AURORA HUNTER

[far-adventure-blog]

FALL ADVENTURE OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL

made reservations today for the cabins.  looking forward to days filled with waterfalls, lakes, hiking and fall colors.  evenings of campfires, smores, drinking games and good times.  better take my camera in to get cleaned beforehand.  so excited.

[far-adventure-blog]

A FALL ADVENTURE

i have a lot of time off work next month, not because i want the time off but the cards just fall that way sometimes.  so i'm taking advantage and planning an epic adventure.  originally i researched these places with plans of making a silk video but i'm not so sure that's going to happen.  don't want to waste all that time and effort plus now that i know these places exist i have to see them for myself.  cabin rentals are cheap... probably because they don't have TV or hot tubs or heating?  not really sure whats in store.  i'm excited to find out though.  so here's the plan as of right now.

MON OCT 15

drive to la pine cabin in the afternoon/evening.

TUES OCT 16

drive out to crater lake.

chill at la pine cabin.  make smores, play drinking games.

WED OCT 17

head to silver falls state park.

on the way there check out waterfalls and lakes.

tumalo falls: easy access

"The Tumalo Falls area is located about 10 miles west of Bend beneath Broken Top. From Highway 97 in Bend, turn west on Franklin Street. As Franklin runs through town, it parallels a nice park along the Deschutes River. Just after this park - about a mile from 97 - turn right and cross the River on Galveston Street. After passing Century Drive, Galveston turns into Skyliners Road. Follow Skyliners Road for 10 ½ miles, and turn left on FSR 4601, signed for Tumalo Falls, just after crossing Tumalo Creek. This gravel route ends in another 2 1/2 miles at the Tumalo Falls Trailhead. The lower viewpoint is a mere 50 feet from the parking lot, looking up the gorge at the powerful falls. An easy trail zigzags up to the top of the falls for a different perspective."

chush falls:  easy access, rough roads

"The waterfalls of Whychus Creek are located just inside the Three Sisters Wilderness Area, located south of the town of Sisters. From Highway 242 in downtown Sisters, turn south on Forest Service Road 16, signed for Three Creek Lake (do not follow FR 15, signed for Squaw Creek, west of town). After 7 miles, turn right onto FR 1514, and proceed just under 5 miles to FR 1514-600, immediately before crossing Whychus Creek on a large concrete bridge, and turn left. Road 1514-600 is very rough, but passable for passenger cars with decent clearance. Follow this rough road for another 2 miles to a T-junction and bear left, reaching the trailhead in another ½ mile. From here, follow the Chush Falls trail for an easy mile to canyon-rim views down on the powerful cataract. A steep boot path drops down to the base of the falls for better views."

lower linton falls: not so easy to access

"Located near Linton Lake along the McKenzie Pass Highway. The Linton Lake Trailhead is located directly across the road from the Alder Springs campground, about 1.8 miles east of the Proxy Falls trailhead - about 8.3 miles east of the junctions of Highways 126 and 242, or 11 ½ miles west of the McKenzie Pass summit. The trail to Linton Lake leads an easy 1-½ miles to the mouth of Obsidian Creek, passing across rough lava fields and through a dark forest along the lakeshore. At Obsidian Creek, the official trail ends, but an obvious route continues another 1/3 mile to the mouth of Linton Creek. From there, the trail becomes a little less obvious - but still easy to follow after the initial climb up the hillside - as it climbs up alongside the gorge of Linton Creek. Stay away from the stream, but keep the water within earshot. The falls come into view after another 500 feet of more difficult walking. The trailside views are somewhat obstructed, and the only clear views require scrambling to a precarious perch a good 80 feet above the bottom of the canyon, so be sure to stay on your toes here."

scott lake: easy access

koosah falls: easy access

"Located south of Santiam Pass along Highway 126. From the junction of Highways 20 and 126 (approximately 70 miles east of I-5 in Albany via Highway 20, or 85 miles east of I-5 in Salem via Highway 22), follow Highway 126 south for about 5 miles and turn right at the sign for Koosah Falls and Icecap Campground. Head left at the junction, and park near the restrooms. Viewpoints are reached via a short walk."

THURS OCT 18

check out more waterfalls.

upper north creek falls: easy access

"Upper North Falls is accessed from the North Falls parking lot, about 18 miles east of Highway 22, and about 14 miles south of Silverton. From the parking lot, cross the footbridge, loop around and under the highway and parallel North Silver Creek for an easy ¼ mile to the base of the falls."

abiqua falls: difficult?

