7 Portland Bridges

On this walk I set out with the goal of walking over every bridge in Portland where pedestrians are allowed. From the Sellwood Bridge all the way to the Saint John's Bridge in one shot. Everything went great until I crossed the Broadway bridge only to realized that I had missed the Steel Bridge. I rationalized that it was actually closed for repairs and they probably were not letting pedestrians over anyway. Off I went to The Saint John's.

Stats:
Total Time (h:m:s) 10:14:26 21:55 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 8:06:30 17:38 pace
Distance (mi ) 23.58
Moving Speed (mph) 3.4 avg.

Temperature (°F) 68.6°F avg. 73.4°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) WSW 4.5 avg. WSW 8.1 max.

The walk started here at the Sellwood Bridge. In the end I would walk 8 miles past the downtown pictured in the distance.

Downtown from the Ross Island Bridge


The new South Waterfront development from the Ross Island Bridge.


After 18 Miles I made it over the Saint John's Bridge only to discover that the Bugerville was closed! At this point I had a choice. I could get on a bus and take a total of three busses to get home or I could walk to the Max train 3.5 miles away. Don't ask why but I walked to the Max train. It turns out that this was a great choice. You see because the Steele Bridge was closed the Max train only took me as far as the start of the Steel Bridge at the Rose garden. This was my chance to cross the steel Bridge on foot and reach my goal of hitting all the bridges in one day. Though the bridge was closed it seemed deserted so I went for it. Much to my surprise what I found at the other end of the bridge at 12:30 PM was far from deserted. It was packed with about 30 workers and all the paths were blocked. I played stupid and after a ton of bad looks they escorted me the rest of the way and I reached my goal and completed the final bridge.

At this point it was getting towards 1AM and all the bussed had stopped running. I walked another mile to the Yamhill pub and waited for my rescue vehicle to arrive. Total miles for the walk: 23.64 miles. Bridges Crossed: Sellwood, Ross Island, Hawthorne, Morrison, Broadway, Saint John's, and The Steel.

The Saint Johns Bridge 18 miles into the walk.

Full details and interactive map can be viewed here.

My Twitter Feed:

Starting out on a walk over the Portland bridges. Will walk unless a bridge starts to crumble then there may be running screaming falling... 02:55 PM

Crossing the Ross Island (hella long) bridge 5.4 miles after crossing the Sellwood bridge. http://snipurl.com/3d76l 04:22 PM

At 7.3 miles I am crossing the Hawthorne. There are so many bikes on this bridge that the bridge itself thinks it's a bike. 05:34 PM

Crossing Morrison Bridge thinking about Morris the cat. Like Elvis I remember the day they said Morris died. But we know better don't we... 05:57 PM

At 9 miles Burnside Bridge. It was built in the dark of night by city workers who stole the concrete from a skate park being built near by. 06:24 PM

Crossing the Broadway Bridge. It takes you right into the actual Broadway Street... It's all very glamorous. 07:01 PM

After 17.5 miles crossing St Johns Bridge heading to Saint Burgerville 09:25 PM

Walked 18 miles to Burgerville and they are closed. 10:30 PM

21.92 miles to Lombard Max train station. Beer me. 12:20 PM

Portland Neighborhoods - West to East

Here is a link to a live map and photos

Stats:
Total Time (h:m:s) 6:22:49 33:11 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 3:49:22 20:03 pace
Distance (mi ) 11.44
Moving Speed (mph) 3.0 avg. 8.9 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +2,339 / -2,678

Temperature (°F) 73.1°F avg. 80.6°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) NW 12.3 avg. NW 17.2 max.

My goal with this walk was to hit as many close in Portland neighborhoods as I could in one trip. I started in Multnomah Village in the West Hills and made it as far as the Hawthorne District in South East. On the way I hit Hillsdale, Sellwood, Woodstock, and Clinton. In between each there were many smaller up and coming districts. Next time I plan on starting earlier in the day so I can hit Belmont, Alberta, Mississippi and the Pearl. It is amazing the number of neighborhoods that are currently thriving in Portland.

My Twitter Feed for the Trip (freddyk):
Heading out on a walk through some groovy Portland hoods. With any luck I might find some coffee.

