it dead ends so you have to come back. The upper cave is 1.5 miles and has a ladder to the outside world and a 1.3-mile trail back to the parking lot. When we got there, we were told that the upper cave is really hard. I did this so many times as a kid and now as a two-months pregnant, morning-sick, out-of-shape asthmatic, so how hard can it really be? Halfway through the upper cave, my eight-year-old informed me that we really needed to head back because he was sure we were lost. I decided we probably shouldn’t have done the lower caves because my kids weren’t used to that much hiking. But it was too late by then. One of the great things about going out to hike, as opposed to walking on a treadmill, is that you have to keep going to get back. You can’t just stop and be done. They seemed to halfway enjoy it but they got really tired. I really don’t know how to compare them to my childhood self since my perspective is so different now. But they didn’t complain much.
After we finished the caves, we went further down the road to visit the Lava Canyon and eat lunch. My kids haven’t had much experience with outhouses, especially permanent ones, so that was a fun educational moment. For some reason, they put the picnic tables close to the outhouse. There were so many flies!
I couldn’t care less about the canyon itself (though it is lovely and amazing, I suppose), but I was determined to revisit a suspension bridge there. It turned out it was way further than I thought and way harder. I’ll submit that the Lava Canyon is actually a hard hike. At least the part I went on. My husband, the ten-year-old and the five-year-old stopped a short way down the trail at a viewpoint. I kept going with my eight-year-old. After we were out of earshot, he suddenly asked: “Why don’t you and Dad get divorced?”
After some sputtering, I figured out why he would ask that and we discussed why that was not going to happen.
We did finally make it to the bridge. It didn’t wiggle as much as I had hoped but it was still marvelous fun. We ran across it several times and jumped around. I took a few pictures very carefully. I was quite nervous about dropping my phone through the slats.
We went home exhausted and successful. I didn’t end up as sore as I wanted, probably because it really wasn’t as hard as advertised, but it was still a great trip.
All of this is to say:
I hate hiking.
I’ve known this for a long time. So why did I go out of my way to go again? Through most of these hikes, I’m trudging. I pause to look at the view once in a while and then I trudge. One foot in front of the other. Step, step, why am I doing this? The whole process is just one boring step after another punctuated periodically by pausing to look around and wish you were at your goal. Once you get to the goal the process is repeated in reverse. Step, step, Why? All these lovely views have been captured on camera by somebody with way better photography skill than I have and I could just look them up online!
At some point on this trip (which also included the Astoria tower and a visit to the Portland Zoo), my husband pointed out that the vacation I had decided on was not what he would have chosen. Although he didn’t object to what we did, he didn’t find it restful or vacationy.
I said, “I know, I hate hiking, I don’t know why I did this.”
And then he said, “You like having been hiking.”
I don’t know if that is profound but I found it fascinating about myself. He’s right. The views are a nice memory, and when you are sitting in the car on the way home, the tired muscles can finally be ignored and I can concentrate on the success of completion. I guess. And you have to have done it to get to that point. It’s the same way I feel about certain types of exercise. I have been doing Hot yoga, which is horrible, but it’s totally worth because of how I feel afterward. Of course the views there are different and I’ve found it best to do yoga without my contacts in so I can’t see much.
If this worked on other things I think I could be an amazing person. Sadly there is a limit. There is something about hiking that makes it worth it, while other, possibly more mundane things just can’t compete. We have carpet that needs replacing, outdoor plants that have died and need to be torn out, the car is a mess, and there are constant piles of laundry in my room. It seems that the end result cannot compel me to work on those things. My sister once said that the end result of cleaning, that is, a clean house or room, made the struggle worth it. But all I can see is the lost time and wasted effort. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t have kids. My kids can’t ruin the results of hiking. They could ruin the process, I suppose.
Anyway, blah blah blah, ginger, that suspension bridge is Awesome!
No – they don’t fit. You do have to see them live.
Not anywhere close to being as boring as a treadmill.
Thanks for a fun post!
Interesting.
On a treadmill, I can drift off into my own little world. I don’t usually watch anything or listen to music, I just ponder the universe or something. The great doors provides a lot more visual stimulation, but it’s so much harder.