"From the town of Scotts Mills, follow Crooked Finger Road for 10 3/4 miles (1.25 miles past the end of the pavement) and turn right on an unmarked road at a sign for an ORV area. Follow this road downhill, ignoring all spurs, for 2.25 miles to the end of the road at a gate and park. The road down is rough and steep in places and is not well suited to low clearance vehicles. From the end of the road, walk 100 feet back along the road to the trail which leads steeply downhill to the creek and falls in about 1/2 mile. The trail can be slick and muddy when its been raining so exercise caution when hiking downhill."

upper butte creek falls: easy access

"From the town of Scotts Mills, follow Crooked Finger Road for 11 1/2 miles (2 miles past the end of the pavement) and turn left onto Road 400, signed for Butte Creek Falls and drive another 2 miles to the trailhead. The trail lead to the base of the falls in 1/4 mile (stay right at the first fork then left at the second)."

henline falls: easy access

"Located in the Elkhorn Valley, off of Highway 22 east of Salem. Drive 27 miles east of Salem on Highway 22 to North Fork Road, signed for both Elkhorn and the Little North Santiam Recreation Area, and turn left. Proceed another 17 miles, then turn left on FR #2209, signed for Henline Falls and Jawbone Flats. Proceed for less than ¼ mile up road 2209 to the trailhead on the left, marked by a brown sign and kiosk. The route follows an old road for ½ mile, then heads left and ends at the falls a total of 1 mile from the trailhead. If you have any doubts about which junctions to take, just stay left where possible."

drive back to portland.

[far-adventure-blog]

looks like i only posted the longer version of this video, here's the more popular (3,300 views so far) version.

[far-adventure-blog]

video from my cruise to alaska with momma (as well as some left over clips from july and august)

[far-adventure-blog]

oregon waterfalls

ABIQUA FALLS

CHUSH FALLS

DRY CREEK FALLS

ECOLA FALLS

HENLINE FALLS

KOOSAH FALLS

LOWER LINTON FALLS

LOWER ONEONTA FALLS

TUMALO FALLS

UPPER BUTTE CREEK FALLS

UPPER NORTH FALLS

[far-adventure-blog]

oregon locations

View SILK locations in a larger map

[far-adventure-blog]

NEW ADVENTURES

I've got a couple adventures in the works.  Mediterranean cruise with my mom in 2013 as well as a silk commercial... which basically means driving to a whole bunch of amazing places along the west coast, taking pictures and video of the experience.  not a bad idea right?  not that i expect anything to come from it (other that epic videos and pictures), i just think it sounds like a great time.  already been working on a map for M.C. and im about to start one for W.C. tonight at work.

View cruise trip 2013 in a larger map

[farrellanna]

ICELAND 2012

[far-adventure-blog]

back in Reykjavik

oh man. what an adventurous 3 days it has been. let's see... Tuesday March 27th: so we left Reykjavik around 10am. our first stop was seljalandsfoss. it was a cloudy morning but the waterfall was super gorgeous. I ended up walking behind it and enjoying the wind and mist that swirled in the cave behind the waterfall. I made a couple videos and then sat and stared for about 20 minutes while I waited for my mom to walk back. then we went to skogafoss. this waterfall is my favorite place in the world. thankfully there was not another soul there and I had a lot of personal moments with the magic beast of a waterfall. I got absolutely drenched but of course it was worth it. I ended up climbing to the top of the waterfall. there are a few spots off the beaten path where you can stand on a ledge and get an even better view of the waterfall. I was standing on such a ledge when it started raining. all the sudden the wind picked up and a gust nearly knocked me off! I carefully made my way back to the stairs and then joined my mom in the car (after I exchanged my wet jeans and socks for dry ones. FYI the bathroom at skogafoss charges for toilet paper so either bring your own or carry kroner. then we headed to dyrholaey also known as the gate to Iceland. it was beyond windy and cold so I didn't spend too much time outside. if I had explored more I would have realized the cave was down below. oh well :) next time! even if I had known I might not have gone down there. my boots were soaked from skogafoss and the wind was so strong it was rocking the car. we stopped in vik for a minute so I could use the Internet at the post office to check on the status of my computer. no email :( it wasn't a complete waste of time cause I managed to mail my postcards!! finally we arrived in hvoll, I made a yummy dinner and crashed at 8pm. apparently there was some northern light activity that night but I didn't see any. Wednesday March 28th: today we drove back towards vik in hopes of finding a canyon I really wanted to see. we apparently drove by it the first time. I actually saw it from a distance and said that I thought that might be it but we didn't see a sign for it. once we did find it the road ended up being too rough for our rental car and we ditched the plan. turned out to be a good choice cause apparently the road is only open a few months in the summer. we then headed east towards lomagnupur (visible from our hostel in hvoll). there's a church near it that's got a grass roof and is super cute and tiny. unfortunately that also turned out to be closed during the winter. so we were 0-2 so far that day. finally we headed to svartifoss at the skaftafell national park. it was quite a hike but totally worth it. the sun was shining and i had a good 20 minutes by myself with the waterfall. it was epic. when we headed back to our car there was a lady stranded at the national park info building. we gave her a ride to our hostel. Thursday March 29th: we got up early to meet the ice cave guy at jokusarlon at 10am. mom was running late so we left 15 minutes behind schedule. we got to the glacier lagoon 5 minutes before 10am and as soon as I saw a lone car parked in the parking lot I had a bad feeling. turned out the ice cave guy forgot he changed the time to 10am and they left at 9:50, just 5 minutes before we got there. so we ended up waiting at the glacier lagoon for 3 hours which, honestly, isn't a bad situation. the ice cave guy ended up being super cool, his family has been in Iceland since the 1400s so he had a lot of cool things to tell us. the ice cave itself was melting but still pretty awesome, he said we were the last people he was taking this season because it was getting too hot and starting to be dangerous. after the ice cave we drove the 5 hours back to Reykjavik finally arriving at 10pm. no northern lights but that's okay. I saw enough beautiful things during this trip... I can see the northern lights some other time. so yesterday I didn't do too much. picked up my computer from macland. it turned out that it's going to cost me about $150 to fix it back in the states and they ended up not charging me for the diagnostic which was really nice of them. I went to the pool and swam laps. I also swam today... I wish I had gone sooner, it would have been nice to get that exercise in the morning. I do want to come back again soon for a shorter visit, maybe for new years. that's all for now!!!

