C6
East Oregonian
OUTSIDE
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Swap your wheels for a pair of skis
Meacham Divide Nordic Area
is one of the larger groomed
Nordic areas in Oregon
By MAVIS HARTZ
For the EO Media Group
MEACHAM — Winter is finally here
and it is time for some fun in the snow. On
a good snow year, one of the most beauti-
ful places to play is the Meacham Divide
Nordic Area.
Meacham Divide is one of the larger
groomed Nordic areas in Oregon with 18
miles of groomed trails, according to the
Blue Mountain Nordic Club
It is just 36 miles east of Pendleton and
1.7 miles north off of Interstate 84 on Sum-
mit Road, at Exit 243. Though the road is
plowed, it is not of first priority importance
and it might be one of the last roads cleared
after a snow event and is best if tackled
with a vehicle built for winter driving. It is
in a Sno-Park area, so make sure to bring
traction devices and a parking permit.
Park at the Emily Sno-Park and locate
the beginning of the track on the west side
of the parking area.
To the right of the path is a collection
box. The Blue Mountain Nordic Club is
the lovely group of volunteers, based in
La Grande, that maintains and grooms this
gem. They request each user donate a min-
imum $7 per escapade to cover the costs
involved in keeping the Nordic Area open
and groomed.
Leave the parking area on Loppet and
enjoy an easy rolling half-mile start to the
bottom of Moose Huff Hill.
This section is wonderful for introduc-
ing new adventurers to low angle snow
sports, and dogs are welcome. If snow-
shoeing is the mode of the day, please stay
to one side of the grooming off of the set
twin ski track. This allows the track to last
longer and other users the joy of smooth
skate and classic skiing. Remember as
you are gearing up, different snow condi-
tions provide more resistance and work to
cover the same amount of distance. Do not
give yourself a hard time if your goal is 10
miles, but you have to stop after one due to
the extra work the snow has provided for
you.
Moose Huff Hill is the steepest climb
of the day, reaching over a 5% grade and
the end of the groom open to dogs. Con-
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Photo/Jeff Petersen, File
Meacham Divide offers 18 miles of groomed cross-country ski trails.
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Photo/Jeff Petersen, File
If you go
Meacham Divide Nordic area is accessed
from Summit Road, exit 243 on Interstate
84, 36 miles east from Pendleton.
At the exit, travel 1.7 miles northeast on
Forest Service Road 31.
All-wheel-drive vehicles are generally
required.
A Sno-park pass is required.
{p class=”abody split”}Recommended
donation: $7 per person.
Trails like Roller Coaster Loop are easy to find.
tinue on Loppet to the highest point of the
route at 4,280 feet before gliding to the
lowest point, with an incredible view, Lop-
pet Point.
Loppet Point, also called Rock Spring,
looks at least 1,000 feet down into Mea-
cham Creek and the Union Pacific Railroad.
Though the train is easy to hear as it
chugs along and whistles at the passing
animals, it is difficult to spot due to the
numerous little canyons and pure expanse.
Continue the amazing spectacle by
swinging around Quarry Loop and, if
you are lucky, gaze east to see the Owsley
Hogback.
Finish out Quarry Loop and return to
Loppet, keeping an eye out for Tillicum
Loop as you work your way back along
Red Saddle, huffing and puffing to return
to the high point. Turn off onto Tillicum
Loop, an almost 2-mile open loop that
includes yet more incredible landscapes.
Enjoy the view down Tillicum Creek and
into the distant Meacham Creek drainage,
CAUGHT OVGARD
Planes, cranes and automobiles
By LUKE OVGARD
For the East Oregonian
OCALA, Fla. — As the man-sized bird
with a beak larger than my forearm sprinted
toward me, my flip-flop strap broke off as
I flailed and failed to pry it from the inch-
deep mud. It left me stumbling backward
and thinking to myself, “So this is how I
die.”
It was one of those “Oh *%#%5E”
moments you have from time to time, and it
was not the first one I’d had involving birds.
There was the time, as a kid, I was dive-
bombed by a hawk after climbing a tree too
near its nest. I fell out of the tree into the
ditch and sprinted away, covered in mud,
taking shelter in our nearby shed.
Of course, there were at least half a dozen
seagulls and grebes I’ve hooked by mistake
while fishing, usually when they fly into my
line, and they can draw blood.
Then, of course, there was the time I
stood on a log to shoot at a grouse, only to
find the log full of angry yellowjackets.
I’d survived all of those encounters, but
I feared that wouldn’t be the case this time.
