Amber's birthday hike

Amber and I... .twenty years of friendship this year (I think we are fifteen in the picture taken on a trail in Washington).

To celebrate my old friend Amber's birthday this year; I decided to go old school and have us do one of our favorite pass times - hiking/ adventure/ long walks. I chose a hike in the Columbia River Gorge I have been wanting to do for four years. Eagle Creek. The day started at eight a.m. and we initially had the trail to ourselves. We passed six waterfalls, crossed stepping stones made for giants, traversed bridges over deep gorges with raging water hundreds of feet below, and held our breath at the sheer dropoffs along parts of the trail (well at least I did; you would think Amber was a mountain goat with how she hiked so fearlessly without even holding on to the metal cables that lined the sheer drop-off walls).





Amber's favorite part of the hike.

My least favorite part.


Lower Punchbowl Falls

We ended the day at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson Washington. With expansive views of the gorge, sunny but not scorching weather, and amazing food, we winded down from our eight mile hike (Amber even convinced me to do another one at the lodge).

I ended my day feeling blessed for twenty years of friendship, for my wonderful family waiting for me at home, for the majesty of creation, and for good health to carry me through almost ten miles of trails.