Features

A Portland adventure

30 Sep 2022 by Tom Otley

A view of St Johns Bridge with Mount Hood in the distance (GarysFRP/iStock )

A city of contrasts in its weather, streets and environs, Portland belies its sullied reputation with a wealth of treasures.

On the flight on the way into Portland we spent the final 15 minutes of our descent passing over endless expanses of water: lakes and tributaries of the mighty Colombia, the river to which Portland owes its existence. Glistening in the afternoon light, even as dark clouds massed, the waters were also free of development, with only occasional buildings and boats visible. By the time we landed though, very little was visible because the rain had arrived, and what a deluge.

It had been a wet June before we arrived on BA267 into Portland International, but by the time we took the bus from the airport, it was torrential. Standing water on Interstate 84 turned the road surface into a giant lake with vehicles seemingly water-skiing their way into the city. Closer to the city and by the side of the road, bedraggled tents were the first sign of Portland’s appalling homelessness problem, though not the last.

A brief dash from the kerb to under the awning of our hotel – The Heathman – gave us the first of several soakings in the coming days. Up in the room, the local TV news was reporting road closures and the possibility of localised flooding, and by the next morning the weather update was that this was the wettest June on record, and we were only halfway through the month.

We didn’t know it then but the same weather, along with warm air melting snows in Yellowstone National Park, was about to cause floods and mudslides that left the northern part of the park closed for much of the year, while just a few months later, wildfires caused problems in the southern part. It didn’t really stop raining for the whole of our visit, so much so that we began to doubt the existence of the supposedly ubiquitous Mount Hood on the horizon. On the upside, since Portland is the gateway to the splendours of Oregon, under cloudy skies we visited waterfalls, which were at their most majestic, and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area which certainly justified its numerous capital letters.

A View of the Columbia River - Credit Travel Portland

Inspiring sights

Multnomah Falls is the most visited spot for day-trippers from Portland, a spectacular ‘double’ fall which in winter, or at times of extreme rainfall (tick!) is awe inspiring; a mighty thundering of nature, relentless and unstoppable, sending spray upwards into the air even as rain fell on us. The dismal weather meant that rather than being crowded there were only a few dozen visitors, though I did feel sorry for the wedding party taking place close by.

We also visited Latourell Falls where you can walk down a short path and stand so close that watching the water cascade from overhead to smash on the rocks below is to be quietened in the face of overwhelming power. You start by taking photos, short videos, selfies – anything to try and place the majesty of the sight and sound in perspective or manage it into the frame of whatever device you are holding and then give up, because nothing can convey the shock and awe to others. My showerproof coat was defeated as was my camera, so I kept still, letting the memories soak in just as the rain and spray were doing.

Were we lucky or unlucky with the weather? Probably lucky, in hindsight, and not just because of the waterfalls. The Colombia River was at flood proportions, so it was easier to understand how it had carved out such a deep canyon, and though it certainly curtailed some of the activities, if we had visited later this year we would have found the wildfire risk increasing. The gorge has suffered some destructive wildfires in recent years, including one in 2017 which burned over 20,000 hectares and has meant the closure of some hiking trails to this day.

Still, unpredictable as the weather is when we travel today, whatever time of year you visit, the views along the gorge are unrivalled, and your only regret is likely to be not having enough time to enjoy them. You can rent a car, but with two million visitors to the area, you need to pre-book a permit if visiting between May to September so it might be better to go with a specialist tour operator such as First Nature (firstnaturetours.com). It offers everything from fly-fishing to white-water rafting and snowshoe tours to kayaking, which is probably why I spent the time drying off in the van wishing I could stay longer than just a few days as I heard about the activities on offer for those who go off the beaten track.

Instead, I sought solace visiting some wineries, which the company can also arrange. We had pre-booked an e-bike tour with Mountnbarrel (mountnbarrel.com) through several vineyards to sample the local wine and cider. We were introduced to our e-bikes at the first of the venues (wyeastvineyards.com) and by then the rain had really set in, but within a few minutes I was so wet I no longer cared, and there was the added fun of members of our group skidding in the mud and wiping out as we rounded the corners of the orchards.

