Planes, trains and automobiles for urban hiking in Oregon
Apr 1, 2017 9:38:50 GMT -8
rebeccad, Sleeping Bag Man!, and 2 more like this
Post by herm on Apr 1, 2017 9:38:50 GMT -8
This past Sunday through Friday, my wife and I traveled by plane to Oregon, landing in Portland. Our flight was late, and we had an Amtrak train to catch at Union Station, so we immediately jumped on MAX light rail, and got to Union Station with just minutes to spare. We rode the Coast Starlight south to Eugene, enjoying the sights from our upper deck seats. We disembarked in Eugene, under rainy skies in late afternoon. With day packs on our backs, and small rolling luggage units, we "hiked" the mile to our Airbnb accommodation in the northwest part of town the locals called "felony flats" and settled in. Monday and Tuesday we hiked to various points of interest, eating and drinking our way around the town. The food, drink and service were everything we could have asked for. We found the neighborhoods to be charming and picturesque, and the locals were always friendly and informative. Both days we were drawn to hike along the south bank of the Willamette River, but avoided climbing Skinner Butte due to the muddy trails. Over those two days, we covered about 16 miles.
On Wednesday, we hailed a cab back to the train station - we would have hiked, but the rain was substantial (at least for us So Cal natives). Since our train was late, we found a local taproom to enjoy more food and drink, before boarding the Coast Starlight back to Portland. From Union Station, we Ubered to our Airbnb accommodation in the SouthEast area of Portland. That evening, we navigated by foot, enjoying an excellent pizza dinner in a place where patrons lined up and waited for up to an hour. Thursday morning we walked to breakfast, then prepared our day packs for a nice urban hike. We visited the lovely Mt. Tabor Park, where tall conifers gave the impression that we were in a high mountain setting, but those trees framed views of the downtown Portland skyline. After a short break, we walked and explored more of the town, then went looking for dinner. We settled into an old hotel bar for an early dinner, with interesting beers and cocktails. On the day, we covered over 12 miles on foot.
Yesterday (Friday), we woke and walked for coffee and a pastry. Then packed up for our return home. We walked to a local bus stop, took a short ride to the MAX light rail station, then rode into the airport for our plane ride home.
Thanks Oregon for a great week!
On Wednesday, we hailed a cab back to the train station - we would have hiked, but the rain was substantial (at least for us So Cal natives). Since our train was late, we found a local taproom to enjoy more food and drink, before boarding the Coast Starlight back to Portland. From Union Station, we Ubered to our Airbnb accommodation in the SouthEast area of Portland. That evening, we navigated by foot, enjoying an excellent pizza dinner in a place where patrons lined up and waited for up to an hour. Thursday morning we walked to breakfast, then prepared our day packs for a nice urban hike. We visited the lovely Mt. Tabor Park, where tall conifers gave the impression that we were in a high mountain setting, but those trees framed views of the downtown Portland skyline. After a short break, we walked and explored more of the town, then went looking for dinner. We settled into an old hotel bar for an early dinner, with interesting beers and cocktails. On the day, we covered over 12 miles on foot.
Yesterday (Friday), we woke and walked for coffee and a pastry. Then packed up for our return home. We walked to a local bus stop, took a short ride to the MAX light rail station, then rode into the airport for our plane ride home.
Thanks Oregon for a great week!
