2020: Things Are Looking Up

Happy New Year 2020!

Photo from our 5th annual New Year's Day hike on Saddle Mountain, for NW Wilderness

I'm starting Garth's Blog clean this year, moving all the 2019 posts to my private blog*. Even my 2019 adventure and travel blog posts and unfiltered late-night tweets are hitting the cutting room floor.

Things are looking up. I'm healing, getting stronger, breaking the chains, leaning on my faith in Jesus, practicing self-care, and moving forward to a brighter future. When you see me on a mountain or on the trail looking happy, I'm (usually) not faking it. It's genuine.

I've been learning and experimenting with tools that have been enormously helpful in dealing with depression and insomnia. Examples: Meditation (shout out to my two favorite apps, the Calm meditation app and the Christ-centered Abide meditation and prayer app) and keeping an ultra-minimalist Bullet Journal are now daily habits. Weightlifting and the outdoor events I organize for NW Wilderness also help clear my mind… As do my visits with naturopathic therapist Dr. Carol Zamarra… As well as love from family, friends, and church family… And many more good things I could enthusiastically list.

Hit me up publicly or privately if you’d like to hear more in a future blog post. It could cover additional things that have helped me, as well as offer a look at what a journey towards wellness might look like. I'm still learning, as we all are. Otherwise, it's back to blogging book reviews and travel adventures.

Though if you are hurting, just know that there is hope. I'm with you, and I'm on your side. The 2020s have the potential to be your best decade yet.

Next on Garth’s Blog:
My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2019!

*I wanted to end that on a positive note, so I buried this footnote way down here. Many of those raw “in the moment” blog posts from 2019 gave non-constructive language to my struggles with depression, insomnia, and hurt… Primarily triggered (but not caused) by two specific failures: One in a friendship, and the other regarding state-related ministry. Trying to live with being unforgiven for both of these failures is still a struggle for which I ask prayer and support. I am still prayerfully and mindfully working though these two issues. Things will continue to get better. I believe it. 🌞

A Movember to remember

The 'stache is real, and for a purpose. But yes, I also dressed up as the late Burt Reynolds (in "Smokey and the Bandit") for the Halloween costume hike I led for NW Wilderness last Saturday.
Photo credit: Peter Milert, aka Batman

Men's health is serious business. Ahem, that's your cue to stop snickering at my goofy mustache.

Though I grew this 'stache as part of my tribute to Burt Reynolds for the costume hike I organized last week... I'm keeping this 'stache for the entire month of "Movember" to raise funds and awareness for men's health.

The link to my personal fundraising page for the Movember foundation is:

mobro.co/garth-hamilton.

So, what is the Movember Foundation?

A 5 million member strong charity group that is changing the face of men's health. They fund groundbreaking research in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.

And why support the Movember Foundation?

"Stop men dying too young."



So there you have it, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas. Please consider partnering with me, by making a donation via the link above to help prevent premature deaths among my fellow dudes. Their lives are worth saving.

Happy Movember, friends!

Off the grid

No April Fools.  Life is getting busy.... Family, ministry, travel, and all those wilderness/mountain outings I lead.  I'm gonna take a break from Garth's Blog (but not from my other blogs, nor Twitter) so I can focus on writing the remaining credentialing reports for my ministerial licensing process.

Garth's Blog will return.

Here is a re-post from one of my other blogs about my anxiety of being phoneless, originally posted last month:

March 4, 2017

Day 3 of no cell phone.  Cancelling my Mount Hood climb up/ ski down event that I was leading for NW Wilderness yesterday was a bit of a relief.  It's a challenge to coordinate these outings without a phone.  Though I was bummed that the mountain weather was too extreme for my friends and I to play on the slopes... What could beat sitting inside a Sprint repair store for 3+ hours on a sunny Saturday instead?  Blah.

