Trip to Black Bar June 28th 2009

Since we've met, Addy's been telling me about this lodge in southern Oregon on the Rogue River that she used to work at late in high school and early in college and saying that we should go down to see it. Its called Black Bar and its is mostly used as a lodge for people rafting down the Rogue River, which has up to class I-V rapids along a 16 mi stretch that has been designated as a Wild and Scenic River, so it is protected from development. It sounded awesome and I was excited to finally get to go this summer. Addy got in touch with her old boss, the owner, John and he graciously arranged for us to stay one night in one of the cabins at the lodge.

We drove to Grant's Pass on Friday, taking the dog with us, so Addy's parents could watch him, while we were on this little trip. We arrived at their house and Addy's mom had dinner ready, carne asada and "chopped-up" (her amazing, super fresh, chunky avo, tom, onion, cilantro salsa). After eating way too much of her good food, we just hung out, talking and laughing having a beer. The next morning, we got up, had a little breakfast, and heading out to the trailhead. They had to drive us through the country to a river dock, where many of the river rafting outfitters put in to start their adventure. They left us their with our backpacks and water and plans to rendezvous back in 30 hours.

The hike in to Black Bar is 10 mi along a ridge trail that follows the river and is not busy, at least that time of year. The preferred method of getting down the river canyon is by boat or raft, but some do it the way we did. The weather was hot and clear and made for breathtaking views and a refreshing journey. On the hike we saw few other people, particularly once we past a small campsite near Whisky Creek Lodge. It was my first time, so I marveled at the natural beauty (which Addy likes to make fun of me for) in the canyon, from the different types of trees to the little lizards that were constantly running across our path, to the vistas of river, tree-filled valleys, and stone-sided canyon. The 10 mi went quickly and we arrived at the sand bar, where we were to meet John to get rowed across the river. We got in the water to cool off and laid in the sun, like the lizards, for a short time, then he showed up, with two cold beers all ready for us. What a great welcome!! He showed us to our cabin, we got settled in and then Addy gave me the tour, narrating as we went. It is a pretty amazing place. The lodge was built back in 1912(ish) and until recent years, the only way to get there was to hike, boat, or fly in. John has added a few cabins and added a better kitchen, but the main cabin is still original and has that distinctly rustic feel. We hung out on the lawn, which used to be the landing strip, until dinner was ready. Dinner is served family style around a large table. That night we were the only ones that weren't part of the large party that were rafting and the guides that were leading them. They shared their wine with us and we all shared conversation and fried chicken. John spoiled us, making us truly feel like guests of honor, by bringing Addy extra veggies and keeping a full beer in front of us the whole time. After dinner we shared beers with John, while he and Addy caught up and he got to know me enough to approve. Addy warned me that it got dark there, but with no power after 10pm and being in the canyon dark is not a strong enough word, it got blindingly dark. It was so dark, I nearly went blind, trying to see my hand when it was held six inches in front of my face. It was so quiet and still, that it had a certain effect on me, which my friends would recognize (I slept like a rock, a really, really old rock).

The next morning, we arose and had breakfast with everyone (John gave Addy 3 pancakes compared to everyone else's 2). Again, spent some time with John until it was time to get packing and start hiking back. He rowed us across, we thanked him profusely and we got back to it. It was another hot, clear day, but the views going the other way were just different enough to make it worth going back the way we came. We stopped a few times, because we knew we were going to get to the rendezvous early, but still got there way early. So, we kept walking back toward the little "town" on the way to her parents house. Shortly after we started, we realized that we were not going to make it all the way there without water, so we hitched a ride with an old hippy couple. They were really nice and were just out for a drive near where they had once lived. They dropped us off at the resort/lodge/restaurant/gas station where we had the weakest nachos I think I've ever had. They were more like chili fries, but nachos. Weird. Addy's parents met us there after a little bit and we headed back to their place for dinner.

