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Friday, November 22, 2019
The Observer & Baker City Herald
RECREATION
REPORT
FREE FISHING
IN OREGON ON
NOV. 29 AND 30
The Friday and
Saturday after
Thanksgiving, Nov.
29 and 30, are Free
Fishing Days in
Oregon — days you
don’t need a license
or tag to fi sh, crab or
clam anywhere in the
state open to fi shing/
crabbing/clamming.
All other rules and
regulations, such as
bag and size limits,
still apply.
PARKING FEES
WAIVED AT
STATE PARKS ON
‘GREEN FRIDAY’
NOVEMBER 29
The Oregon Parks
and Recreation
Department (OPRD)
invites Oregonians
to celebrate “Green
Friday” Nov. 29.
OPRD will waive day-
use parking fees that
day in 25 state parks
across Oregon.
Parking is free
year-round at almost
all state parks; the
waiver applies to the
25 parks that charge
$5 daily for parking.
The waiver applies
from open to close
on Nov. 29, except
at Shore Acres State
Park, where it expires
at 3 p.m. for the
Holiday Lights event
that runs Thanksgiv-
ing through New
Year’s Eve. A list of
parks that charge
the $5 parking fee is
available online.
BOAT LAUNCH AT
WOODHEAD PARK
CLOSED
HELLS CANYON
— The boat launch at
Idaho Power Com-
pany’s Woodhead
Park near Brownlee
Dam will be closed
from Nov. 25 through
Dec. 14 while work-
ers prepare to install
boat barriers above
and below the dam
later this winter.
The barriers will
prevent boats from
getting within 600
feet of the dam on
the upstream side,
and within 1,000 feet
downstream from
the dam.
Federal law re-
quires the company
to control access
near the dam. Idaho
Power offi cials chose
fl oating barriers as
the best option.
Access to the old
ramp at Woodhead,
which is just north
of the main ramp,
will be open Nov.
28-Dec. 1 and Dec 8,
although parking will
be limited. The work
will not affect stream-
bank river access.
FISHING
FORECAST
GRANDE RONDE
RIVER
Steelhead fi shing
on the Grande Ronde
is slow by most
standards, but there
are fi sh being caught
and conditions are
notably better than
last year. The daily
steelhead bag limit
is one hatchery steel-
head through at least
Dec. 31.
Final Stage Of A Herculean Bicycle Tour
Photo by Mavis Hartz
Pedaling through High Valley near Union.
Turkeys, towns & teasels
The Herculean
Camping Loop is a
seven-day road cycling
adventure through a
wide range of ecosys-
tems and summits.
Each day covers between
16 and 58 miles of isolated
pavement and concludes
at a seasonal campground
suitable for tent camping.
There are streams and water
sources along the route but to
truly tour in comfort carrying
a water fi lter is imperative.
This article focuses on the
seventh and closing day of
cycling fun. The fi nal push
consists of almost 40 miles of
rolling pastoral pleasure that
loses more elevation than is
gained. The last day of the
Herculean Camping Loop
begins at Catherine Creek
State Park, outside of Union,
and ends in La Grande.
Commence at the attrac-
tively timbered Catherine
Creek State Park on the Med-
ical Springs Highway 203.
Swing to the west, enjoying
the elevation gained the prior
day as the route retraces to-
ward Union. The basalt cliffs,
horses, cows and wild turkeys
are picturesque but keep
an eye out for Kofford Road.
Turn north on Kofford Road
leaving Catherine Creek to
follow Little Catherine Creek
northwest on High Valley
Road, a brief quarter of a mile
from the Highway 203 junc-
tion. Upon nearing the north
side of Union, rotate farther
north on the Union/Cove
Highway 237 toward Cove.
While spinning toward
Cove, enjoy the stark dry
ridge to the east and the
miles of slough across the
Grande Ronde Valley where
fowl, fox, coyotes, deer, ante-
lope and elk roam and pester
the farmers intent on fi elds of
THE NEXT RIDE
MAVIS HARTZ
grass seed, hay, mint, hemp,
garbanzo beans and more.