Grumbling aside, being phone-free has ultimately been a calming experience for me.  But first, I had to overcome the expected anxieties:

• My friends are gonna think I'm either a flake or a jerk for not texting them back (some of them apparently followed up on Facebook, which I also can't check when I'm away from WiFi).
• How will my loved ones get ahold of me in an emergency, or if they need me for something?
• I have plans with my surfing buddy and also hiking/climbing friends this upcoming week... How will any of them let me know if something comes up?
• I already miss my Twitter friends.
• How many Instagram friends will I lose from not posting my daily Instagram Story pics?
• When I'm away from WiFi, how will I even message my overseas friends to plan our international trip for next weekend?

Looking back at this list, it's embarassing to see how overly social I am.  It's silly.  And it's sobering to realize how much I kill myself to stay in touch with the people I love.

Everything will be alright.  I'll see my friends when I see them.  In the meantime, I'm gonna enjoy being offline.

From my Instagram Story:  The latest winter adventure I led for NW Wilderness was, ahem, eventful.

Go, tell it on the mountain (summits)

Taking another group into the mountains last weekend, climbing above 10,000 feet on Mount Hood. So proud of everyone who signed up! Photo of me by Jason Lenhart.

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on Oct 2, 2016 at 5:52pm PDT

Instagram photo from a climb I led in August

I’ve led more than a dozen scrambles, climbs, and hikes (and no more for 2016)...

...Though I’ve already 

posted a New Year’s coastal hike for next week (RSVP for free HERE!).

Leading a fun Munra Point hike/scramble last month... With a 300+ foot drop-off below our feet. Photo by @cavergene

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on Sep 2, 2016 at 7:01pm PDT

Climbing Mount Hood again, last week
(uncropped Instagram Story pic)

I’ve traveled to my final overseas country of the year…

...Though another international friends-visiting trip is in the works for January.

Switzerland, Italy, France, Iceland (pictured), and Mexico were among the list
(Previously unseen pic from my Instagram Story)

I’ve concluded my teaching series for youth group…

...Though I’ll be speaking at the Portland area all-night youth party this week.

Most of my outings and expeditions have been wrapped up for 2016...

...But the dearest adventure to my heart will never end:

Family time with those adorable Ls!

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!!

Hiking Nesmith Point

Note:  Updates to the previous "Upcoming Climbs" (link) entry are at the end of this post, including a catch-up on some other recent hikes/events I've organized.


The Nesmith Point hike I led a few weeks ago for NW Wilderness was originally suggested by my friend Kaitlin as we hiked Katya's Rudolph Spur loop (itself a descendant of an earlier, hilariously disastrous scouting session with Katya) a couple weeks earlier.

Kaitlin's suggestion paid off!

The crew and me on our #hike up to Nesmith Point a couple weeks ago; This weekend's hike is gonna be insane!

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on Jun 11, 2015 at 1:03pm PDT

When I originally posted the invite for this Nesmith Point hike... which was reportedly pretty steep on its own... I mapped out some options to extend the adventure in the event that those who signed up would want a little more.  Those extra optional miles, waterfalls, and off-trail viewpoints I offered weren't even necessary.


Our group of nine carpooled to John B. Yeon state park in the Columbia River Gorge, and made our way to the junction of Nesmith Point Trail #428.  The adventure was on!

Mylenka, Kirsty, Saurubh, Jodi, Steve, Darren, me, and Li setting out from John B. Leon state park; Amarilis took this photo

Heading uphill, way uphill...

