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We all go back to where we belong...
On going back to some old favorites, with a side of some big news.
Matt Reeder
June 02, 2025
Those of you who have followed this blog have probably noticed a significant drop-off in the number of posts I have been sharing over the past few months. There are reasons for this, and I’ll get to that in a little bit. But as you might also imagine, I’ve been busy!
When I started this year, both Wendy and I decided that we wanted to spend most of this year hiking places that we had not been in a long time, and perhaps also finally get to those handful of places we’d never been. The Pacific Northwest is such a vast region that it would be impossible to see everything here in several lifetimes, even for avid hikers like us, and especially me. I still feel like I’m only scratching the surface in many areas, especially the North Cascades, the Olympics, the Owyhee Canyonlands, and much of southern Oregon and northern California. There is still so much for me to see. So this year felt like a good time to go and see some new places, as well as some old favorites I haven’t visited in a long time.
This plan is working out very well so far. As Spring has taken off, we’ve done a great job in getting to some of these places. It will not shock you at all to learn that I keep a record of my hikes every year using Gaia, with distances and elevation gains. At least, it shouldn’t shock you if you know me well. This is what I’ve been up to over the past two months:
Date | Hike | Mileage / Elevation Gain | Last hiked in… |
|---|---|---|---|
4/04 | 4.8 miles, 1,800 feet | 2017 | |
4/11 | 3.8 miles, 1,100 feet; 1.4 miles, 100 feet | 2017, 2021 | |
4/12 | 4.8 miles, 1,200 feet | 2024 | |
4/19 | 6 miles, 1,400 feet | 2022 | |
4/20 | 5.3 miles, 1,800 feet | never! | |
4/25 | Mitchell Point, Hood River Mountain | 3.4 miles, 1,100 feet; 2.8 miles, 400 feet | 2021, 2012 |
4/28 | 8.3 miles, 3,000 feet | 2024 | |
5/3 | 8.4 miles, 1,400 feet | 2012 | |
5/9 | 8.8 miles, 2,200 feet | 2013 | |
5/23 | 6.7 miles, 1,500 feet | 2010 | |
5/24 | 11.6 miles, 600 feet | 2019 | |
5/26 | Tygh Creek | 6.4 miles, 2,300 feet | 2018 |
5/30 | 9.2 miles, 1,500 feet | 2014 | |
6/01 | 5.8 miles, 600 feet | 201 |
I’ve included links to almost every one of these hikes for those of you who want to go check out some of these for yourself - or you could check out my guidebooks, which include information about a decent number of these. I loved almost every single one of these hikes, and I’m glad to get to see some of them again. Here are some photos from the past couple months:
Rattlesnake Falls in southwest Washington. This is a really neat place that takes a long time to access. The falls only flow in winter and spring, so it’s already too late to see them this year. But if you’re there during flower season when the falls is flowing, it’s hard to beat.
Triple Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. I’d last visited in 2022 but we determined that Wendy and I hadn’t been here together since all the way back in 2007. Time flies!
Keith on the Cook Hill Trail, April 29th. He needed to get a conditioning hike in before climbing Mount Saint Helens that coming weekend, so we hiked Cook Hill during the afternoon and evening. It was awesome, as always.
Looking across the Metolius River to a rock pinnacle on the Warm Springs Reservation. This was the view from just below my campsite during my road trip to Central Oregon over Memorial Day Weekend.
The Metolius River just upstream of Monty Campground, where I camped the first two nights of my Central Oregon road trip.
The one and only White River falls is a place you should stop every time you drive through Tygh Valley, east of Mount Hood. This place is far more crowded than it used to be, but it never gets old.
Ponderosa pines on the Tygh Creek Trail. This obscure path is one of my favorite in the Mount Hood National Forest, and is a fantastic place to see Ponderosas, my favorite trees.
Inside the huge stump at Bagby Hot Springs. I’m not exactly a small guy - this tree was that huge.
So all in all, it has been an excellent spring!
If this seems like a lot of hiking, you would be correct. But I normally hike this much - remember, I spend 80-100 days a year on the trail, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I’ve been up to something else too, something that has been haunting my dreams for the past twenty years or so:
I am writing a novel.
The idea for this story first came to me when I was living in France in 2004. I would go hiking everywhere and walk everywhere throughout Angers, where I was living at the time. One day, I found myself wondering about what life would be like if all you did was hike - and yes, I mean far more than I do now.
This is what I looked like when I hatched this story:
Yours truly in Angers, France, Spring 2004. A few of you out there might remember this guy.
I’d like to say that I still look about the same, but the grey hairs started during the pandemic and they aren’t going away. Maybe I’ll be a silver fox by the time I’m 50.
ANYWAY, I’ve had this story marinating in my head for more than 20 years. I tried starting this book many times, only to be met with roadblocks, lost opportunities, distractions, and general self-doubt. Interestingly enough, I was recently diagnosed with ADHD - this shouldn’t be surprising to anybody who knows me well - and understanding that I struggle with depression, anxiety, and perfectionism should at least partially explain why I never got around to actually writing this story. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the kind of effort it would take to complete such a large project.
If I’m being perfectly honest, it’s more likely that I just wasn’t ready to undertake such a massive project, and I wasn’t quite sure where the story would take me. But I’ve since written four hiking guidebooks, and I’m ready to tell my story now.
I will not tell you what the story is about, other than it very obviously involves hiking. Would you expect anything less from me? But the story is about much more than this. It is also about me, about where we are as a society now, and about the things that bring us together and tear us apart. I won’t say much more than that, other than the first part of the book mostly takes place here:
Go stay in a lookout tower when you can. It just might change your life.
I have the summer off for the first time in my adult life, and I’m excited to go on adventures and continue writing this. I am writing this book by hand, because I get too distracted on my computer to focus on writing. I also try to limit my screen time, because the more I am on my computer and phone, the less happy I get. I’m sure some of you can understand. I don’t know how long it will take me to finish this book, but I am beyond excited to share it with you someday.
As always, thanks for reading! I’ll try not to be such a stranger this summer.
Much love and happy trails,
Matt