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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2022
Oregonian hikes entire Oregon Trail
Martin pushed a covered wagon
By ROLANDO HERNANDEZ
Oregon Public Broadcasting
After three months, over 2,400 miles and four
pairs of shoes, one Oregon man’s journey to hike
the entirety of the Oregon Trail is complete.
Donald “Dundee” Martin began his hike back
in April and started at Independence, Missouri. He
originally thought the Oregon Trail was similar to
treks he’s made before on the Appalachian Trail,
but soon realized their history and stories are very
diff erent.
“Something like 350,000 people made that trip
over roughly 25 years,” he said. “After it went out
of use, it was almost immediately forgotten.”
Martin, of Prineville, says he knows fewer than
10 people who have hiked the entirety of the trail
in modern times. He says he wishes this wasn’t
true and believes more people should experience
it.
“It’s a natural route to take a long walk, to get
away from your day-to-day life and to refl ect on
the people who went before you,” he said.
Martin did not travel alone.
Along with him, he brought a stuff ed steer
named “Last Ox” and a modernized version of a
covered wagon to carry his supplies. He says this
is probably the smallest covered wagon to travel
the trail and perhaps the fi rst wagon to make this
journey in a very long time.
Martin also dressed in period clothing through-
out the hike, though he wasn’t initially planning
on it.
“When I started this out, it was just a hike,” he
said, “But I kind of got into it. ”
Martin says that despite the clothing, wagon and
stuff ed ox, he does not consider himself a reenac-
tor, but simply someone who is taking a hike.
“I’m kinda going out of my way again to draw
a little bit of attention to the Oregon Trail along the
way,” he said.
The hardest part of the trail, according to Mar-
tin, was dealing with the changing weather. He
faced strong winds, a number of thunderstorms, a
couple of tornadoes and more recently, heat. He
said despite all of this, there was one thing that
kept him going: thinking of the people who made
this journey before.
“Thousands and thousands of 8 -year-olds did
the same thing,” said Martin. “And most of them
did it in bare feet.”
Donald Martin dressed in period clothing.
Donald Martin traveled over 2,400 miles with his wagon and
steer companion named ‘Last Ox.’
OREGON CAPITAL
Feds seek public input for
barred owl management plan
By ROMAN
BATTAGLIA
Jeff erson Public Radio
The U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service is developing a
plan to manage the invasive
barred owl population on the
West Coast.
The plan would help with
recovery of spotted owl
species.
The barred owl, native
to the e astern United States,
has slowly made its way to
the Pacifi c over the last 100
years.
These invasive owls are
encroaching on vulnerable
spotted owl territory. Robin
Bown, with the Fish and
Wildlife Service, said the
barred owl is more aggres-
sive and can eat a wider
variety of animals.
“So as they move into
an area they can eject the
spotted owls from that area
through competition,” Bown
said. “And because they can
use a smaller area, it can be
up to four pairs of b arred
owls in a single spotted owl
territory.”
Bown is helping to
develop a management plan
for the barred owl. A past
study showed that north-
ern spotted owl populations
improved when b arred owls
were removed.
Bown said the plan will
have to be extensive to cover
the entire range of spotted
owl species.
The agency is seeking
input from the public as they
develop the plan, includ-
ing areas they might include
or exclude, and alternative
population control methods
that could be eff ective.
A virtual public meet-
ing will be held July 28 to
answer questions. Bown
expects the plan to be com-
Donald Martin’s modernized covered wagon.
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Barred owls have moved
in and taken over spotted
owl habitat in the forests
of Oregon, and are now
pushing spotted owls closer
and closer to extinction.
pleted by the end of next
year.
T he public can submit
comments to help guide the
plan through Aug. 22.
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