[far-adventure-blog]

golden circle

well yesterday was by far the crappiest weather day we have had so far. we started our drive out to thingvellir around 11am, the awesome hostel people explained to me how to get us out of the city and headed in the right direction. the whole car ride there (and everywhere else) it was raining and beyond windy. we couldn't see more than a mile in each direction which is unfortunate since the whole point of being in Iceland is to see its amazing beauty. we got to thingvellir and walked to the look out point. we almost got knocked on our asses it was so windy. I think it was a pretty place, I couldn't see through all the rain pelting my face. then we headed to geysir and finally to gulfoss. it was a very beautiful waterfall even with the gray background.

we saw a lot of Icelandic horses and stopped to say hello. they're as friendly as I was led to believe. I got a few pictures and video today.

we also stopped into glo which we had heard was an all raw restaurant. it was not all raw but it was super delicious. last night I finally got to bed at 8pm, my mom left the room to watch a movie downstairs so there was no snoring to try and sleep through. at 10pm i hear a knock on the door. I figured it was my mom and she had locked herself out. I opened the door to watch a couple of kids about middle school age giggling and running down the hall. they knocked 2 more times but I didn't get up. finally things quieted down, when I thought I would never fall asleep I did. I woke up again when my mom came in the room, I felt super sick, my throat was all sorts of swollen. I eventually fell asleep again, making it all the way to 5:30am! that's a record for this trip, interrupted 9.5 hours! I miss my bed right about now. now I'm up doing laundry so I can be fresh and clean while out in the middle of nowhere!! yay! today we drive to hvoll. 3 days without Internet!! no updates for a bit :(

[far-adventure-blog]

sun voyager

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8am

I really like coming downstairs when breakfast is being served at the hostel. so many accents and conversations, it makes for great people watching without all the yelling giggling drunks that are running around from 11pm-4am. yes, I know what it's like at those hours as well :) my mom happens to be a ridiculously loud snorer. last night for example, I fell asleep at 6pm and woke up at 11pm. I was downstairs until about 2am and managed to sleep until 7am when the snores got the best of me again. I think in the future I might choose couch surfing or a hotel over a hostel. it's not all that bad, I might just prefer the comfort or quiet. anyways, today is blue lagoon! I'm pretty excited for my massage today. bus picks us up at 10:30am!

[far-adventure-blog]

Reykjavik adventure

so yesterday we headed to the heart of Reykjavik. our hostel is awesome (supposed to be the best in the city) but it is a good ways away from anything. thankfully they have a coffee shop in the hostel. so mom and i actually walked to one of the healthier grocery stores called lifandi.they have smoothies and juice as well as a mini salad bar with a good amount of vegan options. after breakfast we headed to the mac store. at first it looked like it was closed but after a few minutes a young 20 year old strolled around the corner arms filled with a coffee pot and cups. he said they wouldn't get an expert in until Tuesday but that they would be able to email me that day and let me know what was up with my computer. it's safe to say that Reykjavik is not a booming city. no one works. so after we dropped off my precious computer mom and I headed to ecstasy heart garden for soup and coffee. they serve one meal a day along with a soup and today the meal wasn't vegan. after that we strolled by c is for cookie, a cute coffee shop with vegan baked goods. we had just had coffee so there was no reason to hang out. on our way to hallgrimskirkja there was a group of people on the street with clown wigs and noses on.

