after dinner last night we hit the floor again in the main room and worked all the pieces we’d developed during the day, combining and tweaking and eventually really just free-forming on them as a group.  it was really a bunch of fun, although I was ready to be done by the time we got to dinner.  We worked until about 2 in the morning before retiring to one of the cabins to talk almost until the sun came up.

I’m really curious to watch the video we developed last night - I must admit that I am somewhat dubious as to the quality of anything that was produced, but at the same time i’m compelled to think that there were some very good moments, and that we probably found some connections/relations/affinities between pieces that will be new and rather original.

So now it’s morning - still kinda sleepy at 11.30 and breakfast is only now getting made - I hope we can get some work done before the group that leaves today leaves.

this tiny little house is like a cathedral. i’ve never been in an a-frame in the snowy snowy mountains before that i can remember, and i have to say i’m in loveish with it.  i’m on a little palette in front of a giant window and next to a woodstove running a raging fire.

tonight we - jacob, kate, aurora, amber, joel, ryan, glen, kate o, will and i feasted on amazing food courtesy of Amber’s Amazing Cabbage Casserol. afterwards we spilled out of the house and most of us- sans will and amber - conquered the nearest hill, tearing up it harry-kari… No easy feat, it was actually quite high.  The recent fire had consumed the entire forest on that hill, and the soil (where there was no snow) was a mix of burnt pumice and charcoal. On the plus side, there was no undergrowth tangling our feet.

The view at the top was phenomenal - with no trees left on the top of the hill the view was completely clear. The nearly full moon had no clouds to obstruct its light and the whole landscape around us was revealed; snow covered hills and woods sparkling silver in the moonlight. we found a grave at the top…what a beautiful place to be buried. lucky guy.  on the way down i ended up strolling through snow fields with Aurora.  Not sure i remember what we were chatting about but i do remember that it was one of the nicest walks i’ve had in a spell. the air was crispy and the ground was forgiving, and the moon was bright and the sky was clear - perfect night for walking up and down a burned-up mountain.

hey wow i’m in the woods how did i get here?  insanity.  life should not be possible in this place right now.  modern ‘civilized’ urban western human life, at least.  but nevertheless, here i am.  150 miles from where i started this morning oversleeping till 9 on a borderline hangover.  150 miles from one of the most “livable” “greened” “bike friendly” american urban centers of which i am aware.  and the pristine snow draped like grandma’s lace on the naked skeletons of last year’s fire and the rude unrepentant mountains trying to reach up to the sky and the mad scarps threatening to undermine the road we drove to get here all scream out at me most loudly that my beloved Portland is just an ungraceful and amaturish attempt to create any sort of beauty.

holy cow it’s been snowing for a week now.  early on, it looked like it would be the typical icey/melty/non-sticking mess, but it’s been sticking since… thursday or friday now, and the accumulation has become significant.  In the 14 years I’ve been living in Portland, I’ve never seen snow like this.

here’s the preshovel:

and the post:

In other news, I’m nervously watching the Amtrak site to see if my train will even take me to Salem on Wednesday.  Currently there is “significant delay”…. yikes!

Here’s an old post I ran across just now while going through this now aged (2.2!) Wordpress installation. Maybe upgrading is in order…

One of my favorite new habits is a monthly hike with my mother.  She’s been avidly exploring northwest Oregon’s woods for well over 10 years and has a great knowledge of fun places to go walking.  This weekend she was scheduled to lead a hike for her local hiking club, The Chemeketans, and invited me to come along.  I was looking forward to this weekend for weeks, and I wasn’t disappointed!

Mom originally wanted to change the trip to go up to Jefferson Park (not sure that’s the exact trail but you get the idea) instead of the more strenuous hike to Whetstone Mountain that was originally planned.  A call to the ranger station, however, revealed that there is still snow up at Jefferson Park (!!), so we chose to stick with the original plan.  Saturday morning found us in a parking lot meeting up with Paula, Jim and Michael, some of Mom’s fellow Chemeketans, to head up to the Opal Creek Wilderness for our hike.

Anyhow, I don’t have much to add to this - the hike was brilliant. On the way up we were in rainforest-like conditions as waves of low clouds swept across the ridge and released their moisture directly on to the enormous trees we were hiking through. On the way down, the clouds disappeared and we had spectacular views across the valley as we walked through the amazing, cathedral like stands of ancient douglas fir. I made a photo set on Flickr with a few shots from the adventure.