Leading a #hiking group up to one of the highest points in the Gorge last weekend

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on Jun 8, 2015 at 12:47pm PDT

...occasionally stopping to enjoy the views

Photo by Mylenka

A brief flat stretch, through the lush forest

Messing around at the summit

View from the top, high above the Columbia River Gorge

After Saurubh and I ran downhill for an alternate summit view, Kirsty and I found the "true summit" (Photo by Kirsty)

Kirsty and I break away from the group for the true summit, obscured in trees

Finding something higher to climb for the TRUE true summit?  Because we're ridiculous.  (Photo by Kirsty)

Lunch break (Photo by Mylenka)

Steve helps Mylenka perform one of his signature summit headstands

Deciding to not make it a longer loop, the group is MORE than content to head back down to the trail head

Here is my brief trip report, as posted on my NW Wilderness event page (that link also has members' post-hike comments and complete photo set):

Great job on Saturday, everyone! Thanks for coming out. You guys were a blast, and we knocked out that somewhat steep trail at a comfortable pace with plenty of time to spare. I'll try to upload my pictures soon (I currently have a bit of a photo backup). Using the GPS unit data I salvaged, I did the best I could to estimate our stats:

Total distance: 11.05 miles
Total time: 6 hours
Moving time: 5:05
Avg moving speed: 2.2 mph
Max speed: 6.73 mph
Elevation gain 3815 feet

And finally, as promised, here are a couple of updates to last month's "Upcoming Climbs" blog post:

1. Our grueling 33.8 mile Mount St Helens circumnavigation went ahead without me. My orthotic inserts badly needed re-repairing, as terrible as the timing was. Organizer Craig and I decided it would be too risky to discover my pain tolerance while trekking off-trail along a remote side of the mountain, with no feasible escape route.

2. We called off our recent post-season Mount Hood climb. Too dangerous, apparently.  But since my podiatrist was able to repair my orthotics in-house, I instead did a family hike with Lena and Levi... and then I organized an easy 10-person foot break-in hike up Old Baldy Mountain for NW Wilderness that weekend. The next day, nine of us hiked up to Copper Spur on Mount Hood.  And then I led 13 people on an exciting hike from Tooth Rock trailhead to Wauna Point on Fourth of July weekend.


Until I blog those trip reports here, check out those various links from NW Wilderness above for photos and post-hike comments from last Saturday.

Coming up on Garth's Blog...

Rank: 22nd in Cincinnati this morning/ 20th place overall! Mt Hood climb Thursday hobbled me to a 7:54 pace this year. The tutu strikes again!! @delta @runflyingpig

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on May 3, 2015 at 8:16am PDT

Running again in this year's Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon!

Hiking Devil's Rest loop

Yesterday's European daytrip to bicycle with overseas friends was reworked into flying down to Hollywood for lunch with one of my best buds.

I didn't lead a hike this weekend, but instead stayed mostly local for what matters most: Spending time with family, ministry grads, and the amazing friends who make life worth living.

The first of the 2015 hikes I led for NW Wilderness was short, sweet, and not too steep.  I didn’t have time that February day for the longer events that I usually lead or get involved with, so I posted an 8-mile quickie to the top of Devil’s Rest.

Here is the link to my NW Wilderness event invitation, including our post-hike comments and additional photos:  http://www.meetup.com/NW-Wilderness/events/220733223/

I’ll dedicate blog posts to our earlier and bigger 2015 hikes, climbs, and scrambles when I get a chance!

Foggy hike I led up to Devil's Rest earlier this year

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on Jun 3, 2015 at 12:18pm PDT

Devil’s Rest is what I referred to as the “most effortless” third of our brutal, annual Triple D challenge for NW Wilderness in August: Dog Mountain, Mount Defiance, and Devil’s Rest in one day.

Since I’ve summited Dog Mountain and Mount Defiance countless times since I was a kid, I decided to finally check out this easier segment to complete my familiarity with Triple D.  The actual date of the hike was February 27, 2015.

Wally, Shaun, Garth, Glenn, Francois, and Lou at the Wahkeena Falls trailhead

Clouds and drizzle greeted us at the Wahkeena Falls trailhead.  The weather didn’t brighten up until later on, but our ascent was anything but gloomy.

Wahkeena Falls

Francois makes the creek crossing below

Shaun and Glenn continue up

Cutoff to the Devil's Rest summit

The anticlimactic summit of Devil's Rest

Sadly, the heavy camera gear that poor Francois had schlepped from the trailhead was only brought out once.