I had taken Monday off, so that we could have a little longer weekend, so we decided to go out to Applegate Lake. We tried to stop by an old corner market that Addy used to get sandwiches from, but when we got there, they were in the act of tearing down the building that used to house it. We went into the new building next door and found that they had moved into that building. The sandwich was great, but Addy could not get over the building being torn down. The drive out to the lake was interesting. We apparently went the back way, as it was nearly all gravel roads with lots of "No Trespassing" signs. We ate our sandwiches as we travelled this long-cut, enjoy each other's company. We eventually came to the lake, greeted by an amazing view of the lake, cradled by the valley, the peaks snow-capped in the distance. We followed Addy's directions by memory, which led us not to the beach on Applegate lake, but eventually to a mountain lake called Squaw Lake. I swear it is the lake where they filmed "Indian Summer". It is so picturesque, it is only fitting that we forgot the camera. We didn't forget Jackson (the dog), though, and he had a blast. We all got in the cool, refreshing spring-fed water and it felt great. Jackson was hesitant at first, but once we got him in, it was hard to keep him out. We taught him to swim and fetch, to rescue (acting like we needed his help in the water), and to put his head underwater to get a rock. After spending an hour or so there, we got in the car and headed back home. This time, the fast way, on paved roads. We had dinner at Circle J, the local artisan pizza joint with the best sweet potato fries ever!

We had to head home after that, but it was another great weekend adventure for the Dergmuttons!

Helvetia Half Marathon June 13th 2009

Addy and I had signed up for this run months ago and now that the day was here, we were excited, but nervous. This would be the longest we had run (13.1mi), the next longest being the Pear Blossom (10mi). It is really not that much longer, but the words, half marathon, make it sound so much harder. We left with what we thought was plenty of time to get to the start, but hit race traffic 2mi from the actual exit. I was having a stubborn, high and mighty day, apparently, because I refused to cut into the left lane and cut back to bypass all the traffic. It drove Addy crazy because it was getting closer and closer to the start time, but we were still sitting still in traffic. The race started at 8am and we didn't get parked until 8:15!!! From there, we had to walk to the start and still check-in. As we walked past the starting line to the packet pick-up, we heard the announcer say that they were going to start taking down the timing apparatus in 2 minutes. I felt pretty bad about getting us there late. We got our packets and put on our bibs and got to the line just as they were taking the timing strip away. We swallowed our disappointment, stretched, and got started.

The weather was great and the course was as beautiful as they advertised. It is 13min through the "countryside" outside of Hillsboro. It was basically a course of gently rolling hills and had some nice pastoral vistas. I felt great during the race. One thing that I'm learning about my race habits, is that I like starting at the back of the pack and passing everyone that I can. Having started 30 minutes late, I got many opportunities to pass other runners. Just before the turn around point, I saw Faith and got excited that I was catching up to runners who were running at a good pace.

At the end of the race, I was ready to be finished. I was tired, thirsty, and famished. I got some water and a banana and went back to watch for Addy to run into the finishing chute. I never saw her finish through a fluke of the universe. But we met up and grabbed some grub and sat on the lawn for a while cooling down and easing our appetites.

We both did great and set PB (personal bests). We don't have official times (since we didn't get to cross the start line when the timing apparatus was up), but Addy was wearing the Garmin and I was able to use the finishing clock to get a fairly accurate time.

Brett 1:45

Addy 2:07

We got pretty nice "technical tees" with the Helvetia Half logo on it and medals to say that we completed it. I don't know how I feel about the medal, I don't feel like I necessarily deserve a medal just for finishing, but its a nice gesture.

All in all, it was a fun, challenging experience and we did it together!! Next race, Hood to Coast!

