ejc@hocsd.UUCP (07/20/84)
Last month I posted the following questions about the Pacific Northwest. I got a lot of responses and had a real good time. I am summing up the responses plus adding my two cents for the next guy. >I am planning a trip from Seattle to San Francisco in July. Any >recomendations? I have the LET'S GO: California and the Pacific >Northwest book. Specifically I have the following questions? > 1) Good areas for whitewater rafting? Rogue R. in SW OR., Deschutes in Central OR, lots of others. Skykomish and Methow in WA. Best to spend several days instead of a one day trip. > 2) Is Oregon Caves worthwhile (can you do some very amateur > spelunking or is it another one of those paved caves with > electricity and phone service e.g. Howe Caverns ) It's a Nat. Park Service cave set up to handle hordes of people--enough said! Ape caves near Mt. St. Helens, Ice caves near Bend were recommended. Mt Rainier also has ice caves but they were still snowed in (mid- July). > 3) How cold does it get? How wet. I am begining to think that the rain bit is all a conspiracy to keep the So. Cal. types out, I didnt get rained on once in 12 days. But they say it does rain, and it is mild along the coast. Inland gets hot. So do volcanoes. > 4) Is it worth it to go to Olympic for only a day? Yes, if its a clear day. Go to Hurricane ridge, nice day hikes. Hoh valley on the other side is also nice. The ferry to the peninsula is good. > 5) Where is the best costal area? Both for beaches and scenery? I drove the entire coast from Lincoln City, OR to SF. It is all spectacular. Specific places people recommended are Coos Bay, Cannon Beach, Depoe Bayall in OR. The water is cold so dont expect to do much swimming. You can rent dune buggies at the OR Dunes state park. Redwood National Park in CA is real nice. You can get horses in Orick,CA. Avenue of the giants is a nice drive near Eureka. About the roads; 101 in OR is a lot better than 1 in CA. CA 1 is a very slow winding road. Take it only if you are in the mood to enjoy the scenery, not if you want to make tracks. > 6) There is no number 6. Most frequently answered question. > 7) Can you go to the top of Mt. Lassen in a day hike? (& return) They all say you could. It helps to be in good shape, though. > 8) Mt St. Helens: Is she smokin'? What is the best way to see > it. Real good, unique scenery ( Please dont FLAME me, net readers of Krakatoa (east of java, molten bodies, fiery lava)). Flights out of Morton cost $35 and go right to the crater. Or you can waste the whole day finding out that there is no airport in Randle and no planes in Packwood. Flights from further away means less time over devestation area. You can drive well into the devastation area. The roads are mostly paved and 1 lane (both directions). Not fun at night. Also stop by the visitors center near I5 to see a good film. Make sure to look at a map beforehand so you dont spend all your time backtracking (I was through Randle 3 times, and it wasnt for the nightlife). > 9) Being from Manhattan I may o.d. on nature by day 3. Just in > case , what good city stuff is there in Seattle, Portland or > San Francisco? Especially walking around type things. Seattle: Seattle Center (world fair site, including museum, China exhibit) Ferries on the Puget Sound. Pike st.market. Lake Washington Locks. Rainier Brewery. Underground tour. Wharf area (touristy). Imitation fifth avenue. Portland; Washington Park, including zoo, OMSI (science touchy feely museum), and Rose Garden. Nice downtown, including some good postmodern architecture. Nice bus shelters. Nice downtown with lots of fountains, smiling people,etc. Restored old town. San Francisco: Go to the convention drunk enough to pick Mondale for Pres. (too late, 2000+ people already did that) > 10) Is the Boeing factory tour good. Is the building really > bigger then the Bell Labs Holmdel atrium? What about the > Weyerhauser tour? Boeing tour is OK. Big building but you dont get to see much. When I was there it didnt look like anybody was doing anything except drinking coffee. Get there a few minutes before the 9AM tour. Holmdel will be bigger after our next building cloning. Weyerhauser tour in Springfield, OR was recommended. South of Eureka,CA is the Georgia Pacific Lumber mill in Scotia. Very good tour, explains where all those logging trucks are going to. Very convinient if you are going to the redwoods. Free and self guided. > 11) Nightlife? The usual stuff, better schedule a trip to NY. > 12) Anything interesting on the way from Lassen to S.F.? Unanimously, NO, via inland route. > 13) Speed traps in Oregon, Washington? Some near cities, otherwise not many. The big trap is that if you speed you see the coast and mountains for less time. Save your speeding for IOWA, KANSAS, etc. > 14) Is it worth it to spend two days in B.C.? Where? Some say Vancouver (Grouse Mt., Gaslight District) Some say Victoria (shopping, british type place, Butchart Gardens,Provincial Museum) I say Victoria is very touristy but the ferry there(from Anacortes), through the San Juans is nice. So are the gardens. B.C. is a good place to go for a change of scenery. > 15) Good day hikes in Olympic, Rainier, and Lassen? > Olympic: people say there are good hikes from Hurricane ridge. Rainier: A nice tough hike is from Paradise to Camp Muir. It is 9 miles round trip with a 5000 ft elevation increase. Allow 8-10 hours. When I was there all the trails were through snow, so be prepared. Lassen: Good hike to the top. Other suggestions: Columbia Gorge near portland: Nice drive, hiking also including Multnumah Falls. Mt Hood: Touristy type lodge at Timberline Lodge. Good food, great scenery. Crater Lake: A few hours out of the way if you are going down the coast, but people say it is nice. Oregon Strawberries and Washington Cherries were great. >O.K. Thanks a lot. If you are ever in NY stop by Houston St. and The >Bowery, tell them I sent you and you will get your windows cleaned. Response was tremendous, had to hire extra help. Thanks! Thanks to: Bob Warren Don Hawkins Barbara Zanzig Jerry Peek Jeff Winslow Bill Randle Phil White Jim McBeath Stanford N Payzer Barbara Siefken Eric Drucker, mostly from Tektronix. The winner and only entry in the Be Obnoxious to a Fellow Traveler Contest is aluxe!2141smh for the following reply: Oregon and Washington don't want wise asses so why don't you go straight to California and pound sand. > Elliot Cohen > Home (212)473-3768 > Work (201)834-4415 > hocsd!ejc