Cranes can spear small rodents and birds,
and my flesh is arguably less resilient than
skin covered in fur or scales.
My crabwalk turned to full sprint, which
probably didn’t help my cause in the eyes of
the cranes, a bird known to eat crustaceans.
Once I got a solid 50 yards away from the
angry sandhill crane, it stopped and just
stared at me, gloating over the soiled man
allegedly more evolved than it.
Soaked in sweat, mud and shame, I care-
fully edged closer to my car, which stood
about halfway between me and the crane. I’d
step forward, and it would match my every
move. It would’ve been comical if it wasn’t
horrifying.
Calculating the distance in my mind, I
was able to parse out that we would meet
before I made it to the car if I moved at this
pace. So I picked up a rock, threw it next
to the bird to distract it momentarily, and
sprinted for my car door. It craned its neck
to the right just long enough to give me the
element of surprise, and I got a few steps of
my mad dash in before it could react.
It sprinted for me, but I was faster. OK,
well, I had a head start.
I swung open the door, blocking its men-
acing beak and hopping into my car just feet
away from it. The crane and its nearby mate
just stared daggers at me as I backed the
car away and tried another access point on
the pond. No way was I going to risk being
skewered for a new fish species. Not again.
Lined topminnow
I’d flown to Florida for a conference, and
paid for a rental out of pocket, so I could
Photo contributed by Luke Ovgard
This crane stopped and stared at the author
long enough to pose for a picture after chas-
ing the author down at a remote pond in
north-central Florida.
Photo contributed by Luke Ovgard
Lined topminnow, Fundulus lineolatus, are
sexually dismorphic, meaning the male (ver-
tical bars) and female (horizontal bars) look
different.
fish the evenings. There’s a lot of daylight
after 3 p.m. in Florida, and I figured I can
always sleep when I’m dead, so I took the
day to drive up to Ocala, about an hour out
of Orlando, to meet some friends and chase
rare micros in the area.
Now, I’ve been skewered by fish, nails,
thorns, branches and sharp rocks, but I
wasn’t about to add “territorial bird” to
that list — especially not after I’d already
had a productive days fishing some nearby
springs.
My friends, Zain Khalid and Jessel San-
chez, had quickly shown me the ropes,
and I waded through the frigid springs to
catch both of the species I was after: iron-
color shiner and rainwater killifish. The for-
mer was easy. On micro sabikis, I could’ve
caught 100 or more, but I stopped at 20. The
latter was difficult, but once I figured it out,
I quickly caught half a dozen, including a
prized male about the size of my thumb.
Zain and Jessel had brought a kayak, and
they opted to paddle downriver to chase tro-
phy bowfin and/or try to catch an always
infuriating chubsucker, a fish almost impos-
sible to catch for even the most skilled
angler.
When they took the kayak downriver,
I opted to chase another nearby micro: the
lined topminnow.
They’re allegedly common in this part of
Florida, and Jessel told me to just look for
any pond and fish it. It took me a few min-
utes of combing through my maps and Fish-
brain, but in just a few minutes, I found one.
The pond was natural, surrounded by vege-
tation, and once I got through the menacing
cranes, I learned it was cold (for Florida) and
spring-fed.
Topminnows zip around on the surface of
the water, thus the name, and they are quite
aggressive if you don’t get too close and
spook them.
By simply dragging a baited micro hook
on the surface like tiny topwater, you can
catch a fish on every cast. And that’s exactly
what I did.
Dozens of fish came out to play, and I
caught both male and female lined topmin-
nows and kept them briefly in my photo
tank, side-by-side, to see the sexual dimor-
phism, which just means males and females
look notably different.
It’s not unique to this fish, as many species
(including humans) have physically unique
external differences between genders not
limited to just sex organs. But the magni-
tude of difference between male and female
variants of lined topminnow is unique. It’s
not simply a matter of one fish being drab
and the other being colorful; the two are
dramatically different in appearance.
Males have thicker, widely spaced verti-
cal black stripes, while females have tightly
spaced horizontal stripes. The difference,
when seen side-by-side, is dramatic.
Also dramatic? Staring down a bird the
standing on the ground and almost meeting
your eye line. Fortunately, my travel trou-
bles sort of ended before they began on this
trip, but that doesn’t immunize me from
future struggles.
So while you wrap up this story and
move on to the next, consider the words
of Steve Martin’s character, Neal, from
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” but swap
out “Trains” for “Cranes” in your own mind
because that’s punny: “Eh, look, I don’t
want to be rude, but I’m not much of a con-
versationalist, and I really want to finish this
article, a friend of mine wrote it, so.”
