Synopses & Reviews
Including the Coast, Mount Hood, St. Helens, and the Santiam River
Updated maps, new hikes, even more rankings and categories, fresh photography, and useful backpacking options make the newest edition of this authoritative guide to Portland's best day hikes the most exciting yet. 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland profiles 60 select trails that give outdoor adventurers a little of everything there is to enjoy around Portland: mountain views, forest solitude, picturesque streams, strenuous workouts, casual strolls, fascinating history, fields of flowers, awesome waterfalls, and ocean beaches. Whether readers want a convenient city bus ride to the flat and fascinating Washington Park, a bumpy drive to Lookout Mountain, or the thigh-burning experiences that are Kings and Elk Mountains, this book lets them know what to bring, how to get to the trailhead, where to go on the trail, and what to look for while they’re hiking.
About the Author
Paul Gerald's writing career began in the sports department of the much-missed Dallas Times Herald. He later worked for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Memphis Flyer before setting out as a freelancer. Since then, he has written some 300 travel articles for the Flyer, and along the way his work has also appeared in Northwest Airlines' WorldTraveler, Portland’s Willamette Week, Dish Magazine, Nike.com, Weissmann Travel Reports, and numerous newspapers around the country. He's also worked in and around landscaping, restaurants, public relations, social work, an amusement park, Alaskan fishing boats, the YMCA, corporate marketing, and most recently as a package handler for FedEx. Such is the life of a writer who really, really wants to avoid having a regular job. His hiking life started at age 12, when he went to a summer camp in the Absoraka Mountains of Wyoming. He became a trail and road hound at that point, and his hometown of Memphis never looked the same. He's hiked extensively in the Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to Montana, as well as Appalachia, Alaska, Nepal, and Argentina. In 1996 he moved to Portland to be close to the ocean, the mountains, and the big trees. He has greatly enjoyed meeting people using his books out on the trails; he's also grateful that none of them appeared to be lost or angry. He does hope, however, that any feedback will be directed to him, care of the publisher. And he hopes people will continue to enjoy and benefit from the fruits of his labor.