In the summit photo above, he is snapping a single picture of... wait, what are you taking a picture of, Francois?

Returning down to the main loop, via the user-maintained Foxglove trail

Back in familiar territory

The sun almost peeked out for our descent as we returned to the Wahkeena Falls trail.  It was the icing on the cake.

Here are our stats (see notes on my event page for explanations of the discrepancies):

Distance: 8+ miles
Total ascent: 2,761 feet
Moving time: 2:14
Avg speed: 2.6 mph
Max speed 10.2 mph (Shaun and I got a little carried away on the descent)

Check back soon for a family update, travel stories, and the types of outdoor adventures that we USUALLY lead!

Hiking- South Mollala River Loop

With our Mount Hood climb tonight after church and another overseas trip next week, it occurred to me that I haven't shared any of this year's crazy adventures here.  And we've done some INSANE things recently... some probably too irresponsible to share with impressionable readers.

But let's start with this uncharacteristically mellow hike I led for NW Wilderness last weekend:

The 10 mile loop I had planned for the South Mollala River area was already the second easiest hike I've ever led, and already more relaxed than the typical hike for NW Wilderness or any of the other expedition groups I'm involved with.  But trail closures and also being forced off-trail by obstacles shaved off 1.4 miles from my intended loop, unfortunately making it even quicker.

As I mentioned in my trip report, our group was game to venture off-trail and switch up the route at various points... whenever we ran out of options to "legally" complete the loop that I had originally intended.  As long as everyone is flexible and trusting, I'm eager to modify the route instead of backtracking when conditions surprise us.

A stretch of log hopping

Pushing through a series of trails to form a loop

Maynard waits for the group to catch up at the first creek crossing.

Lou takes a stab at the next creek crossing.

Rachael and Maynard carefully make their way down a steep embankment during an off-trail segment.

Lunch break at Annie's Cabin.

One of the closed trails we encountered while trying to continue our loop after lunch

A tranquil forest mini-lagoon was tucked away alongside our modified return route.

Distance: 8.6 miles (As mentioned, trail closures and being forced off-trail by obstacles shaved off 1.4 miles from my intended loop)

Total time: 3:03 (incl. all breaks except lunch)

Moving time: 2:19

Avg speed: 3.12 mph
Max speed: 7.76 mph
Elevation gain: 1,683 feet

Coming next week...

More hiking in Asia!

Hamilton Happenings- A year of family stories and photos

Kathy and I are flying overseas again tomorrow, so I won't have time to write a new blog this week.  In the meantime, I'm sharing Kathy's 2014 year-end Hamilton4 newsletter.  I removed or altered the Christmas-y bits. 

This family update was originally sent out as a Christmas letter to our friends and extended family.  As always, links to earlier blog posts look like this.

From Kathy:

Greetings, Family and Friends!

Our biggest news of 2014, in case you haven’t heard, was the birth of our son Levi James Hamilton on January 15^th. 

Levi weighed 9 lbs. 6 oz. and was 19 ½ inches long.  Now 11 months old, Levi is crawling, climbing and getting into EVERYTHING!  More than Lena ever was at this age. He continues to bring us so much joy and happiness.

Vine video: Unclick the mute button above to hear Levi singing as he learns to crawl

Lena has accepted her role of big sister very well.  Lena loves her baby brother very much, and Levi’s face lights up whenever he sees her.

Lena and Levi enjoy playing together, except for the occasional, “Mommy!  Levi is looking at me.”  Yes.  It has already started.

In September, Lena turned 3 and began preschool two mornings a week at Aloha Christian Preschool, a ministry of our church.  Lena loves school and is making lots of friends.

Open house at Aloha Christian Preschool


Lil' Lena gets jiggy with it during Aloha Christian Preschool's Christmas program.  Kinda.