Addy's Birthday '09

Addy's Birthday was June 9th, last Tuesday. She didn't want to do anything big or crazy, so we kept it low-key. We went for an easy 4 mile run first thing in the morning, to get it out of the way. We decided that we were going to start our marathon training, so this was our first run. Addy had scheduled a few appointments for the morning. We went to those together which didn't take much time, really. Then we went to Tin Shed (on NE alberta) for breakfast, which we have talking about since we started dating. The sun was out and they have great patio seating. We sat outside waiting for a table with our coffees and enjoyed the slow pace of our morning. Breakfast was good, Addy's wrap and my veggie scramble with rosemary gravy. We decided to go back home for a minute and water the lawn, while we let digestion do some work. After a short break, we went to Portland Running Co. to get some new running shoes. It was the kind of place that sells real running shoes, the ones have certain design elements that make it a better shoe for certain runners. For example, by watching Addy run for a half block, the saleslady was able to tell Addy that she pronates and fitted her with shoes that give her more support to accommodate for that. After picking up some nice new shoes, we drove back toward home, but stopped in Woodstock for some frozen yogurt at the Surf Shack. We walked down the strip with our yogurt and checked out a few of the little shops that we still hadn't been in after living nearby for nearly a year. One of them was Otto's, a small deli that specializes in sausages and during the warmer months, always has a grill going out in front creating the pleasant aroma of grilled meats drifting down Woodstock. A pleasant surprise is that they have a small, but good beer selection, as does the small wine bar/deli further down the block. The short stroll came to an end when we realized it was time to go meet Addy's friend Daryl for drinks. We met him at a local pub on 82nd, appropriately named 82nd Street Bar and Grill. The place was not hip, not a big surprise given its locale, but seemed friendly enough. And the bartender, Wes, was all about serving us the $2.50 well drinks that were the special during happy hour, which didn't end the whole time we were there. My neighbor on the barstool next to me was pretty funny and kept us entertained and laughing. We started getting hungry and decided that it was finally time to leave. We went to a new restaurant called Eastburn. It is a neat place with different areas to hang out, good beers on tap, and, as we found out, good food. We had the fry basket, which was a mix of sweet potato fries as well as regular, skin on potatoes. Addy had a wrap (surprise) and I had a portabello sandwich. Everything was delicious and the ambience was chill, it was just a little loud. When we finished our food, we left for the night to retire. I had a great day, but more importantly, Addy said that she had a great day.

Yard work this weekend

This weekend, we had planned on putting in the front lawn and garden.  Because we were at phil's party until 4:30 in the morning, we had a late start on saturday and i had some heartburn from the Fish House Punch.  so, it ended up being a lazy day for us.  i got completely caught up on Heroes, though.  and we finally watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (which was good, but sad, ladies).

sunday morning, we decided that we were going to go for it.  we went and rented a tiller, bought fertilizer, seed, and mulch.  from 12pm to 9pm, we worked in the yard.  we went to work, basically.  but i always enjoy working with addy.  she holds her own and always does more than my midwestern unconsciously sexist mentality thinks she can.  and she makes sure that i know!  she is hilarious and awesome and i love her so much!  i tilled the front yard, garden, and a few other little spots.  i had lots of fond remembrances of working for gary at Just Scraping By throughout the day.  i had forgotten how physical the work is; my hands hurt from using the roto-tiller and my back hurt from shoveling and raking and lifting.  we raked and graded the front yard, then rolled it to make sure it was flat and level (cause i want to be able to mow with our rotary mower).  then we seeded and threw such mulchy stuff on top.  i wished that i had the machine i used with gary, where we mixed it all up and then sprayed it on the lawn nice and evenly.  it is much harder to do by hand.  during the day, we also weeded, trimmed the bushes and trees, and cleaned up the back  yard.  i've been saying that we would get this stuff done for a while and i'm glad that WE did it!  i'm excited to see how the lawn comes in and plant our garden.  maybe next weekend.  

Phil's Cocktail/Bday Party '09

This past friday, our friend, phil, threw a party at his apt.  If you have read my past posts, you know that parties at phil's entail a lot of drinking, mostly classic and uncommon cocktails (phil is a great bartender and consummate gentleman, as well as a good friend).  Phil had sent out invites weeks earlier for everyone to come meet his friend, Jen, from NYC at the party and show her we knew how to get down.  This was to be a respectable party, so suit and tie and dresses were the required garb.  For those of you who know me, you probably suspect the truth, addy had to take me out and find me some "dress-up clothes".  

