Forest Park Portland OR

This weekend, my wife Haley and I explored a bit of Portland Oregon's Forest Park (wikipedia link). The park contains over 70 miles of trails and the largest of those, the Wildwood Trail, runs just over 30 miles through the entire park.
Lot's of mountain bikers seemed to be in the area, based on the empty bike racks that adorned all the parked cars, but our hike was largely solitary. We plan to hike more of the area before winter reclaims the land.

Jul 28, 2008 2:51 pm by rainhiker

Concealed Weapons May be Allowed in National Parks

My point pointed to the newspaper in the Oregonian tonight. The Bush Administration is hoping to legalize concealed handguns in National Parks, undoing part of a law put in place years ago by the Regan administration.

Personally, I don't see the law stopping too many people one way or the other. Here in the NorthWest, I hear of foreigners roaming the woods for mushrooms wielding semi-automatic weapons. In a few cases, being in an area in the SouthEastern US that was particularly known for meth labs, well, you get the idea. Still, an interesting change if it happens.
One of the concerns is that people will start shooting ever animal that scares them. The article mentions bears, which is just stupid, but certainly a large amount of snakes and squirrels may be targeted. Though in Alabama, that just means better eating. :)

May 1, 2008 10:49 pm by rainhiker

www.findmespot.com

There's an interesting GPS device/service at www.findmespot.com and sponsored by Les Stroud. The GPS device is not a traditional, let you know where you are, device. Instead, it simply offers four functions:

1. Alert 9-1-1: Sends your location for emergency


2. Ask For Help: Sends your location for non life threatening help.


3. Check In: Sends your location to family/friends so they know your not dead.


4. Track Progress: Sends your location to be viewed later using Google Maps.

The unit weighs under 7 ounces and is $169.99.

You may ask yourself, "Why not just get a Garmin?". My guess is that some people don't want to be wired in when enjoying the outdoors. Still, those of us that want to cut the electronic connection while enjoying nature, we have families and friends that want to know we are still alive out there. Also, when out on your own, bad things can happen, and while the risk is part of the experience, a device like this could save your life, and by simple design and function, minimizes the feeling of being wired in.


Mar 19, 2008 8:25 am by rainhiker

Oregon Trail

There are a few entries coming in on Oregon trails and state parks. The area is beautiful and I highly recommend it.
Last weekend I climbed a short ways up Mt Hood with my wife, reaching an elevation of just over 7000 ft. Our goal was to locate the PCT trail amidst the early snowfall. Despite that the workers in the nearby Timberline lodge had no idea where it was, we found it and hiked a quarter mile. Some of you may laugh at this, but hiking in the snow is exhausting. My next item to purchase will be some show shoes.
Tonight marks the first night I start going over the design of the site. Several integral parts will take a different turn, but the main focus will remain cataloging trail information.
This is a young site, but if anyone wants to help out, I could use some graphics / logo ideas. You can message me though the forums and I'll get to you sooner or later.

Nov 26, 2007 6:43 pm by rainhiker

Summer is Nearing

My personal life has been busy this Spring. Everything has settled down and for the first time in a while, I have some time to spend on active development of the site. I've been jotting down ideas over the past year and believe I have some solid design to work with. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the Spring.

May 22, 2007 10:36 am by rainhiker