Water tower near my home. Its stealthy green blends with grass. I hear if the grass turns blue so does the tower. Photo

The streets are marked with these symbols. I think they are signs of a future alien strip mall but I can't be sure Photo

At the bank getting fun tickets. Photo

Multnomah Village Coffee is the center of the community. The elders gather, play dominos, and talk bread prices. Photo

Fryer Tuck Chicken will deep fry anything. Approach onion rings with caution. First one is great 2nd puts u down. Photo

Someday the lucky ones will all live in domes like these. They say it is a soccer complex but I know better. Photo

Hillsdale Mcmenamins. The first of what became a Portland infestation forcing locals to live on beer alone. Photo

Salvador Mollys Great Ball of Fire. Hell Hot. Will be a great source of alternative fuel if we can manage the waste. Photo

After 5 miles I reached the Burlinggame hood. Once a thriving district with a Starbucks. Now just a cornfield. Photo

After 8 miles Sellwood. Once a hub for wood products. After the advent of plastics now they sell sushi. Photo

Just passed Reed. It's a retreat for drug users who suffer from being to smart.

At the Pub At The End Of The Universe the universe ends but the sidewalk does not. Photo

A street party is going down in the Clinton district. Photo

12.3 miles to the Hawthorne Bagdad. Found a lamp that turned into a 14 bus and I am out of here.

2008 Oregon Brewers Festival

So in name of science I took my GPS unit to the Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland's Waterfront Park to study the movements of an Oregonian when surrounded by 72 craft beer selections.

View Detailed GPS Map

At each side of the park there was a large beer tent. A North tent and a South Tent. We had a home base table at the center between the two. My study shows that the Oregonian gravitates North for most of the day and then spins off out of the park to the bus stop.

Tips: Bring a lot of water and leave the trail of breadcrumbs at home because it won't do you any good on this walk. Just plan on getting lost and have an escape/rescue plan.

My Twitter Feed For The Day (freddyk):

Got my brew festival survival pack. Pray for me. 01:11 PM


It is safe to say that beer is good. 03:28 PM

The best thing about making the festival early... Fresh Honey Buckets Photo 04:22 PM

Survived the beer festival. Counting on my tractor beam to bring me in. 56 bus Scotty. 07:45 PM

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 6:48:37 71:34 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:52:22 20:09 pace
Distance (mi ) 5.58
Moving Speed (mph) 3.0 avg. 14.3 max.

Temperature (°F) 81.2°F avg. 84.2°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) NW 11.3 avg. NW 12.6 max.

Downtown and Back

My neighborhood is not usually considered within walking distance of downtown but if you have the time I think it is actually pretty manageable. This loop took me over the west hills via the intersection of Dosch and Payton and down into PSU campus downtown. From their the route followed Terwilliger into Hillsdale and back home.


You can view an interactive version of the map here.

Stats:
Total Time (h:m:s) 3:09:17 18:49 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 3:07:52 18:45 pace
Distance (mi ) 10.02
Moving Speed (mph) 3.2 avg. 72.3 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +2,993 / -2,985

Temperature (°F) 60.8°F avg. 62.6°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) NW 7.5 avg. NW 8.1 max.


It was a great walk. It was getting late so there was zero foot traffic on Terwilliger which is rare. It is great to have the whole route to yourself. 

Walking late into the night has one major flaw. As I walked into Hillsdale past Mcmenamins I was very tired and had visions of tator tots bounding through my head. In the end it was not to be. It was fast approaching midnight and I the kitchen would be closing.

So next time you have a day to kill come over to multnomah village and get a cup of coffee. Then leave the car and walk over to the Pearl District or Riverplace for dinner. The walk back to the car will really get your attention but in the end you will be glad it did.

Portland 40-Mile Loop. My First Attempt

The plan was to complete the Portland 40-Mile Loop walking in two days. It seemed simple enough. One foot in front of the other. You know the drill. The thing is that the Portland 40-Mile Loop is far from 40 miles. It is actually much longer. My calculations put it at about 60 miles for the loop itself.

You can view an interactive version of the map here: EveryTrail 40-Mile Loop.
Stats:
Total Time (h:m:s) 27:26:10 39:23 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 14:58:29 21:29 pace
Distance (mi ) 41.80
Moving Speed (mph) 2.8 avg. 9.2 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +12,294 / -12,267

Temperature (°F) 57.5°F avg. 66.2°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) NW 6.1 avg. NW 10.4 max.

I planed on working around this obvious challenge by taking the route that did not include the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park. According the official map of the 40-Mile Loop there are two possible routes. From the Saint John's Bridge you can either walk about half of the 30 miles of the Wildwood Trail or just walk along the Willamette River into downtown. I figured that I would just walk along the river. That route is flat and it would be a few miles less. It turned out that compromise was not enough.

I started the route at around 2PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Downtown Portland. I acquired an official route map at the visitors center and set off on the trek. The rest of the day was mostly a joy.

Portland is very lucky because the city has something known as planning. In these times of high gas prices and a new drive to move families in, rather than out of the city, Portland is ahead of the game. I hope all the haters of light rail and urban growth boundaries own Ford Escalades and live 25 miles outside of town. I suppose if I was them I would be complaining as well.

