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Urban hiking Ruth Bascom north river loop on foggy January morning – long hiking miles without driving a car! Time was allocated for a long hike, but the recent cold weather had left snow in lower elevations, i.e., Mary’s Peak and Silver Falls. Here’s GaiaGPS snow coverage overlay for Silver Falls (the blue = snow, the darker the deeper) Ridgeline and Spencer Butte were not considered given the heavy wear / tear showing. As aKeep Reading …

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Urban hiking Eugene’s river buttes allows for a 10+ mile urban hike on sidewalks, bike-paths and bark-dust trails with no car time – all from my front door. The urban hike route Starting on Gillespie Butte up Spyglass 2x and back over Gillespie for the sunrise and then down to Alton Baker Park. Around the Mill Race on Pre’s Trail and then through UO campus to Hendricks Park. Finally, retraced steps back over Autzen footbridgeKeep Reading …

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Carless urban hiking Sunrise at Gillespie Butte & Alton Baker Park started on northwest hills and then down around Pres Trail – 10+ miles from my front door. Weather report again showed a break at dawn between rainstorms, a perfect opportunity to hike from the front door and snap a few photos. The trip ended up around 13 miles with little backtracking, covering Gillespie Butte, Spyglass Hill, Alton Baker Park, and then UO campus. EugeneKeep Reading …

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Urban hiking Pre’s Trail to Hendricks Park passing through University of Oregon campus on a clear and cold December morning. With temperatures below freezing, runners and other walkers were few, but the birds plenty. Geese, ducks and gulls made their presence known, and the warmer water in Mill Race and ponds had ducks of several types, cormorants and blue herons. Passing Autzen Stadium on way back home, an osprey perched above a pond fishing –Keep Reading …

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Sunrise on Pre’s Trail in 26 degrees this morning started with headlamp on through Alton Baker Park on to Mill Race and around back along Willamette River. Cold air, heavy frost so I’d leave footprints on the bark dust trail, and so few other humans that early … nice! Geese, herons, ducks, a cormorant and a few song birds gathered near warmer water. After a couple hours, the cold got the better of me, andKeep Reading …

fire sunrise over I-5 bridge

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Urban fast hiking Eugene in fog, smoke this morning was a treat. I left about 45 minutes before sunrise, headlamp on, right from my front door. Fog was thick on the ground, but the moon and stars visible. The plan included the north side of Willamette River, over to the University of Oregon (UO), back through town to REI, and then east on the south side of the river. On the north side the routeKeep Reading …

urban hike footbridge before sunrise

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For an x-half marathon runner, explaining urban fast hiking is simple. Urban fast hiking uses lightweight gear to cover as many miles as possible, but missing nothing. Importantly, one leaves from their front door – camera in hand. Typical urban fast hikes cover bike paths, running paths, and other walk-ways with as little time as possible around busy streets. Why an urban fast hike? First, as a carbon-karma conscious hiker, driving is a cost thatKeep Reading …

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Ok … somedays, I just get distracted. I woke up and looked at the weather and decided a good hoofin’ around the Willamette River would be just the ticket – sunrise, birds, flowers, etc … But, on. a whim, I took off to Spyglass hill (one of about 3 places in hometown where sunrise can be spectacular), from there up the river to Dorris Ranch (Park). A urban hike. Getting atop prior to sunrise hasKeep Reading …