We showed up to the party, for once not early.  And received a warm welcome from phil and those already there.  For those of you who don't live in portland, the weather has been miraculous.  80's and sunny for nearly the past 2 weeks.  and if you don't live nearby, you don't know this, but the summers in Oregon are unbeatable.  it is sunny and blue and gorgeous.  and everyone comes out of hibernation and frolics in the sun.  this is the feeling going into the party, everyone smiling and warm and happy.  and that was the feeling throughout the night.  there were a lot of people i hadn't met before, but we all had a good time, drinking, talking and just enjoying the gregarious atmosphere.  phil had asked several of the ladies to bring appetizers to keep everyone going, since his drinks were ridiculously strong.  

Now about the drinks.  phil had obviously spent some time researching and debating what he wanted to have for us.  he had two punches pre-made for us and a make your own mint julep station.  for those of you who don't know phil, let me invite you to watch a short video by his new bartending idol from new orleans. http://www.gumbopages.com/looka/archive/2009-05.html#2  this guy is obviously amazing and is more historian/bard than bartender.  phil sent us this to whet our appetites leading up to the party and to educate us on what a "true" mint julep is.  the two punches were both 18th century as well.  one was called Claret Cup, which was based on a red wine, then "fortified" with other liquors.  very strong and full-bodied, if you will, but also a little flat on flavor compared to the other drinks.  the other punch was called Fish House Punch.  i don't really remember what was in it, but know it was super tasty and was finished much sooner than the Claret Cup.  i wish i would have gotten pics of this, but above each punch was a short write-up about the drink, its history, ingredients, and a quote about the drink expounding its strength or eliteness.  everything was written by phil, except the quote of course.  the mint julep station actually had step by step directions, so that you made it correctly.  and it is delicious.  i suggest everyone having one this summer on a hot day.  but make sure you are getting the real deal, not some schmo using some pre-mix or something.  its a simple drink, and that's part of the draw, you can taste each of the ingredients with each sip.  

it was a great party, where no one puked, everyone had fun and i met some new people and had some great talks with friends i hadn't seen for a while.  thank you, phil!

Camping trip to Willamette National Forest May 09

This past weekend, Addy and I went camping.  I had decided to go somewhere in the valley and found out online about Willamette National Forest, which is 50 miles East of Albany (3 hrs SSE of Portland).  There are many different campgrounds at different elevations most having opened only a week or two earlier and the ones at higher elevations still being closed by snow.  We left home in the evening and didn't get to area until dark.  I hadn't really decided on which campground to stay at, but had somewhat randomly decided to stay at a smaller one called House Rock.  The gravel road down to the campground was a little scary in the dark, and we didn't really know if it was going to be nice or not.  We got the tent set up and crashed for the night.  When we woke in the morning, we found that we have hit a gold mine.  The campsite was right on the creek that rushed past, separate from the other sites by trees with a fire pit, picnic table and room for 2 tents (not that we needed it).  I started a fire using the teepee method, which Addy criticized and said that she was going to make the next fire using the log cabin : )  

After breakfast burritos and coffee, we were ready to hit the trail.  We walked to the camp hosts RV and they pointed us in the direction of the trailhead.  The first item of interest was the camp's namesake, House Rock, which is a cavern that settlers, indians, and others would use to take shelter.  It was pretty neat, but nothing compared to the overhang at Silver Falls.  The next point of interest were some falls that fed the creek that went past our campsite.  Again, not the most impressive falls, but still gorgeous with a rock wall backdrop and the sheer volume of water.  From there, we joined the Santiam Wagon Trail which is a trail that follows the old wagon road from Albany to Eastern Oregon, past Sisters.  The trail follows over 29 miles of the old road through ridges, valleys, and rivers.  It was fun to imagine, for a moment, what it would have been like to be the people traveling on the old wagon road.  Having to cross the rivers with your cargo and keeping your horses under control and all the difficulties they may have faced.  We hiked for a few miles, enjoying the sun, beauty, and quiet.  We didn't see a single other person out all morning.  It was just Addy, Jackson, and me.  It was just what I wanted and needed.  We decided to turn around after reaching a outcrop that afforded some great pics.  Jackson was beat, too.  He panted the whole way back.  We went back to the site and ate lunch, lounged in the sun by the creek and read our books.  

