Eagle Creek Trail

 

Third year optometry students are in school all year long, there is a summer semester of classes and clinic.  There hasn’t been much activity around campus since most of my classmates have headed home for our two week break before the fall.  I feel like I haven’t explored enough of the northwest since moving out here.  Time has passed so quickly that I only have two semesters left here in the Grove.  For my time off, I decided to do as many Oregon activities as I could.  A friend from class, Hayden, and I decided to hike Eagle Creek Trail in the Willamette Valley.

You can spend 2-3 days on Eagle Creek Trail; however we decided to do a day hike.  One thing to know about Oregon though, is despite the rain, it does really heat up in August.  Of course the day we decide to go hiking turned out to have temperatures of 94F +.

The first stop on the trail is called Punch Bowl Falls, which makes complete sense when you look at it.  Rumour has it that you can swim by the lower falls, we saw a tonne of people headed up the trail in bathing suits (which is good to know for next time).  You can see part of the bowl in this photo, look behind the leaves – Oregon is seriously the land of trees, I couldn't get a clear shot as hard as I tried.

What I loved so much about this trail is that there is always something amazing to look at.  Every few miles there is another waterfall!  One of my favourite things to look at is waterfalls, so this was a very exciting journey for me.  Each one looks distinct as well, so it’s really always a Kodak moment.

The trail is fairly narrow at many points along the way.  It winds around and up cliff sides and over a handful of log bridges.  At every point you can hear either the rush of an approaching waterfall or a trickling of the creek as it makes its way through the rocky gorge.  At some points there is a metal cable drilled into the side of the rock for you to hold, especially when the rocks beneath your feet are wet and slippery.  The views are immaculate, the sheer height of the trees and depth of the cliffs surrounding your every step makes you want to pause and stare.

We started our hike at about 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning.  The forest provided amazing shade for a lot of the trail.  It was disgustingly hot when we had to navigate over piles of rocks which had no shade from the sun, especially later in the afternoon.  Definitely get there early since the morning is a little cooler and the parking lot won’t be packed.

A lot of the day hikers return to the trailhead after a couple of miles.  I would highly recommend going all the way to Tunnel Falls at the very least.  This is a 6 mile hike there but is totally worth the view.  Just when it feels like you have walked forever, go a little father and you’ll hear the roar of the falls.  Then after you pass the very Super Mario like rocks (they almost look like tree stumps, the tops have been blasted off) that curve around a corner and up like steps – you’ll see the tunnel behind the falls inviting you to experience the cool mist as the water dives below.

After we crossed through the tunnel, we stood to take pictures and ended up meeting another hiking pair.  They convinced us that there was another waterfall half a mile ahead, so instead of turning back we decided to check it out since we needed to find a good lunch spot.  What a perfect lunch spot it turned out to be!  Here is Twister Falls, sometimes known as Eagle Creek Falls.  I like Twister better because when the two water sources meet, they do look like a twister as they fall below.

If you look to the left side of this photo, you can see part of the bank.  This is where we sat in the shade, pulled out our lunches, and enjoyed watching the soothing rapids wind their way down.   It was absolutely perfect as long as we disregard the nasty spiders that tried to join us.

Across from where we sat on the bank eating, there was a little pool of water.  It looked like the ideal place to go for a dip.  Fresh water was constantly running into it from higher ground, and forcing some out the other end.  The water was crystal clear and so tempting!  In the end we went with the responsible decision; we didn't cross the rapids.

The walk back quickly became torture.  We were absolutely exhausted already and the sun had heated everything up.  Halfway back Hayden ran out of water so we rationed my back up Arizona Iced Tea bottle I had filled last minute.  It actually gave a nice flavour to the water Hayden pointed out.  To make matters worse, Hayden twisted her foot on some rocks.  Thankfully there was no blood but she had explained to me earlier that every hike, it has never failed: she sprains at least one ankle.  She was a trooper though as we dragged ourselves back towards the trailhead.  Each time we saw the trail twist around a rock, I would say, “Oh it’s probably right around that corner”.  And it never was.

Once we finally made it back to the parking lot, we decided to make a short stop at the creek’s base to wash our swollen dirty feet.  I decided to wade around on the rocks for a bit.  They didn’t hurt at first, which I later realized was because my feet were so numb! 

I did however make an unusual discovery while looking into the clear water.  I looked down and saw a slice of salami, or perhaps pepperoni lying with the rocks.  Excited I told Hayden, who couldn’t help but be confused and then laugh at the ridiculousness.  So I reached down, fully prepared for a slimy piece of lunch meat to prove my finding.

