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THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
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TRAIL UPDATE Kicking into winter mode Winter storms have created “awesome” snow conditions for the most part, said Chris Sabo, U.S. Forest Service trails specialist. And most of that snow is the good stuff, not the wet-pack snow that was falling earlier in the season. “We’ve really kicked into winter,” Sabo said, and most sno-parks have “at least marginal conditions.” With good snow in abundance and a mild weekend forecast, the Forest Service is expecting heavy use at the sno-parks over the weekend. Trail users should expect to find a downed tree across trails here and there, Sabo warned. Forest Service and volunteer crews cleared winter trails of about 300 trees brought down by high winds last week, he said. Sled dog races are scheduled for the weekend across the forest. The Friday race is set for Upper Three Creek Snopark and will be using snowmobile loop trails to Tumalo Mountain. Racers will be at Wanoga Snowmobile Sno-park on Saturday and Sunday, and on snowmobile trails around Mt. Bachelor and south and west of Wanoga to Elk Lake Resort. Parking at Wanoga is expected to be at capacity; spectators are encouraged to carpool or use overflow parking at Wanoga Snoplay Area or Edison Sno-park. Snowmobilers can watch the race from snowmobile trails at Edison Sno-park, Sabo said.
See Trails / E6
SPOTLIGHT Grant workshop coming up The Oregon Cultural Trust will host a free workshop from 1-3 p.m. March 12 to help Central Oregon residents learn how to apply for grants from its cultural funding programs. The event will take place at Sisters Art Works, 204 W. Adams St. Visit the cultural trust’s website at www.culturaltrust.org/ grants/developmentgrants to register.
Ski cheap for local nonprofit Go ski at Mt. Bachelor for cheap and simultaneously help a local nonprofit. Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Oregon is a beneficiary of Mt. Bachelor’s fourth annual ski week fundraiser. Mt. Bachelor will provide $25 lift ticket vouchers to CASA, valid for an all-day pass between April 2-6 and April 9-13. Call 541-390-1618 to reserve vouchers, which will be ready for pickup March 26 at CASA, 1130 N.W. Harriman St., Suite 122. Bachelor will give 100 percent of the proceeds to CASA, which provides volunteer advocates to help abused and neglected children in the court system in Central Oregon. Contact: www.casa ofcentraloregon.org. — From staff reports
Casey Osborne-Rodhouse cross-country skis on the Flagline Trail recently, nearing Swampy Lakes Shelter.
KEY TO ADVENTURE • Flagline Trail descends from Dutchman Flat Sno-park, around Tumalo Mountain, to Swampy Lakes By Anne Aurand The Bulletin
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here’s an extra sense of adventure involved in a one-way cross-country ski trip that starts near Mount Bachelor and ends at a lower-elevation sno-park. It also requires an extra bit of planning. Namely, you need a car shuttle and a partner. Planning note No. 1: Choose your partner wisely. You will be alone with this person for a long time in the woods where any number of things could go wrong. My partner of choice is not only a close friend and a competent backcountry skier, she’s also a physician assistant in an urgent care clinic, which, in my book, is way better than any first-aid kit. Casey Osborne-Rodhouse and I drove separate cars Todd Lake
about 15 miles up Century Drive to Swampy Lakes Snopark, where we left her car, transferred all her gear into mine and continued up the road. Planning note No. 2: Remember you will need the key to get into the parked shuttle car when you ski back to it. More on this later. About six miles later, we were at Dutchman Flat Snopark, where we started our ski on the Dutchman Loop trail, at the base of Tumalo Mountain, abutting wide-open flats that reveal spectacular scenery. On our recent blue-sky day, Mount Bachelor towered behind us and the jagged summit of Broken Top was a dramatic distraction ahead. Our destination was the Flagline Trail. See Outing / E6
Flagline trail Flagline Access Trail
Swampy Lakes shelter
Tumalo Mountain
Dutchman Loop Trail
Dutchman Flat Sno-park Mount Bachelor
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Cascade Lakes Highway
Swampy Loop Trail To Bend 46
Vista Butte Sno-park 45
Swampy Sno-park Greg Cross / The Bulletin
Photos by A n n e A u r a n d / The Bulletin
Casey Osborne-Rodhouse, of Bend, gets ready to set off on the Dutchman Loop Trail with Broken Top in the distance. This is one trailhead skiers can use to start to access the Flagline Trail that leads to Swampy Lakes Sno-park.