I still wanted to check some other stuff out in the area, but it was further away, so we jumped in the car and went sight-seeing.  The drive itself was gorgeous: ridges of fir trees, river valleys, and snow capped peaks.  We stopped at a waterfall lookout and were amazed again at the volume of water coursing over the cliff.  There was a placard that said it was twice the volume of Multnomah Falls.  There was a hiking trail that we followed down to the next falls.  The water was cold and blue from the snowmelt and kind of scary, because it was so fast.  After Addy snapped-up some great photos, we drove on south through more of the national forrest.  I wanted to check out a natural hot spring that I had seen online.  The hot springs were near a beautiful reservoir.  There was a cooling tower near the dam.  I read the placard and it was actually installed to cool the water coming out of the dam back down to the temperature it was naturally before being warmed in the reservoir.  This helps to keep the habitat intact for fish and other fauna.  It was pretty interesting.  We hiked back to the hot spring and it was under construction and disappointing.  We drove back to camp and had some burgers for dinner, relaxing around the fire with cold ones.  Addy made the fire and it worked much better than mine, of course.

The next morning, we took our time eating breakfast and getting things together to pack up.  Once everything was dry and packed, we drove to the trailhead of the hike that I thought I was leading us to the day before, Rooster Rock.  The trail was in the Menagerie Wildness, which I read had many rock formations and was popular with rock climbers.  The trail proved to be pretty intense.  It was a steep grade and continued that way the entire climb.  I believe it was an elevation gain of 1800 ft in 2.1 miles!  We took breaks, mostly for Jackson as he was already tired from the day before and would laid down as often as we would let him, and enjoyed the weather and views of the valley.  We didn't see anyone, again, until we made the summit (3657 ft).  There were a group of rock climbers scaling Rooster Rock itself.  We enjoyed the sun and the view, but unfortunately had forgotten the camera in the car.  The hike down was much easier (but we felt it later!) and Jackson led the way to the car.  

We had lunch packed, but decided to wait and have a picnic by the lake we had seen (by moonlight) on the way to camp on Friday.  We stopped at a viewpoint at the western end of the reservoir/lake and laid out a blanket on the bluff.  The weather was truly amazing and we just laid there in the sun on the blanket, reading and wishing that we didn't have to go back home and that the day could go on and on.  Eventually, it was time to head home.  Luckily, this is just the start to the summer.

Pear Blossom Run 09

Easter weekend, Addy and I went down to Grant's Pass (GP) to see her family and to participate in the 33rd annual Pear Blossom Run.  This is something we had planned on doing since we started doing registered runs.  Addy's dad, Mark, was on the cross country team in high school and ran the race in one of its first 10 years, when it used to be 13 miles (half marathon) instead of the 10 miles it is now.  He runs now and is on our Hood to Coast team, so he thought it would be fun for us all to run the Pear Blossom together.  That was months ago, by the time of the actual race, there were many more family and friends involved, which made it even more fun.  

We drove down to GP on Friday night after work.  We were going to get in late, so we stopped for dinner in Eugene at the Eugene City Brewery.  We hadn't been there before and when we arrived, we discovered that it is actually owned by Rogue Brewing.  Which was great, because one of Addy's favorite Rogue beers is actually one that is brewed there.  It is the Honey Orange Wheat by Track City Ales.  It is a great wheat beer: fresh, a little citrusy with a great balance that you could drink all day.  I had their seasonal IPA which was great as well.  We finally got into GP and hung out with her mom and dad for a while before we all hit the sack to be rested for the run in the morning.

