You mentioned the Oregon Coast Trail. The problem is that this trail most definitely isn't complete--there's a lot of road walking (and US 101 is not renowned for wide shoulders) to get around bays and estuaries. Plus you can't camp within sight of buildings or within 1/4 mile of state parks or (in some counties) outside of designated campgrounds, which means that in some sections you'd have to motel it. Finally, at least the northernmost (Tillamook Head) forested section is currently a mishmash of downed trees criss-crossing each other in many layers since the early December windstorm. There are a few sections well worth doing that avoid road-walks, especially the Bandon-Port Orford section. In this area, US 101 runs several miles inland and the coast is relatively wild. This is best done in the fall when the rivers (particularly the Sixes and Elk Rivers at the southern end) are more fordable. I'm hoping to do part of this section next September. The two towns are connected by bus, but since I hike with my dog, I have to do an out-and-back.

If you really want a coast trail, I'd suggest the Olympic National Park wilderness coast. ONP has excellent descriptions on their web site.

The Wonderland Trail is the best known of a number of trails around volcanoes in the Pacific NW, and it's the only one that is complete right now. The Loowit Trail around Mt. St. Helens was damaged in Nov. 2006 and I'm pretty sure it hasn't been repaired. The Mt. Adams Highline Trail always has gone only 3/4 of the way around the mountain, so you have to backtrack or cross glaciers really high up. And the Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood is closed at the Eliot Glacier Creek section on the NE side of the mountain, where the geography was completely rearranged in Nov. 2006. A number of people made it through there last summer, but there is a several hundred dollar fine if you're caught in the closed section. While Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Parks received quite a bit of funds for repairs after the '06 floods, the National Forests received basically nothing.

I know nothing about shuttles to/from Mt. Rainier, but you might want to ask the question on NW Hikers.net, a Seattle-area forum. The MRNP website mentions Grayline Tours. Here's more info on the Wonderland Trail. Check specifically the info on camping permits.


Edited by OregonMouse (01/23/08 11:52 PM)
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey