Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн
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With all these additions, the book now describes nearly 200 hikes within an hour’s drive of the city, so it is safe to say that nothing has been excluded. The goal was to include absolutely every local “wild” trail, making this book the comprehensive “bible” for all nearby hikes. You no longer have to own several different books or check several different sources to find a suitable trail or a description of a particular route you want to hike. If you can’t find it here, it either doesn’t exist or isn’t legally accessible. So, get out those hiking boots and hit the trails, my fellow pedestrians. You are fortunate enough to live in a city with almost unlimited options for enjoying your favorite activity in beautiful surroundings. And you now own a guide that details every one of those options. The outdoors is yours to explore and savor. See you on the trails!
Introducing the Portland/Vancouver Area
In most cities, a book like this would begin with something like “welcome to the wildlands beyond the city’s familiar concrete jungle.” But no Portland/Vancouver resident would recognize or agree with that characterization because this is a city still firmly tied to Mother Nature. One reason for this, of course, is that often Ma Nature literally hits you in the face with rain as soon as you walk out the door—a humbling and a useful reminder of just who’s in charge here. But even when it isn’t raining, the natural world is still constantly in evidence. It’s just a short drive from anywhere in the greater Portland area to forests so wild that you are more likely to see elk than other people. On the city’s skyline sits not only Mt. Hood, the signature landmark of our region, but four other wild volcanic peaks: Mounts Adams, Jefferson, Rainier, and St. Helens. Parts of the Columbia River Gorge, only 30 minutes from the downtown skyscrapers, remain as wild today as when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed through the region in 1805.