Turned out, it was a regular, logical boring old rock.  I still really think it looks like salami!

InSight 2011 Guest Blogger Vally Moua

I discovered InSight a year and a half ago after surfing PUCO’s webpage. I heard about it a second time, nine months later from a student at my university; we were taking a practice OAT. The funny thing was that he was the only other OAT test taker besides me, and he had attended InSight the year before. Did fate have a role in this meeting? Hmmm, it is possible because I had not committed to applying for InSight at that time. All I knew was that this program was recently developed, and the goal is to expand the knowledge of optometry towards underrepresented minorities. Two months later, I started talking to my advisor about applying for InSight.

The ‘Grove,’ a name my fellow InSighters and I have grown to love, welcomed us with beautifully warm and sunny weather; I was pleasantly surprised. Once the day officially started, there were many workshops and information sessions for us. Janelle’s workshop showed us the best way to handle the admissions process. In a session with a few of the professors, we learned about the different options available for optometrists. We even had the chance to sit in on a lecture with the third-year students and visit their sports vision center! The third year students left a ginormous impression on me. Their words of encouragement and experience were so sincere and helpful. There were no sugar coatings in their answers, that’s what I loved!

Also, every evening the third year RA’s had a fun event planned! I knew they needed study time and hours of work on business projects and quizzes, yet they were with us. I’m truly thankful to them, Janelle, and all the members who granted us this special opportunity. We went to a quaint little farmers market on Main Street and watched a movie afterwards. Thursday night was game night, and Friday night was the amazing, celebratory event: a cruise on the Portland Spirit! Oh my goodness, the view along the Willamette River is gorgeous! We had dinner with the Dean of the College of Optometry Jennifer Smythe, Janelle and her family, and a few third year students! It was a fitting event to formally end our time at PUCO. Overall, I had one of the best times of my life.

I entered Forest Grove not knowing what to expect besides a tiny little town with a tiny little university that I was interested in. I left filled with more determination in my heart and more confidence and understanding of what I must accomplish to succeed. The best part about this experience was that not only did I make friends and learn about optometry, but I also left knowing whether or not I can see myself at PUCO. Thank you so much InSight2011!

Camping at Cape Perpetua Guest Blogger

Camping at Cape Perpetua

(Two Californians, two Canadians, and an Ohio-n)

It all started way back on the first day of fall semester when Corey, Cassie, Collin, Vivian, and myself all sat in the same row of our second year classroom.  Throughout the year we became even closer friends and decided to book a camping site on the Oregon coast.  Lots of optometry students take advantage of the great camping sites around Oregon.  Last weekend it was our turn to pack up the tents and marshmallows and head to the coast.

The first night we ended up getting packed up a little late, it was a hectic week at school and clinic had a few Friday afternoon emergency walk ins.  We caught the sun setting over the ocean as we drove south along the coast; since it was so windy we definitely needed a group hug!

 

By the time we arrived on site, it was dark.  Keep in mind this is Vivian’s (from California) first ever camping trip, but she was prepped with her trusty headlamp (which she wore for the entire drive) and boxes of candy.  We arrived at the campground and searched for the path that lead to campsite 14.

We set out to build our first tent which was so graciously borrowed to us by another classmate.  I really like how everyone in our class takes care of each other; we didn’t end up having to rent anything from the Outback (a discount outdoor rental store for Pacific students).  You can see Cassie’s head in the background as she stomped the pegs into the ground with her flip flops.

As we did this, Corey worked on his favourite part of camping: the fire.  Box by box he carried down his carefully chopped wood (he literally spent hours doing this by hand throughout the last week) and kindle.   Being in a national park, he figured using gas to light the fire might be frowned upon.  So he went a little more “environmental”, as he called it, and brought out his treasure – the blow torch.  Let’s just say we had a fantastic roaring fire at all times.  Meet Corey: Corey likes fire:

Twenty-three marshmallows later (each) Cassie was the first to head to bed (true to form).  Corey continued to tend his fire while Vivian and I continued talking and eating more sugar.  I really wish we would of taken a picture of all of the treats we consumed on the ride out, as well as throughout the camping trip.  Let’s just say we were pretty hyper.

