B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Hunting For snowshoe hare habitat
BRAD
TRUMBO
UPLAND PURSUITS
S
ix feet of snow piled
atop the Forest Service
gate that separated us
from our mountain top desti-
nation – another 30-minute
climb on a summer day. I
had snowshoes in the back,
but it would have taken the
rest of the day to make the
hike. Walking to the rig
behind me, I peered through
the window at friends Doug
and Bob.
“What do ya think?
Chain up and give it hell?” I
asked with a grin.
“You fi rst!” Doug said
through a nervous chuckle.
We had talked of chas-
ing snowshoe hares since
Christmas, and about a week
before the season closed
in mid-March, we fi nally
pulled together a late morn-
ing hunt. Faced with the wall
of snow standing between
us and our original plans,
“Plan B” took a diff erent
approach, leaving the deep
forest, circumventing a
mountain range and coming
into the creek bottom in
the next drainage over. Bob
didn’t have snowshoes, so
we played it safe by staying
BMCC:
Continued from Page B1
teammate to all around him.”
The BMCC women had
three players earn NWAC East
honors.
Jaelyn Brainard was
named to the second team,
while McKeeley Tonkin and
Jaden Chavez were named to
the All-Defensive Team.
The honors are the fi rst for
a BMCC women’s basketball
player since Savannah Heugly
in 2015-16.
“It was a pleasure to coach
Jaelyn, McKeeley and Jaden
this year,” BMCC women’s
basketball coach Adam Driver
said in a news release. “These
awards are well-deserved due
to all the hard work they put in
during the season.”
Brainard averaged 14.9
points and five rebounds a
game for the Timberwolves.
Shrine:
Continued from Page B1
tions. White caught 15 passes
for 390 yards and four touch-
downs.
Burnette, a lineman, earned
fi rst-team BMC honors for the
Tigers on both sides of the
ball. In eight games, he had 58
tackles and eight quarterback
sacks.
“We picked the Hisler kid,”
Davis said. “We hear about
these kids, but we never get
to see them play. It proved last
year with Jayden (Wilson from
Heppner), he played with the
top talent in Oregon at the Les
Schwab Bowl. Tip of the hat to
Greg Grant and his program.”
Davis said he also likes the
diversity on the team, which
features no more than two
players from each team.
“I’m excited to coach kids
who might not get the recog-
low in elevation, but I was
skeptical of our hare-fi nding
prospects.
The snow had mostly
melted in the creek bottom,
save for the toe of the eastern
slope which contained the
right mix of ferns, ninebark,
hawthorn, serviceberry, rose
and raspberry, packed tight
against a steep hillside that
was punctuated with eroded
basalt bands and outcrops.
I had only hunted the area
during grouse season and the
dogs had never moved a hare
to my knowledge. The like-
lihood of jumping one was
entirely unknown and unex-
pected by the three of us.
A gated road sliced
through the middle of the
cover, which made much
of the walking and cover
inspection easy, but pass-
ing the one-hour mark with
no hare sign led to compla-
cency. The camera came out
and my careful scrutiny of
the landscape for the brilliant
white furballs became ancil-
lary to the beauty of golden
sun streaming through dark
timber and loosening the
morning’s frosty grip on the
forest.
Emerald moss and
low-growing bunchgrasses
covered crumbling basalt
slopes in a smooth blan-
ket beneath the shade of
drooping serviceberry and
fi rs. As I marveled over the
soft greens and textures
Brad Trumbo/Contributed Photo
A beautiful mountain wetland pool that supported snowshoe
hare cover in the form of roses and ferns on the back end.
of early spring, I stepped
into the brush to inspect a
snowy patch for hare tracks.
Starbursts of sunlight glis-
tened through water drop-
lets which had formed on
the branches of a downed,
decaying hawthorn. The
water droplets hung deli-
cately from the most intri-
cate seafoam-tinted lichens I
had ever seen. The stunning
colors held my attention and
camera focus as Doug and
Bob move on.
A short distance ahead,
Bob stepped into the brush,
walking a line through the
thicket where raspberry,
rose and ferns created a
dense ground covering. As
I stopped to photograph an
intriguing wetland pool, the
faint “click” of a gun safety
and quiet profanity drifted
back from Bob’s position.
Simultaneously, a snow-
white hare bounced across
the trail directly between
Doug and I, who were left
staring at one another in
disbelief.
The hare slipped neatly
into the brush and disap-
peared from my view with
Doug immediately sliding
into the cover between fi rs.
I back-tracked to fi nd an
opening to fl ank the hare
and parallel Doug, which
may have spurred the hare
to turn in Doug’s direction.
The bark of his Ithaca .410
single-shot was louder than
I expected within the tight
fi r canopy, and with my ears
ringing, I spied him emerge
from the undergrowth with
Player of the Year: Brie Holecek, so., Walla Walla
Freshman of the Year: Loy Waid, Wenatchee Valley
Defensive Player of the Year: Kortney Trappett, so., Walla
Walla
Coach of the Year: Bobbi Hazeltine, Walla Walla
First Team: Maddie Godwin, so. Wenatchee Valley; Loy
Waid, fr., Wenatchee Valley; Maddie Gebers, fr. Spokane;
Lizzy Perry, so., Spokane; Kortney Trappett. so., Walla Walla.
Second Team: Jaelyn Brainard, fr., Blue Mountain; Maunayia
Harrigfeld, so., Treasure Valley, Katie Fleming, fr., Wenatchee
Valley; Ambra Hacker, fr., Big Bend; Makayla DeBry, so., Walla
Walla.
All-Defensive Team: Maunayia Harrigfeld, so., Treasure
Valley; Dejah Wilson, so. Spokane; McKeeley Tonkin, fr.,
Blue Mountain; Monica Miller, fr., Wenatchee Valley; Jaden
Chavez, fr., Blue Mountain.
