Your Daily Guide

Don’t Let the Summer FOMO Win

If you haven’t filled your early summer calendar with hiking, camping, and rafting trips, don’t panic. According to outdoor guide Norther Emily of Wild Solitude Guiding, our warm weather is just getting started and easily stretches into early October. You haven’t missed the boat, and you don’t need hard-to-get permits to have an epic Oregon summer.

To enjoy an ultimate, well-rounded summer, Emily recommends checking off this five-step outdoor checklist:

• Alpine: Take a family-friendly hike from Mount Hood's Lolo Pass to Bald Mountain, surrounded by mountain pine and fir trees, with expansive views from the summit. Emily recommends it as a moderate, low-stress option for quick mountain elevation.
• Coast: You can still score some campsites at Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park on the coast, a few miles south of Florence. It’s a great base camp for exploring the dunes. “[It’s] maybe not the most wilderness camping experience you'll ever have in your life,” Emily said, ”but that was my favorite campground as a kid.”
• Cascades: Explore the volcanic landscapes of Mount St. Helens and hike through a chilly, two-mile-long underground lava tube at Ape Cave. Emily points out that there are many recreational opportunities on the mountain “and tons of dispersed camping nearby,” making it a perfect, flexible option.
• Rivers & Lakes: Beat the summer heat by taking a dip in one of our region’s many pristine waterways. Dabney State Recreation Area on the Sandy River is a great spot to swim. “We have probably upwards of 30 rivers that are fantastic to swim in within two hours of Portland,” Emily says.
• Agritourism: Cruise through 35 miles of scenic country roads in the Hood River Valley or go berry picking on Sauvie Island. “Agritourism is a huge part of tourism in Oregon,“ Emily notes, adding that you can easily go pick berries with friends, go to a winery in the country, or explore our many orchards. (Tip: We’ve got a suggested itinerary for a day at the Fruit Loop.)

Thanks to Bryan M. Vance for compiling these recommendations.

City Shares Draft of Moda Center Deal

After weeks of bickering and chest-thumping, the City of Portland sent a draft term sheet for the Moda Center renovation deal to the Trail Blazers last week. The proposal would commit up to $120 million to the renovation in exchange for the team playing every home game at the Moda Center for the next 20 years. It would also pay $3 million annually to offset property taxes (split between the city, county, and PPS) and provide benefits to community organizations in the Albina neighborhood. A final vote on the term sheet is scheduled for Aug. 12. [Oregonian]

Hunting and Fishing Ban Effort Stumbles

A controversial animal rights petition has hit a roadblock on its way to the statewide fall ballot. Backers of Initiative Petition 28, which would ban hunting, fishing, and the commercial slaughter of animals, submitted 142,784 signatures earlier this month — above the 117,173 required to qualify. But a spokesperson for the Oregon Secretary of State's Office told Willamette Week that "the initial sample of signatures the Elections Division tested failed to meet the state’s validity threshold." The office is now verifying a second, larger sample of signatures. [Willamette Week]

Local Beer Fans Are Sad at Costco

Costco is ending its collaboration with Bend-based Deschutes Brewery to sell its Helles-style lager under the Kirkland label. The mega-retailer has stocked the brew, which has won awards at the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival, on its shelves for two years. [Business Insider]