My point is that all the planning has lead to a vast network of bike paths and walking trails. One of the jewels in Portland's crown is the Springwater Corridor. It is about 20 miles long. It follows the Willamette River for about 4 miles and then shoots up to the East. Through miles of housing and farmlands the path makes a break for Mt. Hood. It does not make it all the way to Hood and the blessed Pacific Crest Trail but someday it might.

The Springwater stretch of my walk was great. Because I walked much of it at night it was a little sketchy at times but the biggest threat I faced happened late at night. It was dark and quiet and I thought I was alone. Suddenly there was this noise behind me. It turned out to be my map falling out of my pack pocket.

After leaving the corridor the walk lost its luster. For one thing at this point I had walked almost twenty miles and I was tired. The other problem was the trail itself.

The 40-Mile loop is not done. At this point in the loop you need to hit the streets. I am a true urban hiker so walking on streets does not phase me. It is just not ideal. If I was president, or with better luck, someone with more money than air, the 40-Mile Loop would never see a single city street.

With the use of my iPhone and Google maps I was able to find my way to a hotel. I feel the same way about the iPhone as I feel about personal computers. If you don't have one you need to get one. Without this phone I would have been in a ton of trouble. Trying to rely on the the official 40-Mile Loop map is like trying to rely on an ice cream cone in a house fire. I have no idea why most tourist style walking maps can't include real information where you need it. With that said please donate to the 40-Mile Loop fund because if they build the trails the maps will come.

I found a Days Inn on 242nd and ended the day with 24.3 miles under my belt.

One day two I left the hotel. I walked brutal high traffic city streets until I finally hit Marine Drive on the Columbia River. I was very tired from the previous hike so this entire day was pretty ugly. Some of the route is on dedicated walking/riding paths but it seems like much of it is on Marine Drive itself. It is a tragedy how much riverfront property in this country is dominated by the automobile. Had I been more fresh at the time it might have been better but my primary point is that the Springwater side of the loop is the better section of the route. The Columbia river is beautiful but if you get to lost in the beauty you might get hit by a passing truck.

OK that might be a little harsh. Much of the route is a dedicated path worth seeing but much of it is not.

After about 15 miles of walking on day two I realized that my plan of doing the entire loop in two days was not going to pan out. My calculations told me that I had another 15 miles to go and I was not up to the task. The next day I had some real world responsibilities so getting a hotel and planning day three was not an option. At Martin Luther King Blvd I grabbed the number 8 bus and called it quits.

When I returned home I made only one phone call... PIZZA!

Next time I think I will walk the entire trail in 4 days and include the Wildwood trail. Stay tuned.

Below you will find my iPhone photos from the trip as well as my Twitter feed.

My map, coffee and the living room of Portland Pioneer Square.

When crossing the Morrison Bridge over the Willamette River I learned there are other options for those crazy enough to try and walk the 40-Mile loop in 2 days.


I would like to give a shout out to Vera...Nuff said.

When walking on the Eastbank Esplanade you will be happy to know that you have a real submarine at your defense.

Along the route there is the Portland opera house. Let me be the first to say that it should be transformed into a brewpub.

This is the start of the Springwater corridor.

Along the route for the last few years a couple cats have been supported by the community. The water jug lets passers by fill there water bowl. This time I noticed rubber maid tubs converted to cat condos stashed in the bushes. I wish all the best for the Springwater cats.

These rocks on the path are clear evidence that someone out there is doing their part to 'Keep Portland Weird'. The rock in the distance is wrapped by green ribbons that are somehow shaping the rock. I too keep Portland weird but that is another story...

At Oaks Park you will find a small roller coaster. I love roller coasters but really small ones scare the snot out of me.

Along the Springwater Corridor you notice the regular appearance of markers like this. I don't want to sound totally anal but markers like this are helpful along the way. I would like to encourage markers like this along other sections of the 40-Mile Loop.

The best thing about urban hiking is the food. I was able to stop by the Panda King Chinese restaurant in Sellwood on Tacoma Ave. I will be back to this place. The Almond chow mein was very light and yummy. The owners and staff are great.

The coolest bridge on the route.




Once you loose the river the route takes on a different look.

As night fell on the East side I have to admit that this West side boy felt a little out of his element.

Lucky for me it was a full moon.

Day Two on the Columbia River.

This is how the good part of the route looks.

The 205 bridge over the Columbia.

Just gotta have a flower photo.



The Portland International airport is the sexiest airport in the nation.