I asked to take some pictures with them and they were totally stoked. we got to the church and that's about when shit got really windy. I had to chase after my hat for a bit :) I took lots of photos and some rad footage of me dancing for my video.

 while we were inside a guy started playing the huge organ. it was pretty cool. next was the sun voyager.

if I thought it was windy at the church, being next to the ocean was 10x as windy. it was still fun though and I didn't really think about the toll it was taking on my sore throat until we were walking towards the second health food store of the day (and our final destination). Yggdrasil is a smaller grocery store than lifandi so I only bought enough for Sunday when everything is closed. then mom and I took the bus back to the hostel.

[far-adventure-blog]

8pm

my throat is feeling better but without my computer and my mom (she took off while I was still sleeping) theres not much left to entertain me besides my phone and my book. I walked around for a little bit but didn't get far. my energy level crashes easily cause my body is still healing. I think I'll finish up on my phone and then go back to the room for water, oatmeal, vitamin and my book. so far what I've seen of the city, it's pretty bleak. no evergreens here so the few trees they have are bare. this part of town is very grey. I kinda hope it snows just to make the place a little prettier. the bus guy was telling us how in Iceland most people put money towards a house or apartment instead of renting. unfortunately when the economy crashed, people who were paying for 20 years no longer owned 20 years worth of their house anymore. sounds like we came to visit at the right time. he said prices are going back up like they used to be before 2008. I'm really excited to get up early tomorrow. they have a coffee shop in the hostel so there's no reason to find one elsewhere. I'm thinking tomorrow morning mom and I will eat some breakfast with our coffee and then go for a swim. after that hopefully we can squeeze in a stop at the apple store during our adventures. I hope it's a quick fix! mom is out right now figuring out the buses and getting around the city so I'm glad I won't have to think about that too much. the people that work here are super helpful too! I'll have to remember to ask how to get to some restaurants :)

[far-adventure-blog]

Reykjavik!!!

welp mom and I have officially made it to Iceland!! unfortunately 10 minutes after arriving at the hostel and setting up my computer it kicked the bucket!! it's not going to be fun trying to fix my computer in a foreign country but talk about a pain if I don't fix it. huge cramp in my documenting plans. so here I am writing on my iPhone :) thankfully I can at least still write about my adventure like I wanted to. so we arrived in Iceland at 6:30am here (about midnight in portland). turned out we had to pay for a bus ride to get to Reykjavik which is fine but I remember reading somewhere that it was free. the guy who drove us was super funny. he was giving his best tour guide impression in broken english. I didn't realize that Icelandic was the predominant language. why is it that english is so common? so my mom just informed me that our room is ready!! yay!

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TOMORROW!!!!!

well, looks like everything is taken care of!  i called the bank today to let them know i would be in iceland for 10 days.  my clothes are packed, i bought some clif bars, quinoa and oatmeal to save money as well as keep us fed while in hvoll.  my cameras are charged, im packing my laptop and shower stuff tomorrow.  cant forget coffee stuff.  vitamins packed, planner packed, book packed.  probably dont need to bring anything to knit.  ive got room for my pillow and my sleeping bag.  i was thinking about bringing my tennis shoes in case i wanted to lift weights but i bought a cap and goggles, swimming laps should be enough.  our hostel is less than a block away from the best swimming pools in reykjavik.  i think it would be great to go for a swim in the morning and then shower at the gym.  i put my lifeproof case on my phone.  glad i wont be texting while in reykjavik cause that shit is annoying.  i cant really think of anything else... just waiting for my mom to get here.  tomorrow we are getting my mom snacks at sweetpea then driving to seattle, breakfast at wayward with the lovely CT then its flying time!!!  wish me luck <3

[far-adventure-blog]

4 DAYS...

iceland is almost here!  unfortunately im currently sporting a fever and aches.  already feeling better than i was yesterday so i have no doubt that by the time i get on that plane ill be right as rain.  i ended up purchasing a surge protector and converter from amazon.  ill be sure to let yall know how they work out.  if i randomly stop writing while over in iceland youll know its because my converter broke on me! :) i called AT&T and they said if i keep my phone on airport mode i will still be able to connect to wifi without the extra charges.  sounds perfect to me!  this is my last night of work so i have plenty of time to do laundry and pack, im going to buy some snacks for the plane and hvoll.  it says on the website that they have an extensive kitchen so i might bring along some quinoa to cook while we are out there.  couldnt hurt to try!  checked with my bank.  apparently there is a 3% charge for using my card in iceland but that's actually not that bad.  if i spend $1000 while im over there, they will only be charging me $30.  i can deal with that.