Ambria's Adventures

  Sunday is typically reserved as a hiking day for my friend group and me. This past Sunday, we decided to try a trail none of us have ever done but was on our lists: Pali Puka. This trail is less than 1 mile (my GPS marked it as .85 to the hole in the rock and back,) rated moderate-difficult, has many steep areas where ropes are provided to help climb, can be windy and muddy, and will have you walking along some cliff edges. If you’re not great with heights, this may not be the one. However, one of the girls with us was very nervous at the cliffs and managed to make it with our support. Getting to the Pali Puka was pretty easy and there is a parking area for the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout Point (if you’re coming from Honolulu, just take highway 61 N about 5 miles and the signs are marked. If you reach the tunnels, you went too far). There are parking fees for non-residents that can be paid at the pay stand. It looked like there were several options to pay including the use of a credit...

Day 4 - Portland, Columbia River Gorge, Seattle (4h 35m, 270 miles) After a night of rest and relaxation in Portland, it was time to hit the road again. However, it was also the 4 th of July, and my friend and I thought it would be more fun in a city, so we decided to spend the night in Seattle, Washington. Looking back, this was not the best option for us. While we did find a nice hotel for cheap, it was so close to Portland that we definitely did not get enough mileage in. On top of that, most things in Seattle were closed anyway because of the pandemic. If I could do it again, I’d make a stop to get some coffee, check out the wharf, the gum wall, and probably be on my way. Anywho, before we left Oregon we wanted to check out some views outside of the city and made our way to the Columbia River Gorge. Crown Point offered spectacular scenes of the gorge and forest, even on a cloudy day.  From there, we jumped on the Historic Columbia River Hwy to do some waterfall chasing. Un...