We are still serving as Youth Pastors at Aloha Church of God.  This past summer we led a combined group from our church and Tigard Church of God on another mission trip to Vicente Guererro,Mexico in Baja California.   We are planning to go back once again in 2015.

Missions work trip in Vicente Guererro, Mexico with Welcome Home Ministries

Garth preaches on occasion, when his shift at Delta Airlines allows.  We love the people whom God has called us to serve.

In addition to working for Delta at PDX airport, Garth also became a hiking leader for NW Wilderness in 2014.  He also started assisting with expeditions for other local outdoor groups.

NW Wilderness climb to the summit of Mount Adams

Garth organizes and leads hikes, scrambles, and adventure expeditions all over the Pacific Northwest, as he does with our ministry students.  Combined with his leadership, love for people, and passion for the outdoors, his aggressive-leaning hikes often fill to capacity.  This role also allows him to explore wild areas that would be too dangerous for hiking with Lena or Levi (or me!).


Garth also ran in the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon with some Delta coworkers.

A tutu-clad Garth with Delta coworkers, after crossing the "Finish Swine" of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

I still work 3 days a week at The Portland Clinic, and I love my new position of Nursing Support/Referral Coordinator for our Family Practice department. The other days, I am a stay-at-home mommy to two very busy L’s (Lena and Levi).  I often joke that I go to work to relax.  But being a SAHM to the L’s is definitely the best job ever!

In March, we (without kids) flew to Dublin, Ireland for a few days.

Dublin, Ireland- A few days before Saint Patrick's Day

I flew home to the U.S. early, and Garth continued on to meet some friends near Belfast, Northern Ireland for a couple more days.

Northern Ireland: Garth and a few friends from Australia cross the rope bridge over to Carrick-a-Rede, on their way to the Giant's Causeway

It was this Ireland trip that first brought out the separation anxiety that I get from being away from the L’s.  But I really enjoyed uninterrupted time with Garth! 

This summer we took our first road trip as a family of four for some hiking and visiting in Southern Oregon.

On that same trip, we also visited the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon.  

Lena loved seeing all the animals up close, and Levi was too young to care.

We also took the kids on our annual Hamilton family camping and water ski trip at Banks Lake in Coulee City, WA. 

Garth of course occasionally flies over the pond for quick overseas friends day-visits to his many international buddies, but only when the kids are committed to plans that don’t necessarily involve him, allowing him to get away for a day or two.  Depending on the destination and the festivities, some of these international trips are eventually covered on Garth's Blog.

In addition to these overseas weekends and international family getaways, we sometimes take domestic trips as well.  For example, a few months ago Garth blogged about taking Lena for a Daddy-Daughter day trip to Seattle.

Daddy-daughter airplane ride

Earlier this month, Garth and I flew away together for a completely kid-free week.  It was intended to international  We tried to return to Johannesburg, South Africa (for a safari that Garth was planning), and then to Nicaragua and Seoul, South Korea.  But due to flying stand-by and encountering oversold flights, we ended up visiting friends in Seattle and spent some time in L.A. and Atlanta instead, including hiking Stone Mountain in Georgia.

Hiking Georgia's Stone Mountain before catching a flight to Rome, Italy

With only a couple of days left, I encouraged Garth to stick with our original plans and continue on for the planned Saturday night out with friends in Rome, Italy without me since he had a couple of extra vacation days.

It’s hard to sum up our year in a short letter, but I encourage you to follow Garth’s blog: www.garthhamilton.blogspot.com. Garth does a great job of writing about and posting photos of the things we do, including some of our exciting family hiking and surfing, and of course our travel adventures.

We are blessed by a faithful God... May each of you feel His love this blessed [Lenten] season!

Love,

Garth, Kathy, Lena and Levi Hamilton

Thanks again to Kathy for writing this update!

Garth's blog will return next weekend with a book review of "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed, followed by updates from our latest hikes and overseas trips!