Jim Goings

I took Hannah and Miriam to downtown Portland for a bike ride along the waterfront. It was cold and promising to rain, but my personal motto is “if you wait for it to stop raining, you’ll never do anything”. We packed an extra set of dry clothes just in case.

The train ride was a little dramatic as Hannah dropped her bike when it was time to board. Flustered, she turned the wheel backwards and couldn’t quite figure out what was going on and started to cry thinking she was going to miss the train. The operator wasn’t very nice either and didn’t hold the doors for us, but I stood in the doorway to prevent it from closing and we got on board ok eventually.

The bike ride was beautiful. We rode all up and down the Tom McCall waterfront area and then rode across the steel bridge to the east side of the river. Once we got across, it started to hail. We stopped under the Morrison bridge and had a snack. Naturally, the hail increased and rain was added to the mix. Not wanting to delay further, we hauled butt back to the other side of the river to the nearest Max station.

Our pants were soaking wet and our legs were frozen (it was 38 degrees outside!). Nonetheless, we weren’t doing too bad as we had warms tops and gloves. We boarded the train and headed home. We stopped at the Zoo to use the restroom so the girls could change into their dry clothes. I bought some popcorn to munch on and we made it home about 4pm.

All in all, it was a fun trip. Next time we go riding in the rain, we need to remember two things: waterproof pants and fenders for the girls bikes.

Hannah, professional paddler

Last weekend we went to Lost Lake again for a group camping trip. The Goings, Howlands, Siglers, Megan, Kelly, Jeff, Dan, Chuck, Andrew, Jen, Sam, and Holly were all present for some classic fun in the outdoors. 21 people in all! We rolled in on Thursday morning and literally took the last 3 out of 4 camp sites. We were really nervous that we wouldn’t find any camp sites at all, let a lone three in a row, but we lucked out.

The girls went fishing with Dan and Kelly. Miriam and Simone came back a few hours earlier than Hannah. Hannah was out so late, that just as I started driving around looking to give Dan and Kelly some less than kind words from her worried parents, I spoted her walking towards our camp site with 5 fish on a chain and a huge grin on her face. I didn’t have the heart to give her or the guys a hard time about how late they were out. Apparently, fish really start biting after the sun goes down.

I also took this opportunity to take the canoe out for the first time in over a year. Lost Lake is crystal clear and we could see the shadow of our canoe 100ft down on the lake floor. It was awesome! Hannah and Miriam learned how to paddle and as you can see from the picture above, she is holding that paddle like a pro!

Other activites included a 3-mile hike around the lake, lots of Nertz, playing fetch with the dogs, and the obligatory ritual of smores. It was a great trip.

View the full set of pictures.

We went to Lost Lake today with Jeff, Megan, Kyle, and Satoko. We hiked the perimeter of the lake and had a great lunch. I want to go back there to camp real soon. I took lost of pictures, most of which came out really well. Check out the entire set on Flickr.

It hasn’t officially snowed in Portland since January of 2003. While the latest STORM OF THE CENTURY OF THE WEEK wasn’t as rough as then, this week’s winter storm did lay down about 4 inches of snow. Apparently 4 inches is just the right amount to cause half of the metro area to not go to work. Admittedly the buses were only partially running, but the Max was running on schedule all day.

To be fair, the snow was somewhat of a surprise as most folks thought the predictions were another wolf sighting. The snow stuck however and left many commuters stuck in traffic for much longer than anticipated. I left my house at 7:50 on Tuesday morning and arrived at 9:55. My normally 35 minute journey lasted over 2 hours. I was rear-ended twice… twice! The only damage was a bent license plate, but still… twice!

I did leave work early, taking the train home and leaving my car at work. I’m glad I did as I saw a lot of crazies sliding to stop for the train crossing on my way home. Megan was kind enough to give me a lift from the station to my house, although in retrospect, the walk was nice. Everyone was playing in the snow, cars were doing 360′s in the intersections, and the everyone’s moods were so uplifted and joyous. You can complain about the cold and wet nature of snow, but all I saw were people generally happy about it. Sure, everyone was talking about how many accidents they saw and how the buses weren’t running, and that it was ridiculous to go into work, but there was still an aire of joy on everyone’s face. No amount of inconvenience or fender benders could hide the general happy nature that was on the face of everyone I encountered.

When I got home, I shed my work clothes, slapped on several layers of cotton with an outer layer of non-cotton prepared to do what all righteous dudes and dads must do. Throw snow balls at their kids and build a collosal snow man to demonstrate my supreme masculinity and reign over my domain. The kids won and when the snowman’s midsection collapsed, it never fully developed. Still, I reign supreme!

Oh yes, you can see more pics of our fun in the snow.

Update on the rafting accident from Ranger Brandon Backman of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Thanks for Farnz for sending this to me.

I just got off the upper Klick this afternoon. I’d like to give everyone a quick heads up on the run.

Most of the debris from this weekends recovery efforts has been removed. There is still a raft broached on a log (River Left) about 3 miles above the fish hatchery. I would not recommend attempting to remove it just yet. There is another very dangerous strainer just down stream, and a slip could prove fatal. Also, it serves as a good “warning” for the nasty log that it’s splatted on. We’ll get it later.

The site of last weekend’s accident is still very dangerous. We marked it as best we could with some caution tape. It is roughly 3.5 miles above the fish hatchery. There is an impressive and beautiful basalt cliff on the left, with an island drop just past it. There are some non hazardous logs on the up stream side of this island. One of the most visible logs has been marked with 3 bands of yellow caution tape. At this point, ALL RAFTS MUST GO RIVER LEFT. The right looks good; however, it is very dangerous and deceptive. Good class 4 kayakers should have little problem with either channel. But go left anyway just to be safe.

The accident that happened last Saturday was a terrible blow to the entire river community. We have all suffered a huge loss. I found myself saying to many people the last few days: That if I had come across an accident like this one, Jeff Driver would have been the FIRST person I would have called for assistance. I’ll miss his friendship, his knowledge, and his contagious respect for the river.

I would appreciate this information being passed on to any and all that might be running the Upper Klickitat in the near future. Especially private and commercial rafters.

Let’s all have a great time paddling this spring, and remember those who have passed.

Thanks for your time.

Brandon Backman
River Ranger
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
541-308-1729
541-806-0105

P.S. If anyone would like to help out Jeff’s family, the best way right now would be to make a donation toward the costs of Jeff’s funeral. Please contact Gardner Funeral Home if you would like to help. Thanks.

Gardner Funeral Home Inc
1270 N Main
(509) 493-1323
Fax: (509) 493-4229