We got up early, since we had to meet people and the race was actually 45 minutes south in Medford.  We met up with the rest of our group at the race.  The people running the 10 mile run were: Me, Addy, Mark (her dad), Jessica (her sister), and Andrew (her cousin from LA).  Several others had decided participate and do the 2 mile walk: Kim (her mom), Kacie (her aunt and Andrew's mom), Jeremy (Jessica's boyfriend), Brittany (her cousin from Bend), Diana (her aunt and Brittany's mom), Deanne and Aaron (Jessica's friends since high school).  I was meeting several of them for the first time and it was everyone's first time meeting Jeremy.  Everyone was in good spirits and excited to be out doing something good for themselves together.  The weather was perfect for a run.  It was in the low 60's and partly cloudy, with low humidity.  The course was supposed to be flat and fast, and the participants are mostly from Southern Oregon, which I now believe should be called Runner's Home.  There is a history of great runners from here, the most famous being Steve Prefontaine.  The University of Oregon is in Eugene and has a serious track and field team, several of who come to run this race.  

Back to our race, we got lined up, the muskets fired, and we were off.  I felt great for the first 4 miles, pushed myself through the next couple of miles, then found a pace setter that I stayed with for several miles, eventually passed them, and at the end was pushed to my limits by a friendly competitor.  It was my best race to date.  I found my pace setter and thanked her and congratulated her, then walked back to cheer Addy on to finish.  She had a great race too, as did her sister and cousin.  Her dad unfortunately strained his calf, but finished strong, with his daughters running with him through the finish line.  

Results: 

Brett         1:10:35     7:03 min/mile pace    123/1270 overall place

Addy        1:26:52     8:41 min/mile pace     604/1270 overall place

Andrew    1:29:46     8:59 min/mile pace     717/1270 overall place

Jessica    1:42:50    10:17 min/mile pace   1039/1270 overall place

Mark         1:50:02    11:00 min/mile pace   1136/1270 overall place

The winner was a 29 year old guy, who finished in 49:21 (4:56 pace)!  He is a crazy distance runner who 2 weeks ago ran and won an ultra marathon (50 marathon).  After the run, we all went to eat at the local pizza joint that Addy grew up on, Abby's Legendary Pizza.  There were 15 of us there and we all got our fill of pizza and beer and had a good time talking and relaxing.  From there, a small group of us adults went to a local place with good beer and hung out there talking some more.  Then we decided we wanted to head back to addy's parents' place and grill out.  We had carne asada, kim's awesome "chopped-upped", and margaritas.  It was a fun afternoon in the sun with family and some crass humor.  A great way to kick off the spring.

The next day, we did what we always do in the morning at addy's parents' house.  Get up late, drink a pot of coffee, hang out in our pajamas, and talk about whatever comes to mind.  Its so great and relaxing to just be there enjoying each other's company with no agenda and no pressure to do anything else.  Eventually we did get going, since we had plans to go to addy's great grandma's back in Medford.  It was a full house with us, addy's aunt and her family, and jessica and jeremy.  We had a great meal with her grandma's famous spiral cut ham as the main dish.  After we ate, her grandma wanted to play give-away games.  She finds treasures at the local thrift store and wanted to give away some as gifts.  She would have a guess a number closest to the one she was thinking of, or guess how many macaroni's are in a jar, or pick a card our of the deck and the high card won.  The gifts were anything from fake flowers to books to nice quilts.  Everyone won something and then some wheeling and dealing ensued.  The were many alliances that were formed and just as quickly broken.  It was a lot of fun and had some hilarious moments.  Unfortunately we had to leave earlier than we would have liked since I had to work in the morning.  It was a great weekend and it was really fun getting to meet some more of Addy's family and I always enjoy hanging out with her folks.  I can't wait till the next time we all get together.