Monthly Programs
More info (color
flier) about the monthly program here: monthly program
March 2 tuesday
Wallowas Backcountry Huts
ONC monthly program.
Multnomah
Arts Center auditorium, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy.
Potluck and
social hour 6:30-7:30 p.m., Program and meeting 7:30 p.m. Free!
For the
potluck bring a food dish to share and your own table service and beverage.
Sponsored by ONC Portland Chapter
April 6 tuesday
ONC board elections
Hiking
Oregon’s Wilderness Areas by William Sullivan
ONC monthly program.
Multnomah
Arts Center auditorium, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy.
Potluck and
social hour 6:30-7:30 p.m., Election followed by program 7:30 p.m. Free!
For the
potluck bring a food dish to share and your own table service and beverage.
Sponsored by ONC Portland Chapter
May 4 tuesday
Colorado
River Float Trip
ONC monthly program.
Multnomah
Arts Center auditorium, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy.
Potluck and
social hour 6:30-7:30 p.m., Program and meeting 7:30 p.m. Free!
For the
potluck bring a food dish to share and your own table service and beverage.
Sponsored by ONC Portland Chapter
Upcoming Events Mark your calendar
March 3 Wednesday
Outdoor Summer
Camp Fair
REI Portland,
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Info: 503 221-1938
Info about
summer camps: Friends of Tryon Creek, Adventures Without Limits, TrackersNW, Audubon Society of Portland, PEEPs, Portland Parks Environmental Education programs.
March 6 saturday
Tour de Meissner
Competitive
race or a casual paced tour. Start 9:30 a.m. 22km and
15km Classic Race. Fun tour family-friendly 22k, 15k, 10km or 5km. Bend area. Info
and sign up: www.tumalolanglauf.com
Mar 6 tuesday
Clinic: Snowcamping Basics
REI
Hillsboro, 7 p.m. Free! Info: 503 617-6072
Clinic: Wild
Edible Plants
REI Tualatin,
7 p.m. Free! Info: 503 624-8600
March 11 Thursday
Clinic:
Backpacking Basics
REI
Clackamas, 7 p.m. Free! Info: 503 659-1156
March 13–14 saturday -Sunday
Winter Family
Weekend
Mazama Lodge, Government Camp, OR
Cross country
ski lessons, ski and snow shoe tours, snow cave and sculpture building. Saturday night Polka band, bonfire and a
movie. On Sunday afternoon - the grand race – the 1K Mazamabeiner.
Reservations:
mazama.lodge@mazamas.org 503 272-9214
March 15 Monday
Meet and Greet
with Jeff Galloway
Training to
prepare for the 2010 Portland Marathon on Oct. 10.
REI Portland,
12 p.m. Info: www.JeffGalloway.com
March 20 Saturday
Forest Park: Day
of Stewardship
Join the
Forest Park Conservancy for a community wide volunteer stewardship event at
five locations in Forest Park.
9 a.m. – 1
p.m. Registration: stewardship@forestparkconservancy.org
SOLV Spring Oregon Beach Cleanup
10 a.m. – 1
p.m. Forty-five locations along the coast.
Contact Brett
Lyon at brett@solv.org, or 503-844-9571 x332
March 23 tuesday
Clinic:
Wilderness Safety and Survival
REI
Hillsboro, 7 p.m. Free! Info: 503 617-6072
Clinic:
Backpacking Basics for Women
REI Portland,
7 p.m. Free! Info: 503 221-1938
Clinic: World
Travel for Women
REI Tualatin,
7 p.m. Free! Info: 503 624-8600
March 25 Thursday
Clinic: Bike
Maintenance Basics for Women
REI
Clackamas, 7 p.m. Free! Info
March 31 Wednesday
Clinic: Wild
Forest Bounty
REI Portland,
7 p.m. Free! Info: 503 221-1938
April 3 Saturday
Desert
Orthopedics Great Nordeen
Mt Bachelor,
Central Oregon
Freestyle
race for first time racers and recreational skiers. Beginning at Mt. Bachelor,
skiers will tour on the generally downhill course from the Sunrise Lodge to the
Wanoga Snow Park. Busses will shuttle competitors
back to the Sunrise Lodge.
