Day 2: Mt. Rainier & Portland
I woke up like this
I never thought I'd enjoy sleeping in a car as much as I did. It’s just so convenient, the places you can go are endless and you have everything you need with you at all times.
Mornings here are gray and misty; I love it. These are my perfect mornings.
After breakfast we headed to Paradise, the southern part of Mt. Rainier, to hike Panorama Point.
PANORAMA POINT VIA SKYLINE TRAIL
4 miles, Out & Back | Elevation Gain : 1,700 ft. | End point: Panorama Point | 3 hrs.
The hike started at Skyline Trail, adjacent to the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitors Center. I had to get a picture with a quote from my man, John Muir
“… the most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings” - John Muir
I soon gathered that Washington plays no jokes when it categorizes its trails: Difficult means difficult, aka: you can’t feel your calves anymore. The Skyline Trail is difficult and has the steepest hill I have ever hiked. For a moment, I thought my knees were going to touch the ground in front of me.
As soon as the trail levels out it dumps you at the base of Rainier, sitting there in all its glory. Such an amazing sight.
From here, the trail narrows and winds through meadows of wildflowers and back up towards the mountain.
Mt Rainier, Skyline Trail
Heading back down was just as beautiful as it was going up.
Washington is known for having dreary weather, but we felt very fortunate to not have experienced this and only had abundant sunshine during our time here. August is a wonderful time to visit because the wildflowers are in full bloom!
Next stop: Portland
PORTLAND
If you didn’t get the memo, bridges are all the rage in Portland. Here, bridges are monumental historical pieces of art that cities and towns identify with. I’m happy to say that since my trip I have a new appreciation for bridges.
On that note, I guess it’s fitting that my first experience in Portland started with a bridge: the St. Johns Bridge at Cathedral Park.
Cathedral Park is a neighborhood in northern Portland where the St. Johns Bridge, a steel suspension bridge known for its tall gothic towers, spans across the Willamette River. My favorite thing about the bridge is its color; a retro teal.
Fun fact: The St. Johns Bridge is the tallest bridge in Portland (of 12!!!!) School yourself here
THE WISHING TREE
A little bit of magic happens on NE Seventh Avenue in the northern suburbs of Portland. There is a large tree in front of someones house filled with hundreds wishes written on tags. The community has named it 'The Wishing Tree', and anyone can participate. In fact, the tree holds many spare tags and markers with a sign that reads: “Please find a blank Tag, write your wish (for you, a loved one, the neighborhood, etc., tie it to a nail in the tree, read someone else’s wish and hope it comes true!”
The wishes are so sweet, and some funny too: “That unicorns are real”, “I wish for a full and love-filled life”, “For a lifetime of blessings”, “I wish for a dog”
NOBLE ROT
90 degree weather in Portland calls for a drink. We celebrated a successful journey thus far with some Moscow Mules and a pickle platter on the rooftop garden of Noble Rot.
After two days of eating bananas and oatmeal, the taste of pickled food was exhilarating!
Noble Rot, 1111 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214
STELLA TACO
Dinner was had at Stella Taco, an Austin-style taco joint known for its giant margaritas. Their taco list is quite extensive, with categories ranging from Breakfast to Street, and even Crispy.
Pollo Asado: All natural grilled chicken, house slaw, avocado crema | Fish: Grilled cod, honey pickled carrot slaw, ancho crema
Eb & Bean Fro-yo
Directly next-door to Stella Taco is an organic non-dairy/vegan fro-yo store, Eb & Bean. Fancy that!
I choose Honey Peanut swirled with Madagascar Vanilla and topped with toasted chopped hazelnuts.
It was so easy to fall in love with the Portland (and Seattle) food scene because allergy friendly food is just as common, if not more so, than normal food. I could easily find more than three items on any given menu that were both GF and DF, or plant-based. Wish I could say the same bout the Midwest!!
Eb & Bean, 3040 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
Ended the day with a walk along the Willamette River through the Tom McCall Park in downtown Portland. We passed the Hawthorne Bridge, the Morrison Bridge, and the Burnside Bridge. While wandering around, we stumbled upon the cutest bistro for brunch the next morning.
During our time in Portland we stayed at Airbnbs because we couldn’t sleep in the car (legally).
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 4 MILES | TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELED: 200 MILES
CUMULATIVE MILES HIKED: 9.6 | CUMULATIVE DISTANCE TRAVELED: 318 MILES