Hello from the Northern Hemisphere

Kia ora!

Even though I'm about three months behind in posts -- I partially blame the lack of wifi in New Zealand -- I'm taking a quick break from posts about various adventures to say hello from Salem, OR. 

It's only my third day back in the States and (more importantly) back in summer and it's been pretty confusing, to say the least.

Even though I knew it would be summer when I got home, I didn't mentally prepare myself to jump from snow to sun, let alone from days with 9 hours of sunlight to 15 hours. I think that was pretty clear when I got off the plane in San Francisco wearing a scarf, sweater, and boots. Got some pretty funny looks from everyone else wearing sundresses. 

Took this about a month ago -- and it's gotten more wintery since then.

I know this is a real short post -- just wanted to say hello and that I have heaps of posts about New Zealand (and probably a few about reverse culture shock) coming up. 

Also, totally seeking advice from other travelers/students who've studied abroad about coming back home afterwards. Any words of wisdom you can share? 

Cheers!

50 miles of a West Coast Wonder

Hello from Washington, D.C.!

I got off my plane this morning excited and groggy as all get out. I think my internal clock is still pretty confused, but I'm all settled in to my apartment and I've even done some grocery shopping!

This post isn't going to be about D.C. though. (Sorry!)

I figured I'd combat the little pangs of homesickness and finally post some of the pictures from two separate adventures at one of Oregon's Seven Wonders - The Oregon Coast.

(If you haven't seen the Seven Wonders of Oregon video you can check it out here.)

Hiking Cape Perpetua

Located just a few miles south of Yachats, Cape Perpetua is definitely one of the don't-miss lookout spots on the coast. With a number of amazing views of the shoreline throughout the network of trails, this has got to be one of Oregon's prettiest hikes.

We had been planning on doing a different hike along the coast (but that didn't happen due to my notoriously terrible sense of direction - oops).

We decided on this hike after agreeing to pull over at the first sight of the little hiker picture on any of the state park signs.

Lucky we found this one!

As you may be able to tell from the pictures above, it can be a pretty steep climb to the top if you opt to park at the bottom like we did. 

One of the great things about this trail system is that there are a number of parking lots to choose from. We hardly saw anyone on the way up, but when we got to the top we found that a lot of hikers had parked at the second parking lot and hiked the shorter (yet equally beautiful) trails near the peak.

 

Tons to discover on this hike, like the old rock shelter pictured above.

It's a running joke that I could fill a coffee table book with pictures of the backpacks the hikers in front of me on various hikes.

So this one's for you, gang:

We were super happy to have the whole group back together -you might recognize Alan and Miro from the last post, but we were super happy to be joined by Allison, the cutie in the white tee shirt.

We finished off our beach day with bummin' around on one of the many day-use beaches the coast has to offer.

I also want to take a second to share some pictures from a camping trip I took with my mom about a week or two before this hike:

The 24-Hour Camping Trip

We were super hungry on the drive over, so we started off our 24-hour camping trip with a picnic at Roads End State Recreation Site. 

We set up camp at Beverly Beach State Park, which also has 21 yurts that I'm dying to check out this winter.

We finished off our overnight trip with a hike on the park's trail around the campgrounds and some saltwater taffy from a little shop in Depoe Bay, the world's smallest navigable harbor.

At this point, you might be wondering if this is going to be a blog 100% dedicated to hiking. If it isn't your thing, no worries! The next post is gonna feature some photos from a road trip my dad and I took down to California this past week, as well as some tips on how to keep "traveling on a budget" from meaning "boring trip."

(One thing I will say in favor of hiking though: as my dad put it, "Hiking is one of the cheapest thrills out there. All you need is a pair of shoes!" I agreed with him, but told him that I knew a few guys who didn't even need the shoes.)

Hope you're all finding plenty of adventure this summer!

Cheers!

Summer in Salem

    

Hello, hello!

Welcome to the first post of A Travel Blog (Of Sorts). 

Exactly one week from right now I'll be moving into my apartment in Washington, D.C. so I figured I should get a post or two about Oregon in before I head back east. 

People say write about what you know, so here we go:

Hiking Oregon

 

             

Croisan Scenic Trail - Salem, OR

Croisan Meadow Loop Trail - Salem, OR

The three shots above are all from two trails that I am lucky enough to live directly in front of. Despite a few steep stretches, neither are particularly challenging (especially during the summer months),

so they're great for kids!

However, if you're going in the rainy season, be sure to waterproof your boots. I definitely learned that one the hard way. 

         

Above: view from the summit

Conner's Camp Trail, Mary's Peak - Benton County, OR

The slew of photos above are from the hike I did last week with my good friends Alan (red backpack) and Miro (yellow shirt). Mary's Peak is known for being a really nice, pretty easy day hike. Depending on where you park. 

It had been a long time since any of us had been up there, so we ended up driving the winding roads for a while and stopped at the first parking lot we saw. The maps were pretty confusing so we just started walking and ended up on a steep zigzagging trail that ended up (after nearly three hours) connecting us to the summit loop that leads to the amazing views Mary's Peak is known for. 

I told some people about our adventures once we got home only to be laughed at and told that most people drive up to the main parking lot, which connects directly to the summit trail, skipping the huge climb that my friends and I found. 

Even though it might have been a little extra in terms of effort, I'm really glad we did the trails that we did. I always say that nothing beats a post-hike meal, especially after a trail that really makes you work for it.

The college grads coloring their papers plates at Corvallis, Oregon's American Dream Pizza.

No matter how hard this post might make this hike sound - I guess it couldn't have been bad enough that it couldn't be done without shoes.

Shout out to Miro, who did the entire thing barefoot!

Next post:

Photos from a few more hikes, plus a look at some of the indoor joys of Oregon. 

Cheers!