Info:
www.wbsef.org
No John Craig this year
There will be an end-of-season ONC
Spring Celebration on March 27 in Sisters, Oregon in place of the John
Craig. The chapter representatives will
gather to celebrate. The Central Oregon Chapter will help lead a ski tour to
McKenzie Pass up to Dee Wright Observatory. There will be a hike or bike if
there is not enough snow for skiing. On Sunday, March 28 This year’s John Day
Award for the ONC State Volunteer of the year will be
awarded. If you are interested in joining in the ski, bike or hike. For more
info contact Julius Dalzell 503 974-9021 jndalzell
(at) comcast (dot) net.
Trail News
Highway SR 14 closed intermittently
Highway SR 14 near Dog Mountain, a popular hiking trail
in Washington, will be closed March 1 to June 14 (fully closed from 4 to 6 p.m.
Monday through Friday) for work to prevent rock fall. And between June 15 and
September 2 it will be closed in two hour intervals seven days a week and will
open for one hour in-between.
This is the schedule:
7-9 a.m. closed
9-10 a.m. open
10 a.m. – noon closed
1-3 p.m. open
3-4 p.m. open
4-6 p.m. closed
6 p.m. open until 7 a.m. the next day
There will be delays of up to twenty minutes through the
Spring and Summer.
More info: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/SR14/RockfallMitigationWhiteSalmon
Nordic Issues March
2010
The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, USDA
Forest Service, has revised alternative two for the Coyote Wall/Catherine Creek
Environmental Assessment and is seeking public comments on the revised
alternative. A public meeting will be held on March 2, 6-8 p.m. in the Gorge
Room of the Best Western Hood River Inn, 1108 East Marina Way, Hood River, OR
541 386-2200.
Wanted: Nordic Issues committee members. Are there
issues that you would like the club to address? This is the committee to handle very important issues that affect all
of us. Please contact Louise Brown at louiseabrown
(at) comcast (dot) net or (after April) Mitch Auerbach at mauerbachfso (at)
yahoo (dot) com.
Nordic Issues February
2010
Join the Nordic Issues committee. Are there issues that
you would like the club to address? This is the committee to handle very
important issues that affect all of us. Please contact Louise Brown at louiseabrown (at) comcast (dot)
net or (after April) Mitch Auerbach at mauerbachfso (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Nordic Issues January
2010
Dear ONC members. This is your club, there are many
“Nordic Issues” out there, and our club urgently needs your participation as we
provide input for the decision makers.
Whether it’s the issue of the Cooper Spur land trade, the possible LPG
pipeline, gambling in the Gorge, snowmobiles on Mount Adams, and elsewhere,
cross country ski shelters on Mount Hood, possibly more cross-country ski
trails, dogs on the trails, the Highway 35 bridge redo, cellular towers near
Bennett Pass, and on and on, there is certainly to be an issue or two to
generate your interest. The Nordic issue committee can only speak with an
effective voice if we have enough active members to effectively advocate on
behalf of the Nordic skiing community. I urge you to join this growing group.
Please contact Mitch Auerbach at mauerbachfso
(at) yahoo (dot) com (after April, 2010), or
Louise Brown at louiseabrown (at) comcast (dot) net.
Mitchel Auerbach, Nordic
Issues
Nordic Issues December
2009
The ONC issues chair recently
commented on the USFS’s options related to the Mt.
Hood Off-Highway Vehicle Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement (OHV Plan). Like the Mazamas, I wrote to voice my support
for alternative four described in the Forest Service’s Plan.
This alternative takes into account a wide array of
concerns and arrives at an approach to OHV use on Mt.
