Weekend in Newport, OR

Backcountry Camping at The Sisters

Annie and I hiked from Pole Creek Trailhead to Camp Lake at the foot of the South Sister. It was a wonderful hike and our first backcountry trip in the US.

Beautiful Sunset!

Crater Lake

On Aug. 6-8 Annie, Katie, Matt, and I spent a long weekend at Crater Lake. We had a great time, with highlights being making it to the summit of Mt. Scott (the highest peak in the park), and watching the stars up at Rim Village. A magical moment happened when all 4 of us happened to see the same shooting star flashing across the sky. That is truly something none of us will forget.

Wise words

"Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing

for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to

you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which

you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to

make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living

arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might that His arrows

may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves

also the bow that is stable."

-Kahlil Gibram (quoted from The Road Less Traveled - by Peck)

The most beautiful cat!

The most beautiful ladies in my life chilling at home. I'm one lucky guy!

Another rockin day on the boat!

Cairn Basin

Cairn Basin, July 9, 2010

Tubing battle!

One of my favorite photos and Matty and I. We were jumping in to get ready to battle it out on the tubes. As always Dave won the battle knocking both of us out. It was a great time.

Ramona Falls

The beautiful gem hidden within the Mt. Hood National Forest.

Mt. Hood

Annie and I beat our expectations of what we thought possible by climbing Mt. Hood on April 19th, 2009. We now have a constant reminder that we are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. It was one of the hardest and scariest experiences of our lives, making it a highlight of many experiences, and more to come.

"To measure yourself at least once."

"The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head." - Into the Wild

Pictured is Indian Henry Rock at the campground Indian Henry along the Clackamas River. Back in 2008 while camping there something inside me wanted to reach the top, and getting there was easy part. Reaching the top and coming back down is one of the few times in my life that I've actually measured myself, truly scared myself. Since that day I have committed myself to live life as experiences and adventures rather than solely as routines and deadlines. The challenge now becomes maintaining this path when it's so easy to slip back in the pattern of the current society, sitting on the couch watching television, where more is always better, and tricked into eating "food". I wish to be more aware of what's real and important, and deliberate in living, to not be late or miss the appointment I've set with myself.

The City of Roses

Beauty like this needs to be shared. The picture was taken of the rose beds in the south park blocks in front of the Portland Art Museum.

"The earth laughs in flowers" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Annie, Katie, Matty, and I all braved the rain and cold in the Columbia River Gorge June, 6th to climb Dog Mountain. What an incredible day. You know life is being lived when your body does something your mind knows it can't. We were all ready and willing, and unbeknownst to some of us, able to make the trek up the ~2,500 ft. elevation gain on muddy and sometimes slippery trail. The whole experience can be summed up in the words of a great man, "I'm outta breath but I'm doing it." - My tired, lightheaded, hungry, and now mountain climber best friend and brother-in-law Matthew James Bowers.

*•True Gift•*

We have been brainwashed
to believe "things" are gifts; but
the true gift: your time.
- MST (6/3/10)

*•Embedded Truth•*

A simple truth told
by the man Ali. We all
must believe: "Me, We"
- MST (5/21/10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXQ_IjzWN7A&feature=youtube_gdata

"Truly, no thing in this world has kept my thoughts thus busy, as this my very own self, this mystery of me being alive, of me being one and being separated and isolated from all others, of me being [Michael]! And there is no thing in this world I know less about than about me, about [Michael]!" - Siddhartha

Getting started...

Welcome! I have recently realized that you are the only person that has the power to define who you are, what you believe or don't believe, how you identify yourself, who you identify with, and this blog is dedicated to that reality and how I define myself.

In the 25 years of my life I'm not the same person I was last year, or last month. How I define myself is continually developing. I hope to capture this journey on this blog as an example of life not being static, but constantly moving. The aim of my journey is intended to be in the positive and forward direction, but life doesn't always go this way. In my opinion, that isn't a bad thing. When life moves in a direction not expected I believe there is an option for learning to occur. When learning has occurred, the development of who you are, your definition expands. Tracking my journey has recently been something I want to write out and share. Not as an example of how life should be lived, rather as an example of how my life is lived.

In my few years of living, and fewer years of mindfully walking on my journey, here are a few of the "rules" that border my definition:

- "Your honest self is the best gift you could ever give" Fred Rogers

- "Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth." Benjamin Disraeli. I'm still learning this lesson...

- Caring and trying. When you demonstrate these, the sky is the limit.

- Life is experience, and all experience is good, even if it was an unpleasant experience.

These are just the basic principles I try to live by. More will be discovered and named in the years to come. I don't plan on sharing profound thoughts every time I write a blog, just document what's been going on in my life, which will take the form of pictures, video clips, and text. If profound thoughts ever do come to mind I will try and write them out to share.

I'm excited to have started this blog and encourage anyone to share their journey with me!