The sounds of summer

I love it! The phone calls and e-mails are coming in about strange, screeching calls piercing the peaceful night sky. Jodi Creed sent me this one (edited for brevity): "Three nights ago I was beckoned outside by the call of a great horned owl (GHO) very close to our house. He (or she) was being answered by a more distant owl with a slightly longer call (but still a great horned) and once by an even more distant owl. Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wasco Lake is a lesser known local trail destination

Most local hikers seem to be familiar with Wasco Lake only by virtue of a trail sign pointing away from the much more popular Canyon Creek Meadows loop trail. In reality, Wasco Lake is a nice little destination itself. Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Freedom of religion is for all of us

I am writing to you as the ninth anniversary of my sister Cathy's murder at the World Trade Center approaches. Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The swallowtails of summer

Thanks to my wife Sue's landscaping our home with bird- and butterfly-friendly plants, I don't have to travel far and wide to revel in the swallowtails of summer. Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Echo Basin hike offers some unique features

Here is a great little hike just off Highway 20. Although I've frequently driven by this trailhead, I had never before stopped to check it out. In fact, on average, I pass it about 20 times a year on my way to the coast or OSU Beaver football games. This is the Echo Basin Trail between Santiam and Tombstone Passes. Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Moraine Lake accessible from multiple hiking routes

You've probably heard the hackneyed old tale of the answer to a confused traveler's query for directions, "You can't get there from here." Actually, it usually sounds more like, "You cain't get they-ah from hee-yah," and is most often attributed to old codgers in Maine. Moraine Lake is nothing like that; there are lots of ways to get there. Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The ringtail "cat" that's not a cat

You would think that in the world of science, where everything is studied down to a gnat's eyebrow, people would be as careful about common names as they are about scientific names, but it just isn't so. Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Running commentary

After two weeks of resting a strained hamstring, brought on by middle age and not by running at a fast pace, I headed out behind Tollgate for a three-mile trial run to test whether my recovery was complete. Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Explore the Metolius above Camp Sherman

Every now and then, I'm asked to recommend a hike for people who aren't hikers. Maybe the in-laws are visiting from Florida, or maybe it's your old high school friend whose idea of a hike is when you're stuck with a distant parking space at the shopping mall. Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Sisters salutes...

• Brenna Weems, of Sisters, won Reserve Champion in the short stirrup, hunter equitation division, at the A-rated horse show, the High Desert Classic held July 21-30 at the J Bar J Youth Ranch in Bend. Brenna was showing her own horse, Sneak a Little Peak, and she trains with Catherine Cruger of Someday Farm in Tumalo. Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Hike to Square Lake from Santiam Pass

Most of us travel over Santiam Pass on a fairly regular basis, and we've seen the devastation caused by the 2003 B&B Fire. However, it's now been seven years since nearly 100,000 acres were blackened in that fire, and the forest's recovery is interesting to observe. Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Sisters salutes...

• Shanon and Greg Pozovich What a treasure we have in the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue volunteers! Greg became lost during a hike to Tam McArthur Rim last week and spent a night in the forest. Upon being notified he was missing, the response of these rescuers was outstanding. Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Maxwell Butte is a rigorous hike

When friends asked if I wanted to hike up Maxwell Butte, I said, "Sure!" Then I asked, "Where's that?" Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Sisters salutes...

• Katherine (Kate) Canja, daughter of Safron (Saf) and Judy Canja, formally of Sisters, has graduated from Oregon State University (OSU) College of Engineering, with a degree in Radiation Health Physics. Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Sisters salutes...

• Ann Richardson, Executive Director of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show: A huge birthday thank you from Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show to the community of Sisters, our volunteers, sponsors and supporters. A special thanks to the employees of US Bank for their help with our Birthday Gala fundraiser: great bankers make great cashiers! And to everyone who participates in the show in any way, shape or form, thank you! Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Fish Lake: now you see it, now you don't

Fish Lake, just over the Santiam Pass, is poised to perform its annual vanishing act. At the beginning of this month, the lake was full to the brim and overflowing down Fish Lake Creek to Clear Lake and the McKenzie River. By summer's end, however, the lake will be replaced by a wildflower-filled meadow. Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Nature flies on

From the mid-1800s to the early 1900s the millinery trade convinced ladies that feathers in their hats would make them more attractive. Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Sisters salutes...

• Fourth of July Picnic organizers Julia Rickards and Cindy Rainey wrote: Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Tumalo trail is (almost) snow-free

Access to the high country trails is tantalizingly close. Last week, all but about the last quarter mile of the Tumalo Falls Loop was snow-free. Even so, the entire loop was a superb hike. Most trails under 6,000 feet are now snow-free. Tuesday, July 06, 2010

They're Tent Caterpillars!

"Is this the Jim Anderson who writes for The Nugget?" the caller asked. Tuesday, June 29, 2010