WWW ALDHAWest

Trails

Hiking

Join ALDHA-West!

Mail Bag

Loss of Greyhound Service In The Northwest

According to an article in the Portland's The Oregonian of June 26, pages E1 – E2, Greyhound has announced deep cuts in services to many rural areas of Washington and Oregon effective August 18, 2004 which will adversely affect hikers along the PCT who depend on the bus for trailhead access/egress. The hardest hits will be the loss of service to Ashland, Bend, and Government Camp in Oregon, and Snoqualmie Pass in Washington.

This loss of Greyhound service has far wider impact than just Washington and Oregon for Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hikers. It will also impact hikers on the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Northwest Trail. Expect cuts next year in other hiking areas. California service cuts will impact the PCT; other long-distance trails will ultimately face the same problems and service cuts in future years.

Quoting parts of the article,

DALLAS - Greyhound Lines Inc will stop bus service to many small towns stretching from the northwest to Chicago to cut costs and focus on its most profitable routes. The company announced Friday that it would close 260 stops, leaving 99 in its 13-state northern region effective August 18.

Greyhound will make similar changes in other regions in the next two to three years, said Chief Executive Stephen Gorman.

In addition to Washington and Oregon, the reductions will affect service in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Isolated routes in a few other states will also be affected, Greyhound said.

Greyhound Lines Inc. says it will stop bus service on August 18 to the following towns in Oregon and Washington:

OREGON: Albany, Arlington, Ashland, Bandon, Bend, Biggs, Boardman, Brightwood, Brookings, Canyonville, Chemult, Coos Bay, Cottage Grove, Florence, Gold Beach, Government Camp, Klamath Falls, La Pine, Lincoln City, Madras, McMinnville, Newberg, Newport, North Bend, Port Orford, Redmond, Reedsport, Rhododendron, Sandy, Sheridan, Troutdale, Waldport, Warm Springs, Wemme, Zigzag.

WASHINGTON: Blaine, Camas, Castle Rock, Cle Elum, Connell, Fort Lewis, George, Goldendale, Grandview, Lyle, north Bend, North Bonneville, Prosser, Richland, Ritzville, Skamania, Snoqualmie Pass, Toppenish, Walla Walla, Wapato, Washougal.

So, what about alternatives?

Ashland, OR: There is an airport in Medford (www.co.jackson.or.us/SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=5) serviced daily by Horizon, America West, United, and Skywest Airlines. The Rouge Valley Transportation District (www.rvtd.org) operates local bus service twice per hour (weekdays only) between Ashland and the Medford airport.

Amtrak stops only in Klamath Falls. There is also an airport there with daily service to Portland via Alaska and Horizon airlines. However, there is no local bus service to there from either Medford (76 miles) or Ashland (88 miles).

Bend, OR: There is an airport in Redmond. Amtrak runs a bus twice a day from there to its station in Chemult, near Crater Lake, where you can catch the Coast Starlight train that runs from Seattle to Los Angeles. It is a very long hitch from the PCT at either McKenzie Pass (highway 242) or Santiam Pass (highway 126) through Sisters and over to Redmond. Four regional bus lines serve Bend and will remain after Greyhound bails out.

I will continue to research and pass on alternatives in future issues where possible. At this time, I am unaware of alternates for the other areas mentioned. Amtrak does not serve Snoqualmie Pass. If any reader has information to share, please send it to me at the email address listed in 2004 ALDHA-West Membership Directory and I’ll add it to a future up-date article.

I see a new opportunity for present and former hikers who live in the affected areas to serve as trail angels or on-call shuttle services. I would suggest that offers/requests for such services be posted regularly to such sites as the PCT_List and the CDT_List forums. There should be similar forums for other long trails.