Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

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happilyretired
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » April 13th, 2023, 10:42 am

Off-the-wall follow-up question: if I end up in Salem but without a car, what's the chance of walking/biking/public transit to any reasonable trailheads?

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retired jerry
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by retired jerry » April 13th, 2023, 11:27 am

in the field guide, "public transportation":

https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guid ... sportation

not much from Salem, but some from Portland and Eugene

there's always uber or lyft

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teachpdx
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by teachpdx » April 13th, 2023, 3:00 pm

As Jerry said, seriously limited from Salem, but if you can get up to Portland there's a bit of adventure that can be had via public transit. Getting from Salem to Portland on public transit can be a pain (multiple agencies/transfers), and the couple direct buses or trains are infrequent and expensive for the distance.

One of the easiest from Portland is to use Trimet/SAM/Mt. Hood Express to get up to Government Camp or Timberline Lodge, which puts you on the PCT. From there you can spend a couple days backpacking down the west side of Mt. Hood back to Highway 26 and return on the same route, or take a few days and take the PCT north to Cascade Locks and grab transit back into Portland. But the quickest from Salem to Timberline purely on public transit is over 5 hours on 7 total services, and a similar timeframe to Cascade Locks.

Another decent option from Salem is to use the bus service out to the Coast, $25 for a 3 day pass or $30 for a 7 day pass that includes a round trip from the Valley and unlimited transit up and down the Coast between Astoria and Yachats. There are plenty of shorter hikes within walking distance of Highway 101 and places to camp on the beach, but most of the buses out there only run a handful of times per day... you'd need to actually plan out an itinerary to avoid being stranded.

You can probably rely on Uber or Lyft to get you an expensive ride to a paved trailhead, but cell service is seriously spotty in the mountains so don't expect to call an Uber from a trailhead at the end of your hike.

As far as I know, there are no carsharing options in Salem but you could always rent a car if need be. Your best option is probably to just make friends with hiking friends who have cars.
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happilyretired
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » April 14th, 2023, 3:16 am

Thanks guys. Just looking at maps, looks like a 50-mile bike ride to the east would put me in public lands...whether that's a suicidal idea on Oregon roads/highways I don't know.

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retired jerry
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by retired jerry » April 14th, 2023, 4:55 am

a lot of snow in the mountains now - until July

SAM to Zigzag, then walk one mile to lower Zigzag trail - snow melts off sooner - June

east of Salem on highway 22 - there are some campgrounds that have some nice, but short trails. Or up Little Santiam River road - some trails and nice scenery up it. Lots of bicycles in Oregon

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happilyretired
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » September 24th, 2023, 2:36 am

Welp, plans change...as they usually do. Looks like we're buying a house in Eugene, and I'll be out there off and on starting in November. So, Oregon hiking in my near future (I hope), though I'll have to work around house remodel for a while.

Having kept an eye on various fora for a few months now, another question for the current residents: just how much do I need to worry about trailhead parking? Reading some people, it's easy to get the impression that you can't safely park a car at any trailhead on either side of the I-5 corridor. So what do y'all do? Hitchhike to trailheads? Get dropped off by friends and relatives? Spend money on Uber? Leave the car unlocked and empty? Or just consider this threat, like so many others, as overblown scaremongering?

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retired jerry
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by retired jerry » September 24th, 2023, 6:22 am

I have parked many nights at trailheads. Once, someone stole my gas which was a little expensive to fix. Occasionally I'll see broken glass at a trailhead where a window was broken.

Leave car locked, nothing visible.

It's not overblown scaremongering but more like one of those rare occurrences that happen occasionally.

I used to have this large plastic tote in my pickup bed. A few things of small value like an axe and shovel. No one ever opened it. It was an experiment to see how safe trailheads are.

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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by justpeachy » September 24th, 2023, 1:56 pm

happilyretired wrote:
September 24th, 2023, 2:36 am
just how much do I need to worry about trailhead parking? Reading some people, it's easy to get the impression that you can't safely park a car at any trailhead on either side of the I-5 corridor. So what do y'all do?
Trailhead crime is definitely a thing, but for every report you read about someone's car getting broken into, there are many dozens of reports people aren't posting saying "my car was just fine after my hike." The problem exists, but it can seem bigger than it is because of the human tendency to talk about the negative, not the positive.

When parking at trailheads don't leave anything of value in your car, and don't leave anything in sight that may tempt someone to break in, including loose change. Absolutely never leave a phone or wallet in your car. Some hikers go so far as to leave their doors unlocked so that thieves won't break the windows, but I've also heard about that backfiring when the thieves find nothing to steal and they trash the inside of the car or break the windows out of spite.

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happilyretired
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Re: Headed to Oregon soon(ish)

Post by happilyretired » September 25th, 2023, 1:53 am

Thanks folks. That's kind of what I expected, but it's comforting to get confirmed from folks who actually like in the area. Out here (IN/IL/KY tri-state) I've left a car at trailheads for multiple days without problems many times, but I also keep the inside of the car cleaned out with nothing of value visible. So I guess it's mostly just keep up the same habit and hope I don't get to be one of the unlucky ones.

No window glass on the ground out here though, so there must be _some_ level of increased risk. But I'll happily trade that for having more good hiking options :)

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