2025 wrap-up post: Year of the Snake

 I'd like to begin my annual note to myself with a grand statement such as "looking back over the past 12 months..." but realistically, the next person that reads this will be me, looking back over it in a year. So, in order to be more honest with myself, "Hey, hope 2026 was better than 2025". This year was less hopeful than last. I failed to achieve several large and small goals. My laziness and work avoidance, my petty selfishness and incompetence loom large in my vision. I want to want to help more than I want to help. And I try. But if I'm not actively thinking about how I could help more, I drag my feet, I let others step up first. It's an ugly characteristic and I want to change. I don't know how. My memory for things is cloudier. I forget people's names as soon as they're finished saying them. I get reminded of things that happened recently and feel like someone is telling me a story about someone else, even when I'm the subject. Spending time with my father-in-law, who has a form of early-onset dementia makes me feel like I'm losing my mind a little too when we follow similar conversational patterns. I repeat things people just said to me in an inquisitive way, or ask unnecessary clarifying questions to make it seem like I'm paying attention. Is it 20+ years of night shift taking its toll? Is it a sign of dementia? Is it an apathy enabled by people around me just picking up my slack? I want to retire from my job and do nothing. Well, not nothing, but every other job I look at is unappealing. So, stuff around the house I guess, little projects. Like making lists of famous people who died in the last year. Something like this one: 

David Lynch

Marianne Faithfull

Tom Robbins

Gene Hackman

David Johansen

George Foreman

Val Kilmer

Pope Francis

George Wendt

Rick Derringer

Teun deJong

Sly Stone

Brian Wilson

Michael Madsen

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Chuck Mangione

Ozzy Osbourne

Hulk Hogan

Ryne Sandberg

Tom Lehrer

Loni Anderson

Brent Hinds

James Dobson

Giorgio Armani

Rick Davies

Charlie Kirk

Tomas Lindberg

Robert Redford

Jane Goodall

Ken Parker

Diane Keaton

Ace Frehley

Sam Rivers

Diane Ladd

Dick Cheney

Frank Gehry

Rob Reiner

Brigitte Bardot

Looking through the list of albums that came out 20 years ago was fun. It felt like a shorter list this year, but many of the albums felt more important to me somehow. 

Dark Tranquility - Character

M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

The Decemberists - Picaresque

Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

Weezer - Make Believe

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl

Opeth - Ghost Reveries

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

Many of the albums I acquired this year were year-end gifts from my wife. She found my list of music to purchase and grabbed what she could. 

The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream

The Black Angels - Passover

Alda - A Distant Fire

Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

Santana - Abraxas (LP)

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (LP)

Dark Tranquility - Character

Rush - Moving Pictures (LP)

Nina Simone - Pastel Blues (LP)

Thelonious Monk - Plays Duke Ellington

The books I read this year were again a hodgepodge of re-reads, self-help, children's bedtime stories and graphic novels. I'm going through a lot of my old books and either tossing them, or giving them one last chance to impress me before I rid myself of their woeful stares from the shelf, decrying my neglect, my addiction to lit screens instead of the written word. 

Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games
Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind
Suzanne Collins - Girl on Fire
Peter Brown - The Wild Robot
Michael & Debi Pearl - To Train Up a Child
Dave Grohl - The Storyteller
Art Spiegelman - The Complete Maus
Suzanne Collins - Mockingjay
Craig Thompson - Habibi
Viktor E Frankl - Man's Search for Meaning
Maria Von Trapp - The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
Frank Miller - Daredevil: Born Again
Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
Chaim Potok - The Chosen
Patrick Rothfuss - The Wise Man's Fear
Craig Thompson - Ginseng Roots
Anne McCaffrey - Dragonflight
Ursula LeGuin, illus. Fred Fordham - A Wizard of Earthsea
Lev Grossman - The Magicians
Anne McCaffrey - Dragonquest
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Michael Pollan - The Botany of Desire
Ursula LeGuin - The Farthest Shore
Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings
George R R Martin - A Clash of Kings
Warren Ellis/John Cassaday - The Planetary Omnibus
Mari Ahokoivu - Oksi
Roald Dahl - Matilda
Kevin Leman - The Birth Order Book
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
Bill Bryson - I'm A Stranger Here Myself
Tony Lee - Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood
Louis Sachar - Holes
Donald Miller - Blue Like Jazz
Herbert Asbury - The Gangs of New York
David Foster Wallace - A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again and other Essays
Chuck Palahniuk - Shock Induction
Craig Thompson - Blankets
Matt Emmons - The Council of Frogs
Anne Rice - Interview with the Vampire
Jordan Green - The Blue Beacon
Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Brian Michael Bendis - Ultimate Spider-Man: Omnibus

