Outside

O OUTSIDE

Everybody loves options. Whether it’s deciding which of the 20+ breweries in Central Oregon to visit or which trail to take, we love having choices.

“There’s more to Redmond than most people think,” said Bob Gilbert, Central Oregon Trail Alliance Redmond Chapter representative. “It’s well worth the drive from Bend.”

Of the many worthy multiple-use trails in Redmond’s backyard, two areas stand out: Dry Canyon and the Cline Buttes Recreation Area.

Explore Redmond’s Backyard

Dry Canyon and Cline Buttes offer great outdoor opportunities for hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and nature enthusiasts

By Damian Fagan

Damian Fagan

Dry Canyon Trail

Dry Canyon runs north-south through Redmond, and it lives up to its name. Formed thousands of years ago from lava flows from Newberry Volcano and nearby vents, the canyon was originally thought to be carved out of the basalt by glacial streams from Forked Horn Butte. Recent geologic investigations have determined that the Deschutes River coursed through this area over 78,000 years ago before younger lava flows forced the river farther west.

Today, the low basalt walls and wide canyon bottom offer various recreational opportunities from hiking, cycling, disc golf, dog parks and more. Managed by Redmond Area Park and Recreation District, there are multiple entry points into the canyon—such as NW Canyon Drive and Fir Avenue—but the main north and south terminals have parking areas, restrooms and interpretive signs. Out-and-back distances from either end of the paved trail is around 7.5 miles. Dirt trails parallel the paved trail and offer opportunities to explore the nooks and crannies of the basalt cliffs.

A view into the Deschutes River Canyon near Wildcat Canyon.

Cline Buttes Recreation Area

Within the 32,000-acre CBRA, the Maston Trail Use Area (4,000 acres) offers several trailheads, accessible from the Cline Falls Highway or Highway 126. According to Chris Tull, interim manager for the Tumalo Irrigation District, the Mastons were early pioneers in the area and longtime patrons of the District. The Cline Buttes are named for Central Oregon pioneer dentist Cass A. Cline (1850-1926).

“COTA adopted the Maston network about 20 years ago and have been working the BLM on the Cascade View project for about the last 12 years since its inception,” said Gilbert.

The Maston trailhead, off Newcomb Road, provides access to numerous multiple-use trails for hikers, dog walkers, joggers, mountain bikers and horse riders that form a variety of loops through old-growth juniper woodlands, with some views of the Cascades and into the Deschutes River Canyon. Trail distances vary depending upon which loops or connectors are taken. Hiking the pedestrian/ horse trail out Stampede, looping toward the river, then back to the trailhead via the Settlement trail is about a 7.5-mile loop and without much elevation gain.

Another option in this area is to continue beyond the Maston trailhead on Newcomb Road to the small Wildcat Canyon trailhead. A 1.6-mile loop along the hiker/ equestrian Settlement trail takes explorers to the rim of the Deschutes River; the Rockbar segment of this hike is very rewarding.

Damian Fagan

The Cascade View Trailhead is the newest trail hub in the CBRA. Located off of Eagle Crest Boulevard, the trailhead, like many in the CBRA, can accommodate horse trailers and plenty of parking for vehicles. COTA held Tuesday night Trail Love outings this winter and spring to catch up on some trail maintenance that had been on hold because of the pandemic.

“We’re trying to get better signage and better markings on this trail, but we’re trying to accomplish that over these warm summer months,” said Gilbert. While working on signage, the group is planning more volunteer work parties and trail stewardship projects for when the weather cools off. Currently, trails in the area are marked with flagging, and the trail lives up to its name with outstanding views of Cascade peaks.

West of the Maston area is the Tumalo Canal Historic Area, another Prineville Bureau of Land Management-managed area that offers various multiple-use trails and a pedestrian-only trail that loops through the juniper woodlands. Trail intersections are numbered and parts of the trail follow or cross over historic irrigation canals that were part of a failed irrigation project attempting to satisfy thirsty homesteaders.

Before leaving any trailhead in the CBRA, take a photograph of the trail map or download a map PDF from the COTA or Prineville BLM’s website.

No matter which trail you take, these lower elevation hikes may be pretty hot, midday in summer. Local Redmond dog walkers, hikers, horse riders, and mountain bikers sharing these trails known the time to go is either early morning or late afternoon to avoid the midday heat…and the drive to Bend.

Central Oregon Trail Alliance

By Megan Burton

Courtesy General Duffy’s Waterhole

Events in Redmond are keeping the summer fun alive.