Hood that is reasoned and balanced. It also is one that allows users of the Mt.
Hood NF, whether they be on motorized vehicles or not, to enjoy the forest
without impacting its long-term viability.
I, also, took the opportunity to express our concern the
impact alternative three would have on the forest’s clean and healthy water
supply, wildlife, and the interests of quiet recreationists
who, recognizing that OHV use and quiet recreation
are fundamentally incompatible, will avoid areas where OHVs
may be heard. This issue is of importance to ONC
members whether they are skiing or hiking.
In my comments to the Forest Service I also emphasized
that well over fifty percent of all visitors to Forest participate in day
hikes, with almost one quarter of visitors reporting this as the primary
purpose for their visit. Other popular activities on Mt. Hood include
backpacking, bicycling, skiing (downhill and cross country), family gatherings,
fishing, picnicking, relaxing, and viewing natural features or wildlife. In contrast only .16% of all recreation
visits to Mt. Hood National Forest were for the primary purpose of OHV recreation and only .52% of the all visitors to Mt.
Hood participate in OHV recreation.
Mitchel Auerbach, Nordic
Issues
Nordic Issues November
2009
Highway 35 Bridge
At two public meeting in August the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) and Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) presented the details of their
project to redo the bridge over the White River, which has suffered washouts
and other damages recently. A new bridge will be constructed, beginning in 2010
(most likely during the summer), with the construction process, lasting about a
year. Since the new bridge will be higher than the existing one, this project
will include faculties for a raised highway grade, the improved bridge and
culverts.
In the Teacup/Clark Creek area the Clark Creek Sno-Park
will be removed and the area will be restored to a wetland. The Teacup Sno-Park
will be enlarged by 70 spaces to the east resulting in no net loss of parking
spaces. A USFS representative said that the ski
trails accessed by the Clark Creek Sno-Park will not be maintained, because of
continual damage from washouts.
This construction will not affect the White River West
Sno-Park on the west of the Highway 35 bridge. It was suggested that a
underpass be incorporated into the road work opposite the Sno-Park to give
access to the Mineral Jane Trail on the south side of the highway, but there
were concerns about the culvert getting jammed with snow from the plowing. FHWA is exploring how to incorporate a ski trail under the
end of the new bridge over the river. Access to the Mineral Jane trailhead
wouldn’t be quite as direct but could still work. FHWA
is working on how to keep snow from blocking the ends of the trail under the
bridge, but may have to wait until the bridge is built to see how it will work.
Mount St. Helens
The Forest Service announced that Road 81 (which goes to
Red Rock Pass) will re-open in mid October, offering more access to this
mountain. The FS added that apart from this, a few sign modifications were also
planned, but little else in the way of facility improvements.
Teacup
The Teacup chair reported that his group will be doing
routine maintenance on some of the facilities there and that it also is
increasing day use fees. He added that trails this coming ski season will
continue to be groomed on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Mount Adams
(As reported by Darvel Lloyd)
For the past 35 years, large numbers of snowmobilers have regularly been illegally recreating on
all sides of Mt. Adams, including runs to the summit and big gatherings in Bird
Creek Meadows. Last winter, a snowmobiler was injured
at about 10,000 feet on Mazama Glacier and had to be
evacuated by helicopter. They access the area from Forest Service sno-parks and
private logging roads.
However, an educational outreach campaign in Oregon and
Washington over the past year has successfully informed hundreds of
snowmobiling clubs, retail outlets, associations and individuals about the
areas off limits to snowmobiling on Mt. Adams. The Yakama
Tribe, with assistance from the Friends of Mt. Adams produced a color
brochure-map of their “Mt. Adams Recreation Area”, clearly showing where and
why snowmobiling is prohibited since they acquired the land from the Forest
Service in 1972.