This was another big year for board game purchases, meaning I spent more money on games than I made selling them. I developed a new goal with my games. In addition to last year's goal of playing each game 10 times or selling it, I attempted to play every game I hadn't played in the last two years (i.e. 2024 or 2025). I almost made it through (Sheriff of Nottingham is sometimes tough to get to the table). The following are games I bought or received this year: 

Stockpile 

Obsession 

Dorfromantik: The Board Game

Dune

Kingsburg

Game of Thrones 

Ecologies

Shallow Regrets

Vegetable Stock 

Flamme Rouge: Peloton 

Viticulture World 

Container

Wits & Wagers Deluxe

Trains 

Ready Set Bet 

What Do You Meme To Go

Awkward Guests 

Rock Hard: 1977

I did achieve a big goal of mine for the year, which was to log 500 miles on foot. This could include hiking, running, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. It did not include downhill skiing. I climbed St Helens again, in the winter this time (much more fun), climbed Mt Adams with my 14yo daughter, and again failed to summit Mt Hood. 

Wahkeena-Multnomah Falls loop

Pocket Creek - Nordic ski

Newell Creek Canyon

McIver Park Loop - Maple Ridge, Vortex, Riverbend trails

Multorpor Mt Loop - Summit, Powerline, and Optimator trails

Timberline to Crater Rock

Mt St Helens summit - Worm Flows trail

Run

Trillium Lake loop - Nordic ski

Run

Run

Run

Summit - Alpine ski

Champoeg State Heritage Area Loop hike

Run

Run

Silver Star Mt from Grouse Vista

Eagle Creek to Twister Falls

Run

Run

Oxbow Regional Park loop

Teacup Lake - Nordic Ski

Saddle Mt

Run

Run

Meadows - alpine ski

Run

Lyle Discovery Loop

Memaloose Hills

Beacon Rock

Run

Fanton Trail #505

Coyote Wall

Timberline to top of Palmer

Rowena Plateau

Tom McCall Point

Elk Creek to Idiot Creek

Lower Deschutes Powerline

Dog Mountain

Cook Hill

Vedanta Retreat

Manhattan Midtown walking tour

Manhattan Downtown walking tour

Manhattan Central Park walking tour

Soda Creek Falls hike

Soda Springs Trail hike

Santiam Wagon Road to House Rock

Walton Ranch viewpoint hike

Mt Adams - South Climb to Lunch Counter - Day 1

Mt Adams - Lunch Counter/summit/South Climb - Day 2

Paradise Park from Timberline Lodge

Lewis River Backpacking Day 1

Lewis River Backpacking Day 2

Lewis River Backpacking Day 3

Ape Cave

June Lake

Siouxon Creek Backpacking Day 1

Siouxon Creek Backpacking Day 2

Siouxon Creek Backpacking Day 3

Umbrella Falls, Meadows loop hike

Timothy Lake Shoreline loop

Silver Falls - Trail of Ten Falls

Ramona Falls Loop

Tillamook Head Backpacking Day 1

Tillamook Head Backpacking Day 2

Red Mountain via PCT

Mushroom foraging - Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy

Nestor Peak

Hamilton Mountain (Hardy Creek loop)

