Return to California and then off to New Zealand!

After spending most of the summer in the Pacific Northwest, we wrapped up the trip with a climb up South Sister which is part of the Three Sisters and is the third highest peak in Oregon. It's a real slog of a climb as you ascend nearly 5,000 feet from the trailhead (5,500') to the summit at 10,363'. The first few miles were pretty nice as we were in the forest and the gradient was fairly gradual. Then there's this exposed sandy plateau for the next couple miles which isn't too steep and provides some great views of the summit and surrounding mountains. Then the real fun begins with a really grueling climb up rugged volcanic rock and loose scree for the final mile and a half. We had a fair amount of company on the climb so we were all providing each other emotional support and encouragement. The view was definitely spectacular at the top although I'm not sure it was worth all of the effort. However, if you don't think you'll ever make it to the moon, you might want to pay a visit to South Sister as it felt like a good alternative to a lunar expedition. 

On our way back to California, we swung through Crater Lake National Park for a quick visit. The lake is the deepest lake in the US and it is really quite stunning. With a depth of 1,943 feet, you could stack the Eiffel Tower, the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty on top of each at the deepest point and there would still be 100 feet of water above Lady Liberty's torch! There's a good bit of useless trivia for you! There aren't a ton of trails in the park but we explored one along the south rim that provides some incredible views of the lake.     

After leaving Oregon, we high tailed it down to Southern California to spend time with family. We spent nearly a week with my aunt Nina and her husband Mark in Santa Monica which is always great fun. We also dropped our van off down at our friend Susie's house near San Diego where it will live for the next 6-8 months until we return to the US. The main attraction was my cousin Hunter and his fiancé Nicole's wedding in Simi Valley, just north of LA. The wedding was really beautiful with sincere heartfelt vows and of course a great party afterwards! Right after the wedding, a number of us went up to my uncle Stephen's and aunt Nancy's house in Lake Arrowhead for a family reunion of sorts. Stephen has an apple orchard and he makes apple cider every fall so we helped harvest, core, grind and press apples. As they say, many hands make for light work!      

Ten days ago we flew back to New Zealand where we bought a house last March and we've been slowly settling in since arriving. We love our house which sits up on a small hill with an expansive view out over the town of Featherston and the valley beyond. We have a bunch of fruit trees on the property and are planning to plant a garden very soon. There are lots of local bush walks and great places to run so Ginny and I are staying quite active. We're still waiting for our container to arrive with all of our stuff so we're basically camping out inside our house until all of our furniture and belongings arrive in the next week or so (fingers crossed).    

Since our van travels are on hold for the next 6-8 months while we're living in New Zealand, I will likely put this blog on hold until we're back in the van again. However, I have just started a new blog called The Velvet Trail which will focus on all types of trail adventures - trail running, hiking and backpacking. I've already subscribed some of you who I thought would be interested but if you haven't received the first blog, you can subscribe here.