Over the last 45 years I have hiked many of the same trails as you. I live near Portland, so most were in the west and middle parts of the gorge. I’ve done Dog Mountain many times. I find it difficult because of the steepness. But, then again, I’ve only climbed St. Helens once (hard!) And never Adams. In the last few years, because of aging limbs, I’ve been doing longer but less steep hikes. When my kids were young I took them with me. I was really proud when my then four year old son hiked to the top of Angles Rest.
Unlike you, I greatly enjoy the hike. But the sense of accomplishment when finished is certainly a big part of it.
It sounds like you grew up in south central Washington. I have not done Lava Canyon. I’ll put it on my list.
Thanks for the great post.
#metoo
My first car was a 1967 Opel Kadett L Station Wagon. Broke down all the time. So I went hiking quite often.
That would do it! 😜
I loved hiking when I was younger. I do have a couple trails I loved dearly back then that I wish I could retry, but they darn near killed me in my 20’s, so now ( I’m near 60) it is just not something I would try. I still love the outdoors, the views, the mountains, the wildlife. But I just don’t enjoy the physical effort any more. Not only the exertion, but the days of recovery after. I’m not against exercise, but climbing mountains is just a bit too much for me now. So, hiking is mostly on short flat trails these days.
I found Mt St Helens hard, but I’m not sure I’m a good judge. The last time I went was with a bunch of family, and my 18 yr old cousin and his friend each picked up a big 20lb or so rock at the bottom and carried it the whole way up, which theu completed in about 2 hours. I can’t compete with the insanity of fit youth.
I do absolutely recommended the Lava Canyon, especially if you like the experience, but it is steep and difficult.
I understand completely, including the, “You like having been hiking.”
Two summers ago my wife and I discovered there is an unimproved (read: not government maintained) trail to the top of Sumas Mountain, which is a peak we can see from our house. There is a bare spot at the top which you can make out, and on a clear day you can see the cell tower that is up there.
We decided we were going to hike to the top. So we started in the spring going half a mile that first day. Then one day in June we hiked 3.5 miles up, with an elevation gain of 3100 feet, and 3.5 miles back down. We spent 30-45 minutes on top until we started to get cold (it was windy, and we were sweaty.) The whole trip took over 9 hours.
The photo below is what you see when you get up there. From that photo you can see Bellingham Bay, Gooseberry Point, and further out Lummi Island, Orcase, and others. It was a hard, hard hike. We will do it again. I hated every step. But every step brought me closer to the goal of climbing it. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.
The whole post was very enjoyable and this part really made me laugh.
And that suspension bridge really does look awesome!
Great post (and Comments)! Thanks.
Note: I’ve summitted Mt. Adams more times than I can count. Not bragging: as other Ricochet Cincinnatians will tell you, it isn’t considered a big deal around here, and the young people go often for the trendy bars. There are some stairs going up, and there’s a Catholic tradition where each year people actually walk up. Can’t say that I would ever want to do that, but I do go to the fish fry at Lent when I get the chance, which I believe counts the same.
Mount Adams in Washington?
Hard hike in my book, too. Looks like it was worth it though.
Ohio.
My husband and I are 68. We started climbing Colorado’s 14-ers 4 years ago and have now done 15 of them. We are slow, but we get there. The best part of each hike is arriving back at the car and taking off your hiking boots! Last summer we also did a local attraction called the Manitou Incline. 1 mile, 2000 feet ascent. I forget how many steps. With my 2 artificial knees, it took me just over 1.5 hrs. Hubby finished in less than an hour. Then you can either come down the way you came or take a 3.5 mile hiking trail down. We did the latter.
I will tell that to Mrs R, who is getting an artificial knee in a couple of weeks. The problem all started with a War of 1812 injury twenty years ago, and she did pretty well on hiking trails in the Porcupine Mountains last year (with the help of a cane) but recent developments mean that it’s time.
Oops. I just checked the Interwebs, and discovered that there is ANOTHER Mount Adams, located in Washington. Mistaken identity. I saw some pics of the Washington one, and I’ve got to admit that it gives ours a run for its money in the grandeur department.
