Waterfront trail is flooded

I guess I have not been ventured south of the South Waterfront in a week or so. About 1.26 miles into my run yesterday (testing out the Runkeeper App*), I ran into this:

No signs, no warnings, no "word on the street" from neighbors - just an impasse between runner and river, as the Willamette eventually took over the entire path.

Consider this a friendly heads-up!

*As for Runkeeper for Android, it worked well for a trial run. I didn't require an account setup, so I could just turn it on and go. I chose the no-coaching option. It gives real-time current pace (min/mi), as well as average pace. Surprisingly, I liked the audio updates. Best of all, it allows for opening the camera and snapping photos from within the app.

Aftermath of the storm

Well, the "big storm" came and went.  It started snowing in the South Waterfront around 9pm last  night, and tapered off in the middle of the night.

Elizabeth Caruthers Park around 11:00pm

We did see the a little bit of the same slip-sliding silliness of 2008 on Gaines St heading up to Macadam and also on Curry St coming down from Macadam.  At 4:00 am the snow was already melting some, although I saw one poor guy stuck on the side of the road halfway up Gaines.  Those trying to get up the streets in Lair Hill were also experiencing the same difficulties.

Gaines St between Moody & Macadam

Although there were a number of snow-related problems in the hills and outer areas, the biggest impact in our neck of the woods seemed to be from a "minor landslide" on the I-5 exit to Macadam. The Macadam off-ramp was closed all day while repairs took place. As of 5:30pm, the right lane is now open, but the exit ramp is still closed.

Cleanup of landslide on Macadam

Speaking of snow...

Do you remember the Winter Storm/Arctic Blast of 2008? 

This video, filmed by South Waterfront resident Bob Cronk, went viral, getting 227K+ views on YouTube. It was featured on CNN and various news channels across the country.

Arctic Blast 2008 is a great conversation starter, by the way. If you ever find yourself at a Portland cocktail party with nothing to say, just ask your neighbor if they were around for the big storm of 2008. It works every time.