Yes, I suppose that means we can be
friends.
———
Read more at caughtovgard.com; Follow
on Instagram and Fishbrain @lukeovgard;
Contact luke.ovgard@gmail.com.
this time to the north, as the path undulates
at the perfect pitch to keep a comfortable
momentum going on Nordic skis.
Ponder the naming of Tillicum Creek,
the Chinook word loosely translated to
“friend,” and the idea that the Chinook
practiced head flattening that would leave
the forehead a status symbol for all to see.
Tie back into Loppet and look for
Butcher Loop.
Butcher Loop is fewer than 2 miles of
an open loop that visits Butcher Point. The
plunge to Butcher Point will wake up all
but the most staunch Nordic skier, but the
panorama is worth it. Butcher Point allows
a final and glorious panorama that looks
west and down into Butcher Creek and
beyond. Continue back onto Loppet and
the waiting Emily Sno-Park.
Along the way, there are still a handful
of other loops, such as Kansas, Pendleton
Plunge and Roller Coaster, if your legs are
still fresh and more wandering is called for.
This area is run on the dedication and
funds of volunteers. It is also at an eleva-
tion that is prone to significant snow gain
and loss.
These two factors make it important to
check conditions before making it the desti-
nation of the day. The Blue Mountain Nor-
dic Club posts recent updates and groom-
ing schedules on its Facebook page as well
as its website, https://onc.org/bmnc/. The
Oregon Department of Transportation has
two weather webcams on I-84 at Mea-
cham, in the area that can easily be seen on
its TripCheck website. Through these, the
traveler can learn if there is enough snow
for the area to be open and if the freeway is
currently allowing for travel.
As with most experiences worth the
time and effort, no one will be there to save
you and it might be best to travel with a
buddy. Make sure to wear or carry multi-
ple layers of clothing, extra food and water,
materials to make a fire and some way to
communicate with the outside world. Tell a
responsible individual where you are head-
ing and when you should be back, making
sure to check in upon returning.
Follow the Blue Mountain Nordic Club’s
brief list of rules to preserve the track for
others and pick up your dog poop. If by
chance you feel that the area needs more
love and maintenance than it is receiving,
the club is always looking for more capital
and volunteers and can be reached through
the routes previously listed.
Backcountry
festival benefits
avalanche center
Baker County hosts Feb.
7-9 event
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
BAKER COUNTY — A fun-filled
weekend celebrating winter recreation in
our region that will support and help sus-
tain the Wallowa Avalanche Center.
The Eastern Oregon Backcountry Fes-
tival is Feb. 7-9, with activities in Baker
City and Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort.
Participants are invited to a screening of
Teton Gravity Research’s new flick, “Fire
on the Mountain.” The Friday, Feb. 7
viewing is at 7 p.m. with the doors open-
ing at 6 p.m. at Lefty’s Taphouse in Baker
City.
The evening event is sponsored by Bar-
ley Brown’s Brewery and their beer will
be available for purchase. Admission is
$10 for adults, $5 for students with iden-
tification and free for kids under 12. Also,
a raffle (tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5)
and live auction will benefit the avalanche
center.
The following day — Saturday, Feb. 8
— the party moves to Anthony Lakes for
the Fourth Annual Kip Rand Memorial
Backcountry Race. It begins at 8 a.m. in
front of the main lodge.
Overall winners will receive a 2020-
21 season pass at Anthony Lakes or
a $150 cash prize. For more about the
race, visit https://eobf.redpodium.com/
kip-rand-memorial-backcountry-race.
Also, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., companion
rescue and avalanche basics clinics will be
offered and lead by WAC forecasters —
participants can register at the EOBF tent.
At 3 p.m., a gear auction and live music by
Bag of Hammers takes place in the Star-
bottle Saloon.
Wrapping up the weekend on Sun-
day, Feb. 9 is a social ski day. Groups can
self-organize and explore the backcountry
surrounding Anthony Lakes. OAP Direc-
tor Michael Hatch and WAC Director Vic-
tor McNeil will lead a tour into Angel
Basin starting at 9 a.m. from the Anthony
Lakes lodge. Those that are interested can
register Saturday at the EOBF booth or
email Michael Hatch at mhatch@eou.edu.
Activities on Saturday and Sun-
day are free to attend and participate
in. For additional details about the fes-
tival,
visit
www.eou.edu/outdoor/
eastern-oregon-backcountry-festival-2020.
———
Contact Community Editor Tammy
Malgesini at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539.