Mossy Trails

As promised, it is time for me to debrief my trip to Portland, Oregon with you. Trails, trails, trails. So many wonderful trails up there. I'm pretty sure that you're not allowed into the state if you don't like hiking because even in their most urban part of downtown, you can see the forest waiting only five miles up the the hill. I'm so jealous of the trees and moss they have up there. I want moss... real bad. But, I don't think it grows on Palm Trees.

I hiked every day and ate a lot of really good food (like fried cheese curds and pancake bbq), and I could talk about all that, but it'd just be too much. So, I'll share my discoverings during my run up Tabor Mountain. That makes me sound way hardcore... and maybe I am a little, but it was only 4 miles total and Tabor Mountain should probably be called Tabor Hill. In any case, it was fun discovering Portland on my own. (Wellllll, that's also a stretch because my friend Jamileh was with me, but neither one of us had ever been up the "mountain" and we're both from California. So. There's that.)

I'm a big ol' wuss when it comes to running in unknown places. I get self-conscious: like people can tell I don't know where I'm going and so that means they're going to steal me. (But, who would want to steal a sweaty runner?? Apparently some guy in South Park for one. see post below.) So even though Jamileh and I didn't really know where we were going, we had each other and that was enough to get me on the road at least. So often I forgo running altogether on vacation because of my high wuss factor--a personality trait that I know helps my mom sleep a little better at night. (e.g. Every time we're in New York I tell myself that I'm going to jog around Central Park, but then once I'm there I can't get up the nerve even though the running paths are well trafficked and safe.)

Back to Tabor. We got directions from a friend and found the base of the mountain (just a regular mountain in a regular neighborhood...so Portland). We chose a small dirt trail and began climbing up and up. We walked a little, we swatted bugs out of each other's hair, I squealed when I ran through a spider web (I really really hate spiders. A lot.), we stopped and admired the reservoir, ran into a drinking fountain and had some water, passed a few people--but not many--on the trail, observed banana slugs (seeeeeriously gross) and then somehow found our way back down. All the trails we took had some kind of color coded signs for them, but we weren't paying much attention and couldn't figure out which direction the signs were pointing. (That makes us sound stupider than we are....) This (for me at least) made the run more stressful and less fun-adventurey. I like adventure runs--as long as I know where I'm going and how many miles it will turn out to be. (e.g. running 20 miles is one thing. Doing it unintentionally is another.)

I wouldn't have run at all without someone with me, and it got me thinking... what would it take for me to feel safe on a run by myself in a foreign city? Other than studying maps, carrying pepper spray, and a backpack full of clothing and nourishments, I'm not sure how to make a run relaxing and non-stressful in an unknown place. Which is unfortunate, because jogging around a new place is a great way to site see.

Punchbowl Falls in Forest Park, Oregon:

Thank you great outdoors! You're pretty.