Soon it was morning and we fought to keep sleeping as the sun heated up our tent and the crows screeched at each other.  These crows were literally the most annoying birds I have ever heard in my life.  The campsite managers warned us that they were pretty vicious too; apparently they tore apart a Styrofoam cooler to get at the food.  Often you could see them with an Oreo cookie in their claws.  After breakfast we loaded our backpacks with water and Tim’s Jalapeño Chips (the bare necessities) and headed out on our first hike of the weekend.  A short, but steep hike brought us up the hillside with breathtaking views of the Pacific at several switchbacks.  Halfway up we had to stop and enjoy the view, here we are looking quite pensive:

Finally at the top we couldn’t help but take advantage of the mini stone wall for a very safe attempt at getting a good planking picture.  I think it turned out quite well!

When we got back to our campsite, Vivian was a little exhausted.  I think her favourite part of the trip was the shallow stream running past our campsite.  She decided her tan wasn’t yet dark enough, so she set up her air mattress on a bed of rocks, midstream.

Hiking the next day, we followed a path described as “extremely difficult” with what we thought was a lightning bolt on the sign, to find a 500 year old Sitka Spruce tree.  Corey demonstrated his love for climbing trees once again (he literally climbed almost every tree we passed) and Vivian took advantage of being short to climb inside it!

We also learned a little bit about the botany world, finding Foxglove plants scattered throughout forest.  Corey took a great picture of this plant, which you learn in systemic disease class is the source for a heart medication digitalis (yes even in the forest we think about optometry!). 

Later in the day we went down to the beach to go tide pooling.  It was fun to look at the sea anemone, clams, and all kinds of the ocean creatures trapped on the rocks until the next tide.  We poked at the sea anemone and watched as they quickly closed up like little donuts.

    

 We waited on the rocks for the tide to come and show us why Devil’s Churn is a famous photo spot on the Oregon coast.

 We couldn’t have had better weather or better company.  Our camping weekend was a success, and right now I am craving another one of those marshmallows!

InSight 2011 (Guest Blogger Maisoon Chowdhury)

InSight 2011 was a phenomenal program! I am thrilled to share some of the student experiences with you over the next few days. Today's post was written by InSight attendee Maisoon Chowdhury.  Enjoy! And don't forget that this is an annual program- come January, we will begin accepting applications for InSight 2012!

PE0707_0176, a photo by Pacific University on Flickr.

Reflections on InSight 2011 by Maisoon Chowdhury

I don’t know about you, but I for one have never been surrounded by so many people who share the same passion for optometry as I do. For five days at the beginning of July, myself and 18 other students from across the nation had the opportunity to spend time at the Forest Grove campus to live and breathe the life we soon hope to see ourselves living—students in optometry school.

Optometry is a growing field, and the purpose of the InSight program is to provide students from various backgrounds the unique opportunity to explore the world of optometry, and the process that goes in to getting there. The program was geared towards representing those who are unrepresented in the field of optometry. The concept of Dean Smythe was that with the population continually becoming more and more diverse, that optometrists themselves should represent the people they are serving, a diverse range of people from numerous backgrounds and experiences.

Throughout the program, the nineteen of us were not only given tips on applying, questions to ask schools we are interested in applying for, and the opportunity to attend intriguing sessions on developing our personal statements; but we also had the opportunity to create friendships with fellow pre-optometry students from the all over the nation.

One of my favorite days was when we had the chance to sit in on a real class! This was tremendously intimidating at first—going into a classroom full of people who are sitting exactly where you are dreaming to one day be. Like giddy little kids we hurried in, to find the third year students welcoming us in with open arms, treating us like we were their own. This was a feeling that I will never let go of. It was one of those defining moments where you tell yourself “Wow, I cannot wait to be here one day”. The session itself was over contact lenses, and I was impressed by how well the professor interacted with the students, while simultaneously pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the students themselves were. There is such a camaraderie amongst the optometry students at Pacific, a family like atmosphere that was not only reassuring but allowed me to be myself.

The InSight program not only gave me the chance to spend time with the faculty, current students, and fellow pre-optos, but also allowed me to emerge myself into the school and allowed to discover the buildings and hallways into the life of my learning. I have gained real insight on what is to be an optometry student at Pacific College of Optometry, and can say that I have certainly acquired a better understanding of the profession of optometry in general.  I left Forest Grove with a palatable glance at the day to day of living my dream, and I am ready more than ever to apply and begin my journey.

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to all of the third year students who were wonderful and answered all of our questions. Dean Symthe for an amazing week and fantastic opportunity, and to Janelle for absolutely everything. You are all incredible.