Buddhist Ceremony
On February 28th 2021 I married my wife at a Buddhist Temple, Wat Washington Buddha Vanaram, in Auburn, WA. It was the legal ceremony for us, before we would have an informal, but larger family wedding in July. My sister Valerie and her fiancé Paul joined as witnesses. The monks signed our paperwork after we participated in a traditional Thai Thak Bart. When the ceremony was over the four of us went on a Nordic ski trip together, to Cabin Creek.
It was our first official ski trip in Washington state, but not the first time on skis. A few weeks before I skied around our apartment complex when we got a flash, once a year style snowstorm in Bremerton. In any case, we headed from Auburn up into the Cascade Mountains, past the popular downhill area of Snoqualmie, and stopped right off I-90 at Cabin Creek.
Interstate Recreation
I think interstates get a bad rap. Homes built near interstates are considered undesirable, restaurants off the exits are typically assumed greasy and cheap, and parks by interstates aren’t usually thought of as being “real nature”.
I disagree. There are at least three wonderful outdoor experiences I’ve had in the vicinity of interstates. One was at Maple Grove Golf Course in West Salem, WI. There was a tee on the back nine, with a magnificent view atop a grassy hill. Looking out there were bluffs, forests, farms, and yes, an interstate with a giant McDonald’s sign. The combination of beautiful scenery and desire for McNuggets and Fries knocked me to cloud 9.
The second place is in Portland, OR. When I was there the city opened Gateway Green Bike Park near the intersection of I-84 and I-205. There is no parking lot, one must arrive by bike or foot via the Springwater Corridor. Arriving there is like descending from the urban jungle to the jungle jungle. The whiz of cars and the anxiety of huddled tweakers fade into the background upon entering the park.
There are fields and forests. A loop trail cuts down the main hill and turns into gnarly singletrack through the woods. At the bottom of the hill there are jumps where BMX wannabees strut their stuff. The interstate world never completely fades away; the hum of cars is audible, and an occasional homeless person comes in to nap.
Last but not least is Cabin Creek Sno Park. It’s the only Nordic trails I’ve been too that is accessible within feet of an interstate. To get to the trailhead one must walk over an interstate overpass. Get any closer than that and you’d be roadkill.
Cabin Creek calm
There is a big pile of snow at the trailhead. After walking around it, the interstate is out of sight and out of mind. Not that there’s anything wrong with interstates of course…it’s just the way it is at Cabin Creek. It’s like the old, quiet neighbor living amidst the student housing of a university town.
The trails were excellent. There was lots of snow, they were well groomed, and they ran through the wonderful pine forests of the Cascades. I’ll try and express their majesty in a poem.
The rush of cars fades to black,
A spotlight shines in the snowy woods.
Wide, white, and wonderful,
The trails flow through evergreen hills.
Songbirds call and bearded men say hi,
The smell of smoke from a bonfire.
Swoosh, swoosh through the snowy woods,
A squirrel jumps causing a twig to crack.
The challenges of group skiing
The trails were beautiful but what was more interesting was the comedy of errors which transpired in our foursome. My wife Rita likes to ski, but she tends to be slower and does not like it when people need to wait for her. I came up with a grand scheme to make sure everyone had fun. Valerie, Paul, and I would ski at a faster pace on the more difficult trails that branched off the main trail. Rita would stay on the main (easy) trail. We would loop in and out from the main trail, meeting Rita from time to time. That way we would all be able to ski our pace, but still stay together in a sense. The best laid schemes o’ mice and men gang aft agley as they say.
Right from the start Valerie, Paul, and I veered right onto the Berg Course, an intermediate trail. Rita stayed true on The Road, the main easy path from which all other trails were accessed. We climbed for a while before zooming down a steep hill and coming to a sharp stop at an intersection. An intimidating climb to Mt. Amabilis loomed to the right. We stayed on the Berg and went downhill, crossed The Road, and took the longer and windier Berg loop back. It was weaving, wide, and flowing.
Where’s Rita
We reached the trailhead again. Now, we would rejoin Rita on The Road and go from there. We skied ahead, passing the first turn for The Berg we took earlier. Further down we skied, next passing the place where the Berg crossed the trail in front of us. She was not typically very quick on skis, so I expected to round a turn and find her any moment.
Minute after minute passed, rounding bend after bend, and each time no Rita. I thought in my head, either we missed her back by the trailhead or she is skiing very strongly today. After a few more kilometers I was falling behind Valerie and Paul, and Rita was nowhere to be seen. I bet she went back to the port-a-potties I thought in my head.
After a vigorous ski down I made it to the parking lot and the port-a-potties. Alas, no Rita. I checked the car, but no Rita. At this point I was getting worried and I headed back to the trailhead, where I would wait for Valerie and Paul to return.
Cabin Creek panic
They returned after completing the entirety of “The Road”, and alas, they had not skied by Rita. At this point I was starting to panic, but Valerie and Paul calmed me down. It could be that she had just decided to ski on another trail. We planned a search mission to find out. I would ski the west side of the Berg trail, Paul would ski the east side, and Valerie would ski the difficult and longer Viking trail.
The Berg is a fun trail, but I was unable to enjoy it as I was worried about losing my wife on our wedding day. I paid close attention the whole time, looking back and forth and down the shortcut connections. No sign of Rita. Paul joined me soon after and he also could not find her.
At this point I was starting to panic to the point of irrationality. I skied back to the parking lot again and checked all the port-a-potties and the car once more. Unable to find her, I voiced the option of calling the emergency line. Paul, who was starting to get nervous, but not at my level, cooled down the situation once more by saying that Valerie wasn’t back yet from the Viking loop.
The cool exhale of relief
Given the Viking loop was a difficult trail I found it hard to believe Rita would have skied on it. I thought she would keep close to the trailhead on the easy trails. A women skied by who had just completed the Viking trail, and we inquired if she had seen an Asian woman in a teal coat.
“I did see a woman in a long teal coat. Asian, I’m not sure. But for sure a teal coat. She looked like she knew what she was doing. You can’t really get lost out here,” the woman said to us. Ah, some relief, finally. It wasn’t a certainty yet, but it was very promising. I wasn’t sure what Rita was doing out on the Viking Loop, but who cared anyway.
Paul decided to go reverse on the Viking Loop and hopefully find Rita or at least meet up with Valerie. I stayed at the trailhead in case Rita came back. Some time later Paul skied back in a state of relief. “We found her! She took a wrong turn or something. Valerie is with her now and they are skiing back.” My worst fears were finally shattered. My bride was not permanently lost, just temporarily adrift.
Thai ski champion at Cabin Creek
It turned out Rita had been feeling so good on the skis that she wanted to try the Berg Loop. The problem occurred when she tucked in for a downhill ride and stayed so focused on the path ahead that she missed the Berg turnoff and went straight on to the Viking Loop. After skiing a few kilometers further she encountered a trail sign, realized how far away she was, and started heading back.
She was never in any real trouble, or even nervous given how many other people were out on the trail. In fact, her efforts that day could put her in the running to be on Thailand’s Olympic Nordic Team. She was only worried that I would be worried, and she was correct. Some of my paranoia broke through my usually calm veneer that day, but who can blame me. No one wants to lose their wife out in the snowy wilderness on their wedding day.
Thank you so much to all of you, Valerie, Paul, and my husband Larry, who have worked hard on finding me!! Sorry I skied away from our original plan and made you all so worried. I’m glad we all reunited before it was too dark!