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Tackling community issues. Celebrating local voices.
On a recent sunny spring day, I met up with Ashli Blow at a canoe launch in Alton Baker Park, named for the late Baker, former editor and publisher of the Register-Guard. Baker championed park development in Eugene from his arrival in 1927 until his death in 1961, shaping the more than 400 acres that now include Alton Baker Park, the Whilamut Natural Area, and the Eastgate Woodlands.
As Ashli, Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s environment and public health correspondent, and I, its outdoor recreation contributor, paddled the canal, I reflected on how our beats are always in conversation — and how this park, shaped by someone who likely understood the power of place and story, offered a fitting space to continue that dialogue.
We launched our boats into the canal from the gravel parking area beside the Alton Baker Dog Park. Ashli brought her inflatable kayak, and I brought Camellia, my 16.5-foot hot pink Kevlar sea kayak. While Camellia is built for multiday expeditions, I’m always looking for easy local paddling routes to justify the garage space she occupies. Centrally located and less than a 10-minute drive from home, the Alton Baker Canoe Canal is one of the easiest ways to enjoy a flatwater paddle in Eugene…