Table Mountain from Bonneville Hot Springs

Storey Burn Loop

University Falls Loop from Rogers Camp

Green Mountain Loop

Multnomah Falls hike

Dry Creek Falls + Pinnacles

Timberline to Triangle Moraine

Total miles on foot 524.4  with an elevation gain of 89,553 = 17mi straight up, over 75 activities, each averaging 7mi, 1194' elev gain or 171'/mi

This post started kind of hopeless, but looking over all the fun outside stuff we got to do, for example camping with each member of my immediate family and all of us together, fills me with inspiration for the coming year. Hey, hope 2026 was great!

Merry Christmas 2025

 

Halloween Pumpkins - 2025: Frogs Together Strong!

 

The Types of Twilight

    On a recent backpacking trip along the Oregon Coast, I learned that there are multiple phases of the everyday lessening of daylight as the Sun sets. We were looking out over the Pacific Ocean, admiring the view from atop a cliff. A lighthouse stood on a rock a little off the coast. The light from the Sun continued long after it had disappeared. This first, brightest time after sunset is called Civil twilight, and occurs when the Sun has set, but its center is at most six degrees below the horizon. On average, it lasts about 30 minutes after sunset. (Side note: it is legal to leave your car's headlights off for the first 30 minutes after sunset as well) We could still hike around and see the trail with some clarity. We found a concrete bunker that was one of the many installations the US army had built during World War II as protection from possible mainland invasion. 

    On our way back to our campsite the trail was a lot darker and a little more difficult to discern tripping hazards. I noticed a decrease in both color and visual definition. We were entering Nautical twilight. The first stars began to appear when the Sun was between six and 12 degrees below the horizon, which was still visible. The temperature began to drop noticeably. This time of year, nautical twilight lasts about 40 minutes. 

    We headed back to camp to start a fire. By the time it was joyfully crackling away, most of the daylight was gone. This was Astronomical twilight, which means the Sun was between 12 and 18 degrees below the horizon. It usually lasts around 30 minutes as well depending on the time of year. If we had a telescope along (unlikely on a backpacking trip, but who knows?) we could begin to discern galaxies and nebulae. Beyond this point it was difficult to discern when astronomical twilight ended and true night began. We were mostly staring into the fire.  

2024 wrap-up post: The Struggle To Be Real

 I'm struggling to summarize the last 12 months in a sentence. For the most part, I worked to solve old health issues and struggled with new ones. I'm getting older and my body isn't afraid to let me know it. I'm sore when I shouldn't be, my neck is always irritated, I rupture a disc in my low back just coughing. I'm outside as much as before, but I'm trying new things. I wonder if saving all my money til I'm too old to really enjoy it is a good idea. I set myself a new goal for retirement, or at least a career change in a dozen years. I started paying more attention to finances. I am becoming more myself. There are bad days, when I can't sleep and my truncated attention span keeps me from reading even two paragraphs in a book without my mind wandering, but for the most part I view my life positively. I wish I had more time during the week to see people. I wish I could pass my enthusiasm for things I love on to my children without overwhelming them. I wish for a lot of little improvements. But I'm working towards them. The death list is always an interesting project. Some of the names I haven't thought of in years. Some were my friends. This year's last entry was my cat for the last 15 years. 

Carl Weathers

Wayne Kramer

Toby Keith

Mojo Nixon

Christopher Ruppert

Fernando Venezuela

O J Simpson

Dickie Betts

Alice Munro

Bernard Hill

Steve Albini

Paul Auster

Morgan Spurlock

Willie Mays

Donald Sutherland

Shifty Shellshock

Shelley Duvall

Richard Simmons

Shannon Doherty

Naomi Pomeroy

Lou Dobbs

Bob Newhart

John Mayall

Greg Kihn

Phil Donahue

James Earl Jones

Dame Maggie Smith

Kris Kristofferson

Merry Christmas 2024

 

Halloween Pumpkin 2024 - Thundercats, Ho!