Mitchel Auerbach, Nordic
Issues
Nordic Issues October
2009
The sixth annual winter partnership meeting will be held
Thursday, October 8, 7 p.m. at Rock Creek Center, 710 Rock Creek Drive,
Stevenson, WA. The meeting is for those who use the Southern section of the
Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the Mt. Saint Helens
National Monument, and the surrounding areas in the winter.
Nordic Issues September
2009
There was no Nordic Issues article this month. We look
forward to a report on the public meeting about the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) final designs for the
reconstruction of Highway 35 over White River and along the Teacup/Pocket Creek
section that occurred on August 26 at the Forest Service office in Sandy.
Nordic Issues August
2009
Public
Meetings on Highway 35 Reconstruction
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
is working on final designs for reconstruction of Highway 35 over White River
and along the Teacup/Pocket Creek section. During August, FHWA
will host two public meetings to explain and discuss the designs. One meeting is
tentatively scheduled for Tuesday August 25th at the Forest Service office
in Parkdale. The other meeting is tentatively
scheduled for Wednesday August 26th at the Forest Service office in Sandy.
Tentative meeting times are 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Final meeting plans and/or a
general update on the Hwy 35 project, as expected soon from Ms. Carlsen’s office.
Mitchel Auerbach, Nordic
Issues
Nordic Issues July
2009
Highway 35 update: I participated in the June
teleconference, along with a Mazamas rep and two people from Oregon Department
of Transportation (ODOT). The Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) advised that because of limited
budget that it might be scaling back the project a bit. It also said that it’s
under consideration whether or not the realignment of the roadway might result
in the loss of some parking at Teacup or White River on the other side of the
road, but it quickly added that overall there should be no net loss in parking.
They are still considering an underpass across from the current road access to
the White River Sno-park so people would cross the road below grade to the
Mineral Jane trail that comes out there. They cited budget and some possible
safety concerns, while I highlighted our hopes that some sort of underpass
still would be built in the new project. They didn’t rule it out, but added
that there may be some safety issues with people having to scramble down an
embankment on one side to go into the tunnel and then do the same in reverse on
the other side.
FHWA also mentioned the subject
of holding a couple of more public hearings, although it added that the last
ones were weakly attended When it initially mentioned Hood River as a location,
I advocated for also having one in Portland since a majority of the skiers come
from here. ODOT quickly agreed, estimating that a
public hearing might take place in late July.
Cooper Spur: There was a teleconference on June 17,
during which the state of play on this ongoing issue was discussed and our
onward strategy plotted. From the call, it was agreed that the Cooper Spur
coalition will attempt to meet with Forest Service officials on this issue and
also may try to keep this concern alive among the public, since many in the
group are concerned that most of the public perceives that all of Copper Spur
is now protected in the expanded wilderness area (which is, in fact, not yet
true).
The Nordic issues representative recently joined the
Mazamas’ Conservation Committee, in his belief that there is strength through
numbers and that unity brings greater power on these concerns. Finally, the
ongoing effort of some to bring a casino to Cascades Locks, appears, for the
time being, anyway, to be dormant.... probably due to the economic recession.
Mitchel Auerbach, Nordic
Issues
Nordic Issues June
2009
After being overseas for over ten years, I am pleased to
have returned to Portland! As some of you old timers may recall, I lived in
Portland from 1990-95, was active in the Nordic club back then, and even served
a term as club president. Barely having moved back into my old house, I have
lost little time in hitting the trails and enjoying this year’s abundance of
snow and skiing opportunities. I also have volunteered to take on the task of
Nordic issues chair. In that vein, with the active guidance of Pam, Louise,
Ted, our club president, and others, I am rapidly being brought up to speed on
the various Nordic issues of concern to the club. Whether it’s the Cooper Spur
development, Highway 35, Mirror Lake, Government Camp or other issues, I look
forward to helping the club develop a strong and unified message as we advocate
for proper outcomes on our behalf. I also appreciate hearing from you in the
weeks ahead on these (and other) issues that may concern you, contact me at 503
281-4809.
