Weekend Wanderer: Portland, Oregon to Salt Lake City

April 24, 2017
Stories
Alaska Airlines
4 min read

As an avid runner living in Portland, Oregon, David Laney gave us the takeover of a lifetime as he ran thorugh the streets of Salt Lake City, Utah. Scrolling through his Instagram feed, his passion for not only running, but the outdoors in general shines through in every post. He just returned from an Instagram takeover in Salt Lake City, Utah as part of Alaska’s Weekend Wanderer series. For more Weekend Wanderer posts, be sure to follow Alaska Airlines on Instagram.

I love being outside. As someone who spends a lot of time in the outdoors, Portland, Oregon is a great place to have as a base camp between trips. With both Mount Hood and the Oregon Coast about an hour away, great access to outdoor activities is something I often take for granted. I really value being able have a fun trip in just a few days. Spending this last weekend in the Utah really opened my eyes to the ease of travel between Portland and Salt Lake City and the ease of travel between mountains, desert and city near Salt Lake City.

Hey Folks, pretty stoked to be flying from Portland to Salt Lake City, and to be exploring the deserts and mountains of Utah this weekend! I’ll be taking over the Alaska Air account so follow along and get ideas for your next trip!

Within 45 minutes from the airport you can be in skiing heaven. In a few hours you can be in the desert with everything from hiking in the national parks to mountain biking or driving ATVs. All of these places have great trails for running – the desert had really fun technical rock, Little Cottonwood Canyon had awesome alpine singletrack and downtown Salt Lake City had beautiful roads, bike paths and parks.

“If Delicate Arch has any significance it lies, I will venture, in the power of the odd and unexpected to startle the senses and surprise the mind out of their ruts of habit, to compel us into a reawakened awareness of the wonderful-that which is full of wonder.” -Edward Abbey

I love the desert because it’s often totally silent except for the talking lizards. Just drove back to SLC to check out the city tonight, @alaskaair 1/2 marathon in the morning and Wasach Range in the afternoon!

The Alaska Airlines Salt Lake City Marathon wound through the quiet neighborhoods, canyons and city streets. It was a really fun course and well-organized event – I would highly recommend it.

Congrats to all those out there working hard this morning on the roads at the Salt Lake City Races! It was an awesome event. Thanks to all the volunteers and organizers!

I would also highly recommend visiting Pulp Lifestyle Kitchen while in Salt Lake City. They have great smoothies, bowls, juice and food. It was just what I wanted for breakfast, lunch and probably dinner.

No matter what outdoor activity you’re into, Utah has it, and with everything so close to Salt Lake City you can fit a ton of fun into a weekend.

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” – Edward Abbey
Loving these Wasatch trails!

Had a blast exploring Utah these past couple days, it’s got awesome mountains, quiet deserts and plenty to do in the city! If you’ve got a weekend this is a great place to spend it. Thanks for following along. Signing off!

Utah has a little bit, (OK a lot) of everything: big snowy mountains, red desert, green trees and plenty of sunny blue sky. I can’t wait to spend another weekend here!

Comments

Doug Smith says:

April 24, 2017 at 8:05 pm

I loved the photos in this post! The amazing outdoor options within Salt Lake City, Utah make it one of my favorite places to run, hike, bike, and play!