A FEW MORE THINGS
YOU MIGHT ENJOY
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WEEK 306
Week Ending March 24, 2007
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| Week Completed: | ___306___ |
| Weigh-In Weight: | 211.0 |
| Body Mass Index: | 26.3 |
My last update was on November 11, 2006. I have spent a great deal of time on putting together our Alaska Cruise page and that has taken a lot of the energy that I would have otherwise spent on my journal.
Dotti and spent Thanksgiving in Spokane with our dear friends Jim and Tammy, and we also got to visit with our son LeRoy during that time. I went from the 190s into the 200s during that visit and I have been there ever since. At Christmas we visited with my Mom at her house and I held steady in the low 200s during that time.
The month of January saw me creeping upwards over 205 pounds. On January 23, 2007 I hit 207.5 pounds. This set me back to journaling again. That lasted into early March, when on March 5, weighing 205.5 pounds, I stopped journaling again. I bounced around between 204 and 207 on most days, but one day I jumped up to 209, and today I hit 211. At least 2 or 3 pounds of that was water weight from the popcorn I had eaten last night, and the ibuprofen I had to take for my back. Still, it got my attention. I have not been heading back down towards my target weight, and I have been giving indications that I just might take off in the other direction at any time.
So, here I am again. I am starting up my online journal once more, and I am going to start focusing more on what I am eating, and getting in more exercise.
In that vein, Dotti and I walked to the top of Multnomah Falls on Thursday.
Multnomah Falls was running plenty of water still, with the spring runoff, and it was beautiful! Here I put two pictures together of Dotti and I with the falls in the background. (This is A great photo location just above the area where they have a bench set up for those who might need a rest. )
Looking down at the lodge, you can see that they have put on a brand new roof!
I seem to have gotten myself into a hole. This tree's root system is rather interesting, as it forms a little tunnel beneath the tree.
This was taken at the highest point on the trail. We had climbed 760 feet from our starting point, and from here, we had to go downhill for about 50 feet or so in order to reach the level of Multnomah Creek. Looking at this picture it reminds me that, while I feel I need to "buckle down" on my journey right now, I don't feel that I am very far off from where I want to be.
I took this one by aiming the camera down from over the top of the falls, looking at Dotti, downwards towards the ground below.The lodge and lower viewing area are 611 feet beneath us, and the water is on the way down to greet them. Actually we will be too, but we will be taking a slightly slower, and longer route down. ☺
Dotti looks so beautiful when she smiles, just like she did on the September day in 1974 when we first took this hike. The railing of this upper viewing platform was made of wood then, but I had that same feeling looking at Dotti here as I did 32 and a half years ago. Thank you Dotti for all of these wonderful memories over all of these wonderful years!!!
These two pictures were also taken at the top of Multnomah Falls, where very pretty little falls "warms the water up" for its big drop just a few feet farther along. The path leading to this upper viewing platform runs right along Multnomah Creek for quite a ways, and it makes for a very pleasant walk.
 The water is just begining its long leap over the basalt cliff, and far below the viewing area on the Multnomah Lodge can be see, looking like small models from this distance.
Looking out into the Columbia River Gorge, at  the beautiful Columbia River is always a breathtaking sight. At this time of year, all the deciduous trees blend into the basalt background, as if the green sweep of pines on the far gorge wall were merely a slight infringement onto the desert-like rocky surface. But it is spring now, and in only a few weeks, those brown trees will explode with green, and the gorge walls will no longer appear so brown from this vantage point. (Compare this with the 2003 picture I took of Dotti in September of the year. Once you get past the dazzling smile of my wife, you can see the green is blanketing the distant rock wall very thickly. )
On the way down, I stumbled on the path and took a tumble on a particularly steep section of trail. It has been a while since I had taken a good hike, and my legs were more tired than I had realized. One minute I was walking along unsuspectingly, and the next I was plunging forward onto the asphalted trail. I ripped my pants at the knee (I used to do that all the time as a kid), and scraped up my left knee. I rolled on my shoulder and took some of the force with my hands. (My left one had some very minor scraps.) When I went down, the first pain I felt was a cramp in the calf of my leg. I thought I had torn a muscle for a second.
I pulled myself up onto a rock wall beside the trail and took assessment of the damage. My left knee hurt some, my shoulder felt fine. My hands were okay. My pants had a hold about the size of a quarter in the left knee. It could have been much worse! I soon was back on my feet and very carefully walking back down.
When Dotti stopped in the gift shop in the Multnomah Falls Lodge, I walked back to the car, which was located in the freeway parking area, to drop our walking sticks off. We had been discussing visiting Vista House on Crown Point, because we had heard that it had finally opened up after its renovation. So, I decided to move the car while Dotti shopped.
The only way to get to Vista House is to take the "Scenic Columbia Gorge Highway." The freeway runs 733 feet below, but the highway runs right up to it. I drove out onto the freeway and went east for 3 or 4 miles, took the next exit, and then followed the highway back to Multnomah Falls. I parked in the lot across Multnomah Creek from the main parking area, and walked along the very pretty path, and across the footbridge over to the lodge. (The last time I had walked that path was with Tom and Barb when they came out for a visit in April of 2006.)
When it came time to cross the road to the lodge, I once again had my leg cramp a bit, and it became clear to me why I took the tumble earlier. It was a case of being out of shape and pushing my muscles more than they were used to. On the steep trail I couldn't recover from my stumble like I could on the flat ground of the road. Next time I will be more careful.
We knew that Vista House at Crown Point had finally opened up again after they had refurbished it. (It cost $4 million to do it!) The last time we were there when it was open to the public was in 2001, when we took Barb up to show her the view.
The view was actually much greener that day in 2001, because it was in June, and all of the trees had their leaves on display.
However, it was still beautiful on Thursday ☺
 Here are Dotti and Barb in front of the building in 2001.
The building looked pretty much the same, but they had added a wheelchair ramp to the stairs that surrounded the building.
And here is the building as it looks today:
Dotti and I hope to get in a walk every week to the top of Multnomah Falls. We feel it will be a great way to get into better shape and then to stay there. We will also add in other walks and hikes during the week as our conditioning permits. This path is open all year round, and it is asphalted, so it won't normally get bogged down even in the rain. On occasion the trail is closed by a landslide during the rainy season, but we will deal with that when it comes.
I am hopeful that starting up my journal updates again, I will find the motivation to stay on track better, and to get back down to below 200 pounds. We'll see how it goes...
Starting weight: 239.5
Target Weight Range: 195 lbs to 200 lbs
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