In the vicinity of mile 14,
round Phys Point. Phys Point
is named after one of the
fi rst European settlers of the
area, and marks the start of
the only signifi cant climb of
the day. The next 2 miles are
fi lled with a gradual 200 feet
of elevation gain and a de-
lightful view of Mount Fanny.
Enter the small town of
Cove and curve through
continuing on Highway 237.
This picturesque pocket from
the wind has a long history of
commerce, state representa-
tives, warm water and fi re.
Most of the historic town
burned to the ground in its
heyday, but the Gothic-style
church at the Ascension
School is always charming,
the Cove Tavern is known for
its prime rib and the Cove
Drive-In has wonderful soft
serve ice cream.
Exit Cove and Highway
237 to persist north onto
Lower Cove Road. Enjoy the
gradual rollers along the edge
of the Grande Ronde Valley
and the exquisite vistas of
the foothills of the Wallowa
Mountains on one side and
the valley and the Blue
Mountains rising up on the
other. Throughout this ride,
pockets of teasel can be found
in areas of poor drainage
where the soil has been dis-
turbed, such as in old corrals
and barnyards.
Teasel, an invasive member
of the honeysuckle family, is
a statuesque plant that can
grow to be 9 feet tall with
woody, spiny stalks and a
result. The teasel plant was
introduced to the United
States in the 1800s and
predominantly produced as
a cash crop in New York and
Oregon. Teasel heads are still
used in some boutique mills
but the use of the fruiting
bodies mostly ended around
1956 when a steel card
was introduced and refi ned
enough to replace them. It is
still argued in some forums
that the steel cards produce
an inferior product.
Now instead of being seen
as a thing of value, teasel has
naturalized and is viewed
as a weed that grows in a
mat smothering out desired
plants. Birds still dine on the
seeds; bugs die in the deep
wells produced between the
stem and the leaves and a
rare individual may use it in
a health remedy, but it is not
valued and eradication by
biological controls have been
researched.
Linger on Lower Cove
Road as it morphs into
Market Lane, just prior to
crossing the Grande Ronde
River and heading out of the
shelter of the foothills. Just
past the river is a little pocket
park where the Lower Cove
Photo by Mavis Hartz Schoolhouse historically sat.
Teasels are a common sight along the route of a 40-mile Currently there is a picnic
bicycle tour between Catherine Creek State Park and
table, a tree and a water
La Grande.
pump. The pump works but
the water has a mineral-lad-
unique seed head and history. felted texture like that found en fl avor best savored after a
In the Middle Ages, teasel
on cashmere and also the top few hours of airing.
was discovered to be the
of billiard tables.
Turn south when Market
perfect tool to make a woven
With the industrial revolu- Lane intersects the Wallowa
cloth of wool softer, warmer
tion came the Teasel Rais-
Lake Highway 82 traveling
and more beautiful. The
ing Gig, which would hold
toward La Grande. This is the
biannual seed heads would
around 3,000 seed heads and busiest section of road for the
be harvested, dried and then eliminated much of the time day and very much a main
inserted into a wooden Teasel needed to produce the desired artery for workers traveling
Cross using their own stiff
cloth. Skilled teasel setters
to and from work. Roll along
stalks to hold them in place. would travel to install and ro- for about 2 miles then spool
The cross would then be run tate the precious seed heads onto the paved Booth Lane
over the cloth to create a
to produce an evenly teaseled around mile 33.
Booth butts into Mount
Glen Road and rolls back into
La Grande, the origin of this
spectacular loop.
Be sure to visit Mountain
Works Bicycles and tell them
about your grand adventure
and the things you noticed
on this 292-mile Herculean
bicycle camping loop.
Photo by Mavis Hartz
A picturesque
barn in the
Grande Ronde
Valley, with Mount
Emily in the back-
ground.