Me

My Twitter feed for the trip:

Aquired a map of the Portland 40-Mile loop trail at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Going to try to walk the entire route in 2 days. 02:10 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Just hit the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade. I am now officially on the 40-Mile Loop. 40 or 50 miles to go. 02:31 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Just ran into my friend Jimmy riding his 'hEather' bike home from work. He is going home via Forest Park...That's hardcore. 02:51 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Made it to the start of the Springwater Corridor. 3 miles to go until the Sellwood Bridge. 03:04 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Sellwood Bridge! 4.5 miles into this madness. 04:11 PM June 17, 2008 from web

12oz black coffee at Lovecup on 13th n Umatilla. I don't love the cup but possibly the java inside. 04:30 PM June 17, 2008 from web

The best thing about urban hiking? Food! Chow mein at Panda King on SE Tacoma...Very good. 05:17 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Back on the springwater Corrador. Made it past the Sellwood gap without getting lost. 05:34 PM June 17, 2008 from web

10.15 miles so far. 07:09 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Surrounded by cattails, redwing black birds and baby ducks. Overall baby ducks are cute. 07:43 PM June 17, 2008 from web

First blood cutting my finger while grabbing a blade of grass. 07:50 PM June 17, 2008 from web

The toughest looking Pitbull I have ever seen...STOP...cop just pulled over a kid on a BMX bike. Its getting dark... 07:53 PM June 17, 2008 from web

A rabbit crossed my path. I am thinking thats good luck. Especially if you are a hungry fox. I am not a fox...A tad portly...balding. 08:31 PM June 17, 2008 from web

I hear frogs. 08:50 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Sign at a road crossing says path closed at sunset. It is safe to say sunset is over so I should be ok. 09:05 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Full moon tonight...Perfect! 09:15 PM June 17, 2008 from web

My map fell off the back of my pack and and scared the snot out of me. It is very dark. 09:43 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Leaving the Springwater Corridor at 252nd Ave...252...The river was 1st Ave...252 blocks seems far. 10:43 PM June 17, 2008 from web

20 miles so far...all on springwater. That walking, running, biking rabbit pittbull frog path rocks. 10:46 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Took Palmblad instead of Palmquist. Might have added a mile or more...Argh. 11:07 PM June 17, 2008 from web

Landed at Days Inn on 242nd and Stark. 24.16 miles to get here. Very tired. Sign off... 12:42 AM June 18, 2008 from web

Day 2 of my trek on the Portland 40-Mile loop. Feet n hips hurt. Overall being crazy hurts from time to time. 10:08 AM June 18, 2008 from web

There are to many cars. I am so glad gas prices are going up. 11:29 AM June 18, 2008 from web

Made it to Marine Drive and the Columbia river. Could really use a boat right about now. 12:26 PM June 18, 2008 from web

Found a trash can to throw away the coffee cup I was carrying for 5 miles. 30 miles into this madness. 12:46 PM June 18, 2008 from web

Super cool! I found a bike path along the Columbia River. Marine Drive bites big exhaust pipes. 01:02 PM June 18, 2008 from web

a gaggle of race walkers just passed me at mock speed. I think they were powered by gossip. Very funny to see. 01:38 PM June 18, 2008 from web

The Columbia River is one of our nations great waterways. It is very wide. Furry creatures from the South never visit the North. 01:54 PM June 18, 2008 from web

Any moment now a six pack of PBR and a bag of chips is going to fall off one of these passing trucks. 02:13 PM June 18, 2008 from web

Just passed IKEA wondering if one of those groovy bedroom sets would fit in my pack. 02:45 PM June 18, 2008 from web

It is safe to say that delirious walkers enjoy the Black Cherry Almond Cliff Bar. 03:05 PM June 18, 2008 from web

I send a Twitter into the air...where it lands I know not where. 03:35 PM June 18, 2008 from web

40 miles into this walk. 16 for the day. Very tired. Total death march. 05:12 PM June 18, 2008 from web

Thats all folks. Ending at 40.5 miles total. 05:43 PM June 18, 2008 from web

Dropping the first crumb

Today I took a 18.81 mile walk around Portland Oregon. Starting at my home in the West hills I walked down to the Sellwood bridge. From there I walked along the river to the Steel bridge. Then up to NW 23rd via the Pearl District. On 23rd I grabbed a slice of pizza at Escape from New York Pizza. I then walked up to Council Crest and back home.

My Garmin Forerunner 301 tells me that I had an elevation gain and equal descent of 5000 ft. The whole trip took about seven hours and I got home at about midnight.

If I had to do it over again I would have had two slices of pizza instead of one.


Check out a live version of my route at: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=25596

A birds nest I found in the grass of a cemetery on the way down to the Sellwood bridge.

First site of the river at the Sellwood bridge.

The Willamette River with the new South waterfront development in the distance.

The first bit of the new South waterfront greenway. Someday this will connect into the downtown waterfront greenway.

Back up into the hills above Goose Hollow on my way up to Council Crest.