Bigfoot, Brews and Drive-In Movies

Summer is just getting started in Redmond

The Pacific Northwest is rife with stories about Bigfoot lurking in the forests nearby. The potential for a mysterious creature to be hidden in the vast expanse of the West sounds entirely reasonable for some and complete fiction for others. For those hoping to dive into the truth of the Bigfoot stories, a few experts are hitting Redmond this summer.

“Finding Bigfoot” stars Cliff Barackman and James “Bobo” Fay are coming to General Duffy’s Waterhole in Redmond this August. The Bend Bigfoot Research Group will also be in attendance sharing its knowledge of Bigfoot and any recent research.

The event is also supporting local nonprofit, Family Access Network. Attendees who bring a new pair of children’s shoes to donate will be entered to win a bigfoot expedition. With limited seating available, Bigfoot fanatics are encouraged to bring their own camp chair, grab a bite and settle in for an evening of mystery and Sasquatch stories.

Bigfoot and Brews Tour

Sun., Aug. 22 General Duffy’s Waterhole Eventbrite.com/e/bigfoot-and-brews-tour-tickets $19.99

For a more relaxing evening, Guild Mortgage is helping to host a family-friendly drive-in movie night this August at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. “Guardians of the Galaxy” has been chosen as the film based on polls on the event’s Facebook page. The event is free to the first 250 cars to attend, as long as you bring a donation for Every Child Oregon. This nonprofit helps foster teens who are getting ready to move out on their own. Donate an item from the list or bring a full “Launch Box” for the chance to be entered into a raffle.

Drive in Movie Night

O Invasion of the Ants

A tiny brigade confounds a pair of naturalists committed to natural eradication

By Jim Anderson

Well, our move to Eugene has opened up a new challenge for us: an invasion of tiny ants. And, oh boy, have they moved in!

There are nearly 1,000 species of ants in North America. They range in size from tiny specks to as big as a AAA battery. And they’re ubiquitous—they’re everywhere!

My wife Sue is having more fun trying to outsmart them—just as challenging as keeping squirrels out of the bird feeder.

First she used peppermint oil along their route to block their scent trail.

“That should do it,” she said, having confidence that the strong peppermint oil would send them back home.

Nope, that didn’t work, they just went around it. We had completely underestimated the reasoning ability of the ant’s tiny brain. I can hear them talking it over: “Hey guys, just hold your noses and we can go around it. Our scouts have discovered a lot of rich goodies in this place, and it’ll be well worth the extra work to harvest it.”

And they kept coming. Pretty soon we could make out a marching ant trail of them coming and going on the kitchen counter. They found a tiny hole in the framing around the kitchen window and lo-and-behold they started arriving by the hundreds.

A continuous black line of them was coming from the edge of the window, across the kitchen counter, up on the white wall under the microwave, to the other side of the kitchen, down that wall and up the side of the tall plastic garbage can.

I have a hunch the ants thought they’d died and gone to heaven. And of course, Sue started using more oil to mask the ant’s foraging trail. Yeah, you guessed it, we are not into using pesticides, poisons or harmful chemicals!

Ants being ants, they soon found a new way to get to the food source by coming and going through a tiny hole in the ceiling where it meets the kitchen wall. We wondered how many thousands more were inside the walls waiting to hear from their friends.

It stalled them, and we thought we had won the battle. But, ants being ants, they soon found a new way to get to the food source by coming and going through a tiny hole in the ceiling where it meets the kitchen wall. We wondered how many thousands more were inside the walls waiting to hear from their friends.

We moved the garbage can to the garage and, again, we thought we had solved the ant problem. Hah!

Jim Anderson

Monomorium minumum, aka Little Black Ant, sugar ant or piss ants.

Two days passed since we discovered that our home had become an ant restaurant. Moving the big food source seemed an obvious solution to the invasion. But when Sue opened the cupboard the next morning, she discovered a number of the sneaky little black guys congregating around the lid of the honey jar. And then, when we opened up the bag of my chief digestive aids, prunes, a bunch of ants slid out with them. You have to give them credit!

Now that the ants were searching for a new way to get to a food source, Sue, while watching them go hither and thither, mused, “Just think what it must be like to live in the tropics.”

She finally took some mint-scented toothpaste and, since we have white walls, spread it all around the window frame and into any and all cracks where those little busybodies could find an entrance.

In addition, she has cleaned every surface with vinegar water and so far, fingers crossed, we have kept these intrepid insects at bay. Ain’t Nature grand!

RECYCLE : : FACTS & FIGURES FACTS & FIGURES

Rethink about it! Rethink about it!

Did you know clamshells, cups of any kind, plastic bags, and milk, juice, and soup boxes can’t be recycled curbside in Deschutes County? Don’t toss it in hoping it gets recycled: know what goes in and what stays out. Check out our website for recycling tips and more!