Running Forest Park in Portland
This past week I was at a conference in Portland, so two mornings I got up early and hit the trails in their amazing Forest Park which is one of the largest municipal parks in the country. The Wildwood trail network alone has something like 40+ miles of trail! On Tuesday I did Marquam Shelter to Council Crest (and back), which is a nice 5k, 600' of ascent, basically uphill to Council Crest, which gives you a killer view of the city, then back down, all singletrack. Sweetness! I nearly rolled my ankle a few times on some of the rocks/roots, but it's a great trail, really enjoyed this one. Was about 2 mile drive from my downtown hotel.
Thursday I did Wildwood-Wild Cherry loop, also close, only about a 10 min drive, if that, from downtown. This one was a bit longer at 4.8 miles, 570' of gain according to the book I have. I was feeling a bit tired this morning, and got blown by by someone as I started out :) A nice trail loop again though. Had a bit of pavement on it at the end, which is not my thing, but was a small price to pay. Eugene's Ridgeline system is excellent, and the particular trails are very much to my liking, but this place has A LOT more terrain. The good part is I'm in Portland several times a year, and I think will have to make more attempts to get out on the trails while I'm there.
The book I used for trail beta is "Trail Running Oregon" by Lizann Dunegan (Amazon, or view it on Google Books).
