The Coast Starlight: San Jose to Portland

What a morning.

After a night of tossing and turning, back and forth, this way and that, I awoke at 5:15 am for good, just after the Coast Starlight pulled out of Dunsmuir. This was the stretch of the trip I was most excited about. A friend’s random mention of Mount Shasta last year reminded me that I was in this very spot 20 years ago — and I couldn’t remember the feeling, but I knew it must have been one of awe, waking up in the forests of Northern California after my first overnight of what would be a three-week trip. This isn’t Bay Area Northern California, but the more than 300 miles of California that lies between the Bay Area and the Oregon border.

I moved to the observation car for a more panoramic view of the sunrise, and wow was it worth it. While it was still dark, I mistook a few mountains for Mount Shasta. But once I saw the real thing, there was no mistaking it: a majestic, snow-capped peak, with a volcanic cone beside it. Soon the sky was on fire with the sunrise, illuminating the miles and miles of pine forests around us.

I was reminded that the Coast Starlight’s trip through the Cascades later this afternoon is one of the most beautiful stretches of track — but for me, this sunrise over the area around Route 97 is the reason I booked this leg of the trip.

After a nearly 40-minute stop at Klamath Falls, Oregon, the Coast Starlight runs along the Eastern Shore of Upper Klamath Lake. The conductor said that having lived in Alaska for many years, this stretch of track is his favorite, with views of the lake and the birds and waterfowl that make it home — including bald eagles — and the towering, snow-capped, conical Mt. McLoughlin in the distance. Cell service would drop soon, he said, making it a good time to put electronics away and enjoy the views.

I had boarded the Coast Starlight in San Jose the night before, after spending the day with friends who live in La Honda, 2,000 feet above sea level. I had considered flying from San Diego to Portland to experience the city, but when I asked opinions of fellow Amtrak fans on an online forum, one of the responses read, “There is no way in hell that I am going to miss any reasonable opportunity that I may have for the remainder of my life to ride the Coast Starlight through Pengra Pass in the Cascades. It is an exceptionally scenic line with amazing engineering and I am thrilled to ride this route every chance I get which unfortunately is not often.” That, coupled with the 20-year-old vague memory of Mount Shasta had me convinced, and I am so glad I opted for the route, even if I didn’t sleep well on the overnight ride in coach class.

After a brief stop at Chemult, the Coast Starlight begins to climb the Oregon Cascades, running between the Willamette National Forest and the Umpqua National Forest. When I took this route 21 years ago, this stretch was covered in snow. That I remember well, especially the sudden appearance of two hikers in the snow along the train route. On this late April trip, I saw only patches of snow, but tall pine trees as far as the eye can see.

As we passed the edge of Odell Lake, I began chatting with a couple from Louisville, Kentucky, the husband, a former railroad employee who adored trains as much as I did, the wife, a reluctant travel companion eager to see Seattle. We talked a lot about travel, our shared political views, and the current state of Louisville as the train skirted just behind the canopy of pine trees, with the crystal blue lake below. We chatted also with a train attendant who raises horses, and she shared a lot about her life and her work, which had been interrupted after being violently assaulted by a passenger a few years back.

This ride included a few characters, including a young woman whose deep gravely voice could be heard throughout the observation car. When the smell of weed and the sound of coughing emanated from the ladies room, a friend that she had made along the route was taken off the train in Eugene, while she hid to avoid the same fate. I later heard that she tried to being pet rats aboard in Los Angeles, and scrambled to find someone to take them from her when she was told she could not. I wondered what stopped her from concealing the rat cage in her bags, but felt confident she had boarded without them.

For miles and miles before Eugene, we snaked through forests, often looking down at vast valleys below. After Eugene, the ride through Albany and Salem and on to Portland was flat and unremarkable, but the ongoing conversation with the couple from Louisville kept me entertained.

I was also fortunate that a first-class passenger who overheard our conversation — and who, like me, worked in New York City government — offered me her meal credit that she was not going to use, so I had lunch from the cafe car on her.

Our arrival in Portland marked the end of my journey on the Coast Starlight, as I would transfer to the Empire Builder after a quick half hour to walk around the city. Like much of the West Coast, Portland had more than its share of homeless encampments, and there was not much to see around the train station. The highlight of my walk was stumbling upon the home base of Pendleton, one of my favorite clothing manufacturers. Unfortunately it had just closed, and I reminded myself that the last thing I needed was another Pendleton.

Onward to the Empire Builder!