Continuing from where the last post ended.
Departing from Boise, it was only an hour or two to the Oregon border. I missed getting a picture of that sign, so the earliest picture I have of Oregon is this one. The interstate largely goes alongside rivers in Oregon, even before the Columbia Gorge. I was surprised by how mountainous Southeastern Oregon is, which is mostly just me not knowing my geography. It's a lovely drive, though, rolling foothills and the kinds of flora I'm accustomed to in Northern Colorado. Visibility gradually decreased in one section, making for the illusion that I was driving through a cloud. A fun experience, if slightly anxious should you not control your speed accordingly. At a truck stop just past the cloud, there was a whole corner with knives, swords, and other fantasy-oriented wares, including an inexplicable dragon skull.
This drive was a wonderful, fascinating one, with interesting geology and views. The closer you get to the Columbia Gorge, the more dramatic it gets, and the Gorge itself is an absolute sight. At the Western end of the Gorge is Multnomah Falls, with Horseshoe Falls being along the same side highway. I don't have any pictures of the side highway itself because it's a narrow, twisty one and I don't have a photographer. Accepting applications.
Multnomah Falls itself deserves its high visitor count. There are a few tiers to it, with this clip being taken from the bridge. In early February, the hike was...an interesting adventure, with snowdrifts covering entire sections of the trail. Alongside the fall spray, it began drizzling (rainfall? In the PNW in February? Perish the thought!), so I was glad for my hat but vaguely uncertain of my choice to not wear a coat. There were some signs that...may not have been entirely necessary. But the foliage and views were phenomenal. Series of pictures: 1 2 3 4
Meeting I-5 in Portland and skirting down towards Eugene, I found a section of the state that reminded me strongly of I-25 in Colorado - plains on one side, mountains on the other. Eugene itself is built around a few hills that provide a lovely view of the town, along with some interesting basalt formations. There's also a park with a scale model of the solar system; only the terrestrial planets are within the park itself, due to the sheer distances between planets. A few interesting sculptures also stand in the park - Lukavian for scale. I'd also never seen a fishing line recycling drop point, so I was intrigued by that.
Eugene has a nerd bar as well, Old Nick's, with a fun burger-building option that leaves things to chance. Also a barcade. My friend and I played a solid hour of air hockey, with one game lasting so long that the table shut down.
Portland itself was a daunting planning venture - what did I want, how would I get it, and where would I go? Eventually I settled on the 4T trail: Trail, Tram, Trolley, Train, a route that takes one around a decent portion of Portland with public transit and hiking. I began with Trail, finding after some research that it was the only starting point likely to have free parking. The trail was absolutely stunning, leading deep enough into the mountain that the sounds of the city were often lost entirely. I'm familiar with the somewhat desolate hiking of Colorado, mostly bare rocks and low grass tundra. So the vibrancy and variety of plant life of this hike was a pleasant experience. Nature had some much more aggressive presence here than I'm used to. I was also surprised by how many fallen trees there were along the route, and while I didn't get a picture of it, there was one section where a trunk had been cut with a chainsaw to open the path. I did see an arborist crew pruning trees. There were still low bridge branches that I had to duck under.
However. Word to the wise - when you're planning a route that doesn't require or allow access to a car, make sure you know the route from start to finish. While I'd known that the Trail section was a few miles of hike, I *didn't* know that getting from Train back to Trail would be another 4. By the time I reached the Trolley section, I was already a bit tired and starting to grow anxious about the 2-hour maximum advertised at the parking lot where I'd started. A ticket would be more expensive than a parking lot option, so I cut my journey there and returned to my car. I went for Indian food, followed by ice cream, and decided to just head to my AirBnB and relax for the rest of the day.
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