Anyone live there past or present? I’m pondering a professional change, and Portland has much to offer. I’ve read much about this Pacific Northwest city, and friends/family have said I would love it - but I’m curious to get some paddlers’ input. I’ve paddled much of the Southern East Coast from Baltimore to the Everglades, but I’ve heard that the Pacific NW is a seakayaker’s dream. (Not to mention the mountains nearby) - Would be a nice bonus to my potential professional shift.
Advice? Discouragements? Stories? Thanks. Hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend.
Oh yeah…
www.pdxseakayaker.net
www.pdxkayaker.org
www.shellback.net
www.aldercreek.com
I’ve been all over the US and the PNW is pretty cool. year ‘round paddlin’ and sport activity ops abound.
steve
Posting from Columbia River?
Steve, how on water are you posting from a Tempest on the Columbia? Are you doing that run now? Saw your post on seakayaker … heard you mention it at AlderCreek … that would be the ticket, to have Internet access while paddling … visualizing a laptop mounted on a clip-in desk over the cockpit … it’s been quite rainy out there … waterproof laptop.
I’ve been living in the Portland area for 20 years and am a beginner kayaker wannabe and although last year I wanted to move to Washington State for MORE water, I’ve realized I could spend every day of the rest of my life paddling around here and not get to all the great places.
Go to AlderCreek when arriving in Portland and buy the books of routes and maps, and an Atlas/Gazeeter, and hobnob chat with the ultra-knowledgable folks there. Check out the links Steve posted above. There’s groups of paddlers up here who help each other out and shuttle trips. Anything and everything a paddler could dream of is here and there’s more day trips possible than you can ever have time to do. If you want to do kayak camping just take a gander at a map going North of Portland up into all that blue in Washington State.
The Portland area is unique, a swath of enchanted emerald, with the best biking paths and trails of any other Metro area in the world 
Cheers,
Leska
we leave
on Wednesday.
…on board laptop, uhh huu, I can see it happening.
=:-0)
steve
Internetting while paddling
It just depends on how deep the addiction runs … betcha it will be invented, configured and on sale soon if not already.
Thinking of catching the Clatsop hoodah on June 5, but there’s also a Tualatin paddle that day, near or far, such choices.
Portland
I lived there for about a year, 8-9 years ago. I didn’t paddle back then, but loved the area. I went camping on the Metolius (sp?) river, day tripped to Cannon Beach (be sure and stop for dinner at Camp 18), Mt hood, Mt St Helens.
Lot’s of great music festivals in the summer, brewers festival, etc…
Good Luck
Portland
– Last Updated: May-28-04 1:07 PM EST –
i'm further south in oregon but i do love visiting portland. only one thing to be aware of and i'm sure you've heard it before and that is RAIN and CLOUDS all winter. i say this only because i know people from sunnier winter climates have had a hard time adjusting. other than that it's a nice "big city". the rest of the year anywhere in the nw is gorgeuos!
No better place on earth than Portland
As an avid paddler living in the Portland area (I’m a tax dodger living in Vancouver, WA).
I agree with Flatpick about the location. It’s a fantastic place to live and raise a family. It’s even better for paddlers. No end to the paddle routes in/around here. You can do lakes, rivers (big and small), ocean, estuaries, etc.
I’d draw your attention to:
http://www.pdxseakayaker.net/photography.htm
and
http://www.pdxseakayaker.net/paddling_clubs.htm
Also consider this…
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PDXkayaker/ … has 3121 members.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PDXseakayaker/ … has 450 members.
And there’s many other list servers for Portland as well. In the Pacific Northwest, you won’t run out of paddling venues or buddies anytime soon.
Wade
RE: Portland
We live in the south Puget Sound area (about 4 hrs from Portland) and I can tell you that this is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Ocean, lakes, rivers, streams, mountains and desert…all within a short drive!
The camping is outstanding and while we’re just getting into paddling ourselves, I can easily think of at least a dozen places we will be visiting once we get our kayaks.
Oregon has a state income tax (Washington doesn’t) and you can’t pump your own gas there either, but other than that, it’s got everything going for it…including better weather than Washington!
Portland OR
Thanks everyone for your input so far - keep it coming!
(BTW - Can’t hurt to ask, anyone know any architects looking for help?)
Have a safe weekend.
So where do you live?
I’m in Olympia. Belong to Puget Sound Paddle Club as of Jan, but haven’t been on any of their outings. Haven’t gotten out much at all recently due to health problem. Solo canoeist, weekdays mostly on local lakes & Black River. Class I daredevil.
Pat Nagle (aka tapelgan)
Wonderful area…
…about 2 hrs south of me. Lived there in 1961-62 and loved it. Every kind of paddling-docile rivers, WW, lakes, ocean, etc.-wish I lived closer. State’s having major economic problems, I believe. Easy access to Canada, 4 nat parks (Crater Lake, Rainier, N. Cascades, Olympic) & Mt. St. Helens. Easy to reach desert country, 2 mountain ranges, ocean.