Kayaking

For me (nate) 2012's primary recreation was kayaking, so I thought I'd share some of those pictures as part of my "catching up" program... I've been extremely lucky to have some great friends (Mark, Sarah, and Kathleen) who have taken me under their collective wings and introduced me to the sport.  I've found that it can be quite fun, but also quite scary.  For me at least, the best part about it isn't the rapids or the excitement (although that does add to the fun), it's the cool places we've snuck into that are almost impossible to access by foot.  Also worth mentioning is that kayaking and photography don't mix very well together, mostly because it's usually wet and dark on the river: Not very conducive to getting good pictures. I take loads of pictures and end up throwing 75% of them away.  Anyway, here are a few that made the cut.

Kathleen and Matt on a mellow stretch of the Siletz River

Matt checking out the headwaters of Opal Creek

Pano of "Thor's Playroom" aka "Nate's Bane"

There is a 15 minute carry to the put-in on Opal, but it's rather scenic.

Mark, our fearless and humble leader shows Matt and I how it's done!

Matt catches some "hamburger air"

Lot's of rapids end in beautiful, mellow, and seemingly bottomless gorges. 

...Kinda like this one.

Here is a funny ice cream headache sequence.

Scouting "Big Fluffy"

Another gorge below"fluffy"

Fluffy Pano

The "Portage" around big fluffy is a 10-15' seal launch. 

The water in Opal is crystal clear (and pretty cold)

Matt commiting to "Door Number 1" in "Thor's Playroom"

Catchup

Okay, so I've got some serious catching up to do, but hopefully I'm on a role and will be able to keep the pictures rolling. Mostly just misc. crap for this installment except for the kitten montage, which is probably the best photo series this pathetic blog has ever experienced. Mel and I fostered a three-pack of kittens from the humane society for a week to get them socialized, and it was pretty fun. Nice to have them, but also nice to know that we didn't have to keep them, ya know? I had to wade through hundreds and hundreds of absurdly cute pictures and pick just the few that I'm sharing here. Poor Bella just about lost her mind. She did play well with them though, and in the end they loved her a lot more than they loved us. First is a shot of some late season glacier action up by Mt. Jefferson, followed by an unexplained shot of my friends John and Mark.

Next are a couple pictures from Marys peak on a nice misty day, followed by three pics from a work trip over to Eastern Oregon. The first is from the top of Lookout Mtn. overlooking the Ochico mountains (and the cascades in the distance). Next is a picture of Sheep rock. Finally is a pic I snapped in the Ponderosa forest by Black Butte. Neat contrast to the lush forests that we have just an hour away (on the rainy side of the hill).

Waldo - Septemberish 2012

This is a long overdue writeup of an overnight trip about 17 of us did out on Waldo Lake, way back, say, in October (ya, I've been lazy). Waldo is pretty amazing, and although I'd been there before to visit, I think I missed out on how awesome it was by neglecting to bring a boat. The water is clear... Like, absurdly clear. Actually, I've heard that it's more chemically pure than distilled water, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. It does rival Crater Lake for clarity: for example, on a good day, it's pretty common to be able to see 100' down. It sorta messes with your head because you're whole sense of depth is thrown off. When the sun hits it right, it turns an absurd turquoise, just like the water in Hawaii, etc. Very special place, and one I'm sure we'll be back to visit. If you are wondering, those are our friends Mark and Sarah in a bunch of these pics, and that's my bud Dennis paddling the drift boat.