Patrick Morgan

Last Sunday I went hiking in the gorge. I forgot my bag to collect litter. Thankfully, I didn't find a whole lot (but any is too much), so I was able to stash it in my backpack. Several energy bar wrappers, a water bottle, a couple plastic bags (empty), and a small stash of beer cans. I didn't take any pics of the garbage, but I did take this pic of McCord Creek at the bottom of Elowah Falls.

Rainy weather certainly helped me on one of my challenges - it gave me time to work on simplifying.
Normally on a weekend, I would be hitting the trails, even with a bit of rain. This past Saturday was a bit much, even for me, so I spent a lot of time going through closets and cupboards looking for stuff I just don't need.
Next stop, my walk-in closet.

So on my Portland wanderings, I was overwhelmed by the amount of litter and garbage that I saw out and around me, which made me feel like making my challenge to pick up litter daily needed to be adjusted. I'm now challenging myself to pick up litter near my home (I live right by a MAX line - plenty to deal with) and/or when I go hiking.

One of my challenges was set back a bit by the bad weather - I pledged to pick up litter every day when I leave home, which was kind of hard in the wind and rain this weekend. I did do it, but not very much of it. :(  I'll try to make up for it.

Greetings.

I"m happy to be participating in the Eco Challenge for the second year in a row, as well as to be captain of the Green Metro team, also for the second year.

I have tried to live as ecologically as possible for many years, but I know there is always room for improvement. I'm thankful for the EcoChallenge for pushing me to take it up a notch!