The Nordic Issues front has heated up a bit, in tandem
with Portland’s long-delayed Spring! Please read on. The Cape Horn area of the
Gorge, located on the Washington side, and one of the Gorge’s few easily done
loop trails, has popped into the limelight recently. With the spotting of signs
of the rare Peregrine Falcon (nests) in the area, the Forest Service, which
manages the area, is considering several options including partial closure of
the nearby hiking trails. In response, the Nordic Club, along with other
interested parties, including the Mazamas and the Friends of the Gorge, is in
the process of developing positions as we provide comment to the Forest Service
in the weeks ahead.
We’re also in the process of finding out the status of
the Cooper Spur land swap, which Mt.
Hood Meadows would be doing for land near Government Camp. As provided for in
the recently signed Wilderness expansion, once this land swap goes through
Cooper Spur would be included in the expanded Mt. Hood Wilderness area. We’re
keeping tuned in on this and hope to develop common cause with other interested
outdoor organizations.
And last but not least, news about Mount Adams. Most of
you probably associate this great mountain with snowy wilderness and solitude.
That is true for Adams most of the time. However, unfortunately, a number of snowmobilers have a different take on this mountain, much
of which lies in a designated wilderness area, and part of which sits on
adjacent Yakima Indian lands. As a result, snowmobile traffic has become a real
problem in recent years and it appears to be getting worse. The Nordic Club,
along with other interested parties, has been corresponding with the Yakima
Council and other interested parties in order to find ways to deal with this
issue. In the weeks ahead, we look forward to further engaging other outdoor
clubs, as well as the U.S. Forest service, in order to more vigorously convey
our concerns on this issue.
Finally, my philosophy is that we are more effective when
we leverage our strengths and expertise with that of other clubs, so that in
the months ahead, I look forward to collaborating with the Mazamas, Friends of
the Gorge and other outdoor organizations on these (and other) concerns. To
this end, I have approached the Mazama’s Conservation
Committee and look forward to hearing from them.
Mitchel Auerbach, Nordic
Issues
Access to Siouxon Creek
trailhead blocked
The popular Siouxon Creek Trail
in Washington is not accessible due to road damage and may not be repaired
until the fall or possibly next summer according to a posting on Portlandhikers Web site. Forest Road 54 is washed out six
miles from Chelatchie Prairie General Store. It was
also reported that there are multiple slides on the road as well. The trail
closure is noted on the Gifford Pinchot National
Forest Web site. This trail, a favorite of some of our members, will be missed
this summer.
Highway 35 reconstruction update
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
is moving forward with the design of the reconstruction of the section of Highway
35 between White River and Pocket Creek Sno-Parks that has been washed out by
floods in the past. Elisa Carlsen, Environmental
Protection Specialist, informed us that the grade of the road bed will be lower
than they first anticipated and that more culvert locations will be added “to
carry as much debris flow under the road as possible.” They will put a bridge
in at Green Apple Creek. These changes will not impact the plans for the
sno-parks and recreational areas:
White River West Sno-Park will have a change in
grade of the access road.
White River East Sno-Park will be a new
configuration using input from snowmobile club.
Teacup Lake Sno-Park will be expanded to east or
north (approximately 700+ feet) to replace the parking spaces that will be lost
from the removal of Clark Creek Sno-Park
Clark Creek Sno-Park will be removed and restore
to wetland areas
Pocket Creek Sno-Park will be replaced in kind,
with the same length, width as the current one.
The ODOT Sno-Park Committee is
to meet in June and FHWA will supply the project
specifics to them at that time. The Forest Service will be preparing an
application for the sno-park changes mentioned above. The Task Force, made up
of FHWA, Mazamas, ONC-Portland,
Bergfreunde Ski Club and Teacup Lake Nordic Club, will
meet again in late May or June.
Pam Rigor, Newsletter Editor