Anyway, the one I was thinking of is an old Midwestern suburb. Check it out if you ever are driving a U-Haul from Illinois to a low-tax state in the South, take a wrong exit, and end up in Cincinnati. It’s very nice, lots of great places to eat. Rookwood Pottery is actually located there (now a restaurant) so if you are a shard enthusiast you will have a ball.
It must be a good 50 or 60 feet higher than downtown, so there are good views of the city.
Even better, you don’t have to hike to get to it.
NB: There are actually 6 other Mountains surrounding my fair city, making up the famous “Seven Hills of Cincinnati”, though of course not all of them are as tall as Mt. Adams. Interesting Porkopolis trivia: local historians have not yet determined exactly which seven hills are the Seven Hills, though all agree that Mt. Adams is one of them.
I looked it up, and I learned that summiting Mt. Adams in Washington (12,300 feet) isn’t really too terrible, either.
Yeah, I want to do the Manitou Incline.
Here’s a photo I snapped last February while flying in to Seattle, returning from Atlanta. I labelled the Mountains for you. Mt. Hood, barely visible, is in Oregon. I’ve seen this view only a few times, because it’s almost always cloudy coming in to Seattle. The photo just doesn’t do it justice. I have met people who have never seen real mountains before. They have hills that they call mountains. I sometimes take the beauty that exists all around me for granted. But sometimes I remember just how blessed I am to live where I do. Liberals and all.
Do you mean the Astor Column?
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. When I was in Little League, we went to Astoria for the All Stars games. We climbed the Astor Column while we were there. Went to Battery Russell, too.
Yes, lots of similarities between the two. But if you look up the altitude of Mt. Adams, don’t be overly impressed. If it says 375 feet, say, remember that the City of Cincinnati itself towers more than three stories above the Gulf of Mexico just to the south.
People in the West (typically very young, sometimes to the point of callowness) create a superficial impression of much greater athleticism when enjoying the outdoors by climbing their “Mt. Adams” in their bare feet with no net, no ropes, nothing but an iPhone 10, but you have to consider that the increase in gravitational potential energy of a typical Cincinnatian per meter climbed is much greater, even if you don’t count the mass of the SUV.
According the internet, and for as long as I’ve known, it’s called the Astoria Column.
I couldn’t find an Astor column.
I think I’m missing something in your comment. :)
Probably not. I thought it was built by the Astors.
https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/8001/fsx-astor-column-scenery/
It may be that the Astors are out of favor now. It was over 50 years ago that I went.
Sometimes we take pleasure in accomplishment, but not the task. I always like the view from a church tower or a hill top, but know I’ll be white-knuckling my way down the spiral stairway or narrow hill-side path, fighting mild vertigo. In these cases, there is pleasure at the mid-way point and at the end, not in the climb or descent.
This conversation is part of our Group Writing Series under January’s theme: Renovation. There are plenty of dates still available. Have a great home renovation story? Maybe with photos? Have a terrible home renovation story? How about furniture, or an instrument, a plane, a train or an automobile? Are you your renovation project, or someone else’s? Do you have criticism or praise for some public renovation, accomplished or desperately needed? Are you a big fan, or not so much, of home renovation shows? Unleash your inner fan or critic. We have some wonderful photo essays on Ricochet; perhaps you have a story with before and after photos, or reflections on the current state of a long project. The possibilities are endless! Why not start a conversation? Our schedule and sign-up sheet awaits.
I’ll post the February topic and sign-up sheet mid-month. I’ll consider topical suggestions.
When I was a kid (well over 50 years ago) we called it the Astor Column. It is currently officially the Astoria Column. I can’t explain the difference.
From the website astoriacolumn.com:
Astor Column or Astoria Column?
This question–among countless others–has long been a topic of hot local debate. Officially, the name of the monument is the AstoriaColumn, as it was dedicated in 1926. Ralph Budd, who initiated the project, felt naming the monument the Astor Column would focus too much attention on the contributions of Astor, while diminishing those of Astoria’s early explorers—Captains Robert Gray, William Clark and Meriwether Lewis.
I tried to find the elevation gain for your Mt. Adams and didn’t find it.
Are you saying that Cincinatti is only 30 or 40 feet above sea level? That can’t be right. I will look it up.
482.