B
Saturday, June 13, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
RECREATION
REPORT
LATE SPRING SNOWSTORM KEEPS THE ELKHORNS LOOKING WINTRY
Hunter
education
classes resume
SALEM —Hunter
education classes
have resumed in
Oregon, with safety
measures in place to
protect both students
and volunteer instruc-
tors.
To see the latest
classes and fi eld days
available, visit https://
myodfw.com/articles/
hunter-education-
classes-fi eld-days
and register. Students
can choose to take a
conventional class,
or fi nish most of the
class independently
by workbook or
online and just take
a fi eld day. More
classes and fi eld
days will be added
so check back if you
don’t see one in your
area.
Among the fi eld
days scheduled in
Northeastern Oregon:
• June 20: 8 a.m. to
2 p.m., Ladd Marsh
Wildlife Area, 59116
Pierce Road. Stu-
dents must complete
an online course or
workbook and bring
proof of completion
to this ODFW Field
Day. There will be a
60-question written
exam. Students must
wear a mask during
COVID restrictions,
and are asked to
bring their own.
Instructor is Darren
Hendrickson.
• July 18: 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. at the Powder
River Sportsmen’s
Club’s Virtue Flat
range 6 miles east of
Baker City. Students
must complete an on-
line course or work-
book and bring proof
of completion. There
will be a 60-ques-
tion written exam.
Students must wear
a mask during COVID
restrictions, and are
asked to bring their
own. Instructor is
Richard Haines.
• Aug. 15: 8 a.m. to
3 p.m., Ladd Marsh
Wildlife Area, 59116
Pierce Road. Stu-
dents must complete
an online course or
workbook and bring
proof of comple-
tion. There will be a
60-question written
exam. Students must
wear a mask during
COVID restrictions,
and are asked to
bring their own.
Instructor is Darren
Hendrickson.
• Aug. 29: 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. at the Powder
River Sportsmen’s
Club’s Virtue Flat
range 6 miles east of
Baker City. Students
must complete an on-
line course or work-
book and bring proof
of completion. There
will be a 60-ques-
tion written exam.
Students must wear
a mask during COVID
restrictions, and are
asked to bring their
own. Instructor is
Richard Haines.
All ODFW outdoor
education classes
have been canceled
since March due to
the pandemic, includ-
ing hunter education,
which is required to
hunt in Oregon for
ages 17 and under.
Lisa Britton / For the
EO Media Group
Black Lake, in
the Elkhorn
Mountains
near Anthony
Lake, is still
covered by
snow and ice.
Snowshoe near the solstice
W
e celebrated the second
week of June in the cus-
tomary way, by going on a
snowshoe hike to an alpine lake that’s
still frozen.
Except for the very edge, which was
the consistency of the stuff that swirls
around in machines in convenience
stores and comes in fl avors such as
“tastebud-destroying blueberry.”
This is not the customary way to ac-
knowledge the imminence of summer
in, say, Kansas.
But we who are fortunate to live so
near to great mountain ranges such as
the Elkhorns, where the passage of the
seasons often bears little resemblance
to any calendar, can avail ourselves of
different, and more damp, traditions.
Body-sledding headfi rst, for in-
stance.
My daughter, Olivia, and my son
Max, considered that the highlight of
the trip.
It made my head hurt just to watch
them bounce down a slope below Black
Lake.
My wife, Lisa, said they looked
rather like otters, carving their smooth
chutes through the slippery slush.
It was an apt comparison, except
that our children don’t have glossy
pelts.
We went up to Anthony Lakes on
Monday evening, June 8. This plan,
when announced, prompted an im-
mediate, and energetic, protest from
Olivia, who insisted that Monday is
“not a hiking day.”
Her complaint was not without
foundation.
Almost all of our hiking excursions
this spring have been confi ned to
ON THE TRAIL
JAYSON JACOBY
weekends, owing to work and school
schedules.
But I was intrigued to see how
much snow had fallen the previous
day during the latest of our unseason-
ably cool spring storms.
A considerable amount, or so it ap-
peared from the vantage point of the
valley.
By Monday morning the clouds had
dissipated, affording a fi ne view of
the Elkhorns, newly whitened a fair
distance down from the crest.
The automated snow-measuring
station in a meadow just east of An-
thony Lake wasn’t reporting, unfortu-
nately.
But another station, at Aneroid
Lake in the Wallowas, makes for a
decent surrogate — the elevations are
similar — and it recorded a foot of new
snow.
I don’t think the storm was quite so
generous in the Elkhorns.
But when I started walking across
the parking lot for the Elkhorn Crest
National Recreation Trail my boots
plunged through about 6 inches of
slush before striking the solid layer of
the “old” snow with a jolt.
These remnants of winter blizzards
were widespread and, in places, 3 or 4
feet deep.
This is not unusual for early June
above 7,000 feet, to be sure.
But even at the lofty altitudes of the
Elkhorns, signifi cant snowfall within
a couple weeks of the summer solstice
Lisa Britton/For the EO Media Group
Gunsight Butte looms over the Anthony Lakes basin in the Elkhorn
Mountains west of North Powder.
is rare.
It was a pleasant hike, but also a
peculiar one.
I hadn’t donned snowshoes for sev-
eral weeks, for one thing, and so it felt
strange to once again be fumbling with
the rubber straps, on a day so distant
from Christmas.
See Snowshoe/Page 3B
Father’s Day gifts for the outdoorsman
As an outdoor writer I test hun-
dreds of outdoor items every year. I’m
going to list some items that have
caught my eye for some good Father’s
Day gifts. Remember, you don’t have
to spend a fortune to light up his eyes.
We use everything from a $1.49 pack-
age of crappie jigs on up to a $75,000
boat. So whether you’re a kid on an
allowance of 50 cents a week, or the
Queen of Sheba, you can make his day
if you choose wisely.
First off, investigate. With a little
work you can fi gure out what he
wants/needs. Just because he is a
fi sherman doesn’t mean he wants a
bag full of red-and-white bobbers. If he
only fl y fi shes then you might as well
give him a bag of rocks as a bag of bob-
bers. Get my drift? Let’s get started.
CLOTHING
• 5.11 makes some cool tactical
pants that are great for hunting, fi sh-
ing and hiking. They also offer great
shorts.
• Heybo makes some sporty fi shing
shirts.
BASE CAMP
TOM CLAYCOMB
• Irish Setter offers great hiking
boots. Right now I’m testing their
Canyons hiking boots.
• Hiking socks. These are like a gift
from heaven for your feet.
• Base layers. I use XGO
FIRST AID/SURVIVAL
• Aquimira offers a lot of fi ltered
water bottles and straws.
• Adventure Medical Kits offers a
plethora of fi rst aid kits and acces-
sories.
• Firestarting gear. Waterproof
matches and a pack of cheap Bic light-
ers work great.
BACKPACKS
• Outdoorsmen use daypacks,
backpacking packs and packs to pack
out game.
Tom Claycomb photo
A backpack can make the perfect Father’s Day gift for a dad who likes to
See Gifts/Page 3B hike and hunt.