After an exhausting day at Canby High, we were all ready for a well-deserved break. We ate hardy breakfasts, grabbed our sack lunches provided by our host families, and departed for Silver Falls State Park at 8:30am for a day of wild adventure. Silver Falls is an 8.7 mile trail with at least ten waterfalls along the way. Some groups were ambitious enough to hike the whole trail within 2 and a half hours despite the constant mist and lack of sunshine. Others traveled at a leisurely pace, soaking in as much of the beauty as possible. The group met up at the main lodge at noon to eat lunch, drink hot cocoa, and warm up by the fire.
We planned on hiking Mount Hood later that day, however, conditions were too extreme. The group decided to change course and head to the Columbia River Gorge, stopping at various landmarks to gaze over this 292,500 acre area. Among many stops such as Vista House at Crown Point, students took pictures and relished the natural beauty. At one stop, some students even ventured out onto the river rocks to see how far into the Columbia River they could go. However, due to the slippery surfaces of the rocks you can guess what happened next…
As students dried their socks and shoes, we drove to Heidi’s of Gresham Restaurant for stuffed chicken, beef stroganoff, grilled cod, fettuccine alfredo, or vegetable salad. Upon finishing our meals, we broke into song to leave our gracious waiters with joy. We finally arrived back at Salem Mennonite Church at 8:45pm where our hosts waited to take us back to their homes. We were fairly exhausted from hiking so, naturally, most of us were in bed by 10:00 to prepare for another long day of singing.