We learned how the vineyards and orchards flourish because of the soils enriched by silty loams created from all the floods and landslides. We were a demonstration of the process in a way, being covered in soil. Nothing quietens a tasting room as much as the arrival of mud-covered tourists with a thirst for local cider. At the Gorge White House (thegorgewhitehouse.com) we sat out at sheltered tables under gas burners and steam rose from our clothes as we sampled local produce and listened to talk of the harvest of apples, cherries, pears and peaches, as well as the lavender fields. We finished off with some fruit-forward Pinot Noir – wine grapes have been cultivated here since the 1880s and orchard fruit cultivation from the 1850s, so there’s a real expertise to what is being produced.

A Portland vineyard at sunset - credit Tiffany Henschel 2016

Time to smell the roses

In between motocross-style antics we got a sense of the different vineyards, grapes grown, the challenges growers face with climate change, and the small town sensibility (in the best sense) of those wanting to continue to grow local food on a small scale in an environmentally friendly manner. There was even a band playing (not for us; I think it was an open day) under shelter in one of the venues, with people dancing to keep warm.

For those who haven’t the time or the wet weather gear to visit the gorge and its vineyards, a new option has just opened – Amaterra. This 32-hectare spot is just a 15-minute drive outside Portland and overlooks the city. Its name translates as ‘love of the earth’, and it is a fabulous new event space, restaurant, bar and winery, with fine dining food and a selection of wines, as well as (eventually) a spa and hotel. There’s nowhere better to watch the sun vainly peek its head out of the clouds only for another rainstorm to sweep towards you, though in better weather, you could enjoy a sundowner while planning your activities for the next day.

Outings should definitely include a visit to Portland Japanese Garden, established in the 1960s on the five-hectare former site of Portland zoo. It’s a beautifully serene garden of walkways, water features, native trees, such as Douglas fir, but also many introduced species, including a Bonsai Terrace as well as a sand and stone garden. From here you can walk back into town, passing through the International Rose Test Garden (10,000 varieties of rose in terraces overlooking the city) and then stroll through the historic area of Nob Hill with its boutique shops specialising in everything from fashion and outdoor gear to chocolate and ice cream, not forgetting pubs and bars, including The Fireside, a striking gastropub at 801 NW 23rd Avenue (pdxfireside.com).

Portland Japanese Garden - Credit GarysFRP/iStock

Food and drink are always on the menu. On Saturdays between March and December, Portland Farmers Market is held at South Park Blocks by Portland State University. It hosts some 140 farmers and vendors selling heirloom tomatoes, marionberries, broccoli and other local produce. I grabbed a slice of deep-dish pizza from Via Chicago, along with a cup of strong black coffee, as part of my recovery strategy after a very late night of drinking Aviation American Gin (also from Portland, and which has just opened a visitor centre; aviationgin.com) and small bottles of beers (called Ponies) until the early morning in various dive bars around Portland – Sandy Hut is the one I remember. At the market you can also find lovely gifts to take home – the area has such fabulous produce, though the chocolates I bought didn’t make it back intact after a jet-lagged early morning wake-up in the hotel the next day.

On a cautionary note, not everything is rosy in Portland. Walking around the city, both early in the morning and at several points during the days we were there, it’s clear there are major problems. The protests of 2020 over the death of George Floyd caused a lot of damage and exacerbated the fall in the number of workers and shoppers downtown as a result of the pandemic.

The closure of shops and businesses means it can feel very empty, and seeing its Apple Store with protective wire fences around it looking more like a prison than a beacon of 21st century commerce doesn’t bode well. Nor does the constant presence of the homeless, who are mostly just hustling for money, but occasionally shouting and screaming at one another or at passers-by. Portland isn’t alone in this, but it is worse than most US cities I have visited, even since the pandemic, and is clearly discouraging people from out of town visiting and having a deleterious effect on hotels and tourism.

However, we were reaching the end of our visit and we finished, on the way back to the airport, at Smith Teamaker. Steven Smith was an entrepreneur who created the Tazo tea company (later sold to Starbucks) and then founded an eponymous brand for tea enthusiasts. Its tasting centre and shop is in a former blacksmith’s building in an industrial area and has a superb café. It offers tutored tea tastings, which are always fun because, unlike wine tastings, you actually become more discerning the longer they go on.

Of course you have to get up fairly early to tell anyone from the UK about tea, but much of what we drink is fairly standard and so adulterated by milk we’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between one blend and another. Never mind that most of the teas we drink are from Asia, when someone has guided you through various shades and flavours of green and black tea, as well as oolong and pu-erh, you soon find yourself spending your last dollars on replacement gifts for the return journey.

And as luck would have it, as we left Portland we finally did see Mount Hood. There’s a lot more to this fascinating city than the views, though.