An executive branch out of control

Thorp Mountain

Thorp Peak

I hiked up to Thorp Mountain lookup on Saturday. I was expecting tons of snow but it actually wasn't too bad. It was on/off rainy the whole time but overall, it wasn't really bad at all. We were the first ones up there for the day but on the way down we ran into lots of people. A group of five people were turned around and went the opposite direction they should have gone to get to Thorp Mountain. They also weren't exactly sure how to get back to their car . . . lol. I think I was able to help them out.

Click on the picture to left to see all the pictures.

Hells Canyon

Just got back from Hells Canyon. Here are some pictures.

Hells Canyon

Overall, this trip was excellent. It had some of the best motorcycling roads I have EVER been on.

The first night we stayed in Lewiston, ID which is joined with Clarkston, WA on the other side of the river. I just have to say, neither of us liked these two cities, at all. Everything in Lewiston seemed to close by 6pm and we couldn't even find a place to eat except for a smoke field bar. So we headed over to Clarkston. As we headed out of Lewiston, Creighton was almost taken out by some drunk going the wrong way on a one way street. We finally found a restaraunt on the water that looked promising but we quicly found that the service had a lot to be desired. The food was okay though and we had a table overlooking the river. It was cool because we could actually see lots of big fish swimming in the river right from our table. The next morning we did find one bright spot in the city. We ate at a place called Waffles n'More. It was actually great food with great service. The waitresses were so chipper and friendly that it seemed like something out of Stepford Wives though. lol

That morning we headed south on highway 129. Immediately after leaving a little city called Asotin we hit some excellent road. Then on/off all the way to Enterprise the roads were absolutely a blast. We did try to take a little side route down a canyon near were we were to cross the state line but it turned out a good chunk of the road was gravel. Not just gravel but 2 inches of fresh gravel. We nixed that idea but we had already gone 8 miles or so off the main road which means we had a 16 mile detour. All in all, not too bad; I'm just glad we didn't have to back track too far. It turns out, it wasn't so bad though because it turns out we would have missed of the best roads had we had gone the other way.

On south we went on into a little town called Enterprise. There was nothing great about Enterprise at all and we motored right through. Joseph came up shortly after though and is a great little town. Joseph has lots of little shops and is a friendly, clean place to visit. I wish we had a bit more time to actually explore it but we had a long day and were already running well behind our plan. We got gas at the only gas station in Joseph and oh yeah, we are in Oregon were people are not capable of pumping their own gas. After getting re-accustomed to the gas station practices of Oregon we motored on to Wapato Lake which is south of Joseph.

more to come soon . . .

Hells Canyon Trip

My friend Creighton and I have a motorcycle trip planned to Hells Canyon. I'm really looking forward to this. The roads I have planned are supposed to be excellent motorcycle roads.

The basic route is Sumner to Chinook pass, then east to Lewiston, ID. South to Joseph, OR, then to Wallowa lake. From there east to Hells canyon and and eventually down to the Snake River itself. Back west to Baker City for the 2nd night. From their, depending on weather and how we feel we can just head north along I-84 but what I'm really hoping we can do is head west to highway 39 which supposed to be an absolutely perfect motorcycle road. Either way we eventually end up near Pendleton and then go west to The Dalles for night 3. From their a little further west then north up the Wind River road. North to pass along the east side of Mt. St. Helens and then eventually continue north until home.

Here is a map and some details of the trip.

Wallace Falls

2007 Wallace Falls Hike

Well, it's not an epic hike by any means but I wanted to get out and do something so I chose Wallace Falls. It is actually a state park and so I didn't have very high expectations. I was pleasantly surprised though. This is actually a very nice trail and is perfect for this time of year. Everything is very green right now and the trail is low enough in elevation that snow is not a concern.

The trail was also in remarkably good shape considering all the rain. Just watch out for all the people. It's a pretty popular hike