Eugene → Portland

As I was standing on the highway, another hitchhiker approached me. His name was Oystein. He was a 23 year old Norwegian sporting a ukulele. We were both hitching to Portland so we decided to pair up. A man pulled over a few minutes later and drove us 20 minutes up the road. He was an interesting character, who recommended we see Multnomah Falls if we got the chance.

Another man picked us up on the highway and drove us to Salem. He, too, recommended we see Multnomah Falls.

single woman couchsurf

Karen picked us up in a Prius. She hitchhiked solo across the U.S. three times in the 70’s. She was very excited to see young people “like us” hitchhiking and exploring. She was very taken by us, and wished we could meet her adolescent son to expose him to travelers. She invited us to stay the night at her home in the Columbia Gorge, offering to make us dinner and take us to Multnomah Falls. We accepted, went to her home, cooked an organic dinner with vegetables fresh from her garden, hiked Multnomah Falls with her dog, and slept in sleeping bags on her living room floor. The next morning she drove us to Portland, and bought us bus passes for the city.