HISTORY LESSON
The East-West game was
organized in 1952 by a
group of Shriners in Union
and Umatilla counties. They
wanted the game, which was
to take place in Pendleton, to
be for players from the then
“B” schools. Four ranchers in
the Pendleton area personal-
ly guaranteed to underwrite
the renewal of the game
For the fi rst 20 years, the
game was played at the
when an area “looks good,”
and if only subconsciously,
we expect to fi nd to our prey
where it belongs.
The hike back to the truck
was less about hunting and
more about savoring the
moment and setting. We
rode the high of a beautiful
mountain morning, good
company, a successful hunt,
and the increasingly high
sun angle tickling our natu-
ral senses to the fact that
we were on the forefront of
spring. Lighthearted conver-
sation included the possible
meals the hares would serve
Doug and his lady Angela
later that evening, and tenta-
tive plans were made for
hunting the last Sunday of
the season.
As we parted ways to
return to our individual real-
ities, I took a moment to give
thanks for the camaraderie, a
new hunting experience, and
the public lands that made it
possible. I left my pursuits
of furry small game in my
Appalachian youth, but this
morning reinvigorated my
interest in the challenge and
delectable table fare of hunt-
ing Blue Mountain hares.
———
Brad Trumbo is a fish
and wildlife biologist and
outdoor writer in Waits-
burg, Washington. For tips
and tales of outdoor pursuits
and conservation, visit www.
bradtrumbo.com.
ON THE SLATE
NWAC EAST WOMEN
McKeeley fi nished the season
averaging 3.6 rebounds and
1.8 steals a game, while
Chavez averaged 3.6 rebounds
and 1.8 steals.
“Jaelyn was an immediate
contributor on both ends of the
fl oor and fi nished top-12 in
the conference for points per
the exquisite young hare.
“It took me a moment to
fi gure out why the snow was
moving,” Bob said with a
laugh as he emerged from
the briars and ferns. Had the
hare not run between Doug
and I, it may have been Bob’s
bunny.
We marveled over the
silky softness of the hare’s
winter coat, and poked fun
at its comically large hind
feet. A critter well equipped
to thrive in deep snow and
evade predators like Canada
lynx, bobcats and coyotes.
“Your turn to fl ush ’em
out,” Bob said to Doug, who
happily jumped into the next
brushy patch.
Doug moved quickly to
the toe of the slope to his left
and the sudden discharge of
his shotgun followed. The
second hare sat conspicu-
ously beneath a fi r just above
head height on the slope as
Doug approached, reward-
ing him for being at the right
place and time. This hare
was larger and more striking
than the fi rst.
The farther we hiked, the
better the habitat looked, but
to our surprise we encoun-
tered no more hares. I
found it ironic that we were
surprised by not fi nding
hares in the better habitat,
given our earlier surprise
in fi nding hares at all. But
experienced hunters have
a keen sense for knowing
SATURDAY, MARCH 19
Prep baseball
Stanfi eld/Echo at White Salmon
(2), 1 p.m.
Prep softball
Hermiston vs. Central Valley, at
Richland, 2:30 p.m.
Hermiston vs. Sandpoint, at Rich-
land, 4:30 p.m.
Track and fi eld
Hermiston at Richland Jamboree,
11 a.m.
College baseball
Clark at Blue Mountain (2), noon
College softball
North Idaho at Blue Mountain (2),
noon
SUNDAY, MARCH 20
College baseball
Clark at Blue Mountain (2), 11 a.m.
Monday, March 21
Prep baseball
RL Tournament at Pendleton, TBD
Weston-McEwen at Riverside,
11 a.m.
Weston-McEwen vs. Sherman, at
Riverside, 2 p.m.
Sherman at Riverside, 4 p.m.
Pilot Rock vs. Umpqua Valley
Christian, UVC Spring Break Tour-
nament, 5:30 p.m.
Prep softball
Weston-McEwen at Riverside,
11 a.m.
Vernonia at Heppner/Ione (2),
1 p.m.
Weston-McEwen vs. Knappa, at
Riverside, 1:30 p.m.
Pendleton vs. Centennial, Hawks
Invitational, 2 p.m.
Pendleton v. Central Catholic,
Hawks Invitational, TBD
Knappa at Riverside, 4 p.m.
Prep golf
Hermiston at MCC pod, Veterans
Memorial Golf Course, noon
game,” Driver said. “McKee-
ley is one of the toughest
players we have had in our
program and set a record for
charges taken in a season.
Jaden is one of the best on-ball
defenders in the conference
and consistently made it tough
on opposing point guards.”
Round-Up Arena in Pendle-
ton. In 1960, the middle size
schools came in, and in 1973,
the game was moved to
Baker City.
According to Shriners In-
ternational, the game is the
largest fundraiser in Oregon
for the Shriners Hospital, and
is considered the second
largest athletic moneymaker
for Shriners Hospitals in
North America. The game
has raised nearly $3 million
over the years.
nition,” Davis said. “Gabe
deserves it. He proved himself
at the 5A level. He is a ball
hawk.”
Joining Davis on the East
coaching staff are Kenzie
Hansell from Weston-McE-
wen and Steve Stebbins, South
Umpqua. Davis coached the
South to Les Schwab Bowl
victories in 2019 and 2021.
“Kenzie is a 2A coach who
understands who these kids
are,” Davis said. “Kenzie is
one of my good friends and
I’m excited to coach with him.
I’m excited to represent East-
ern Oregon.”
The East beat the West last
year 34-6, and leads the series
34-31-3. There were no games
in 1969 and 2019.
Porter:
a member of the school-record
4x100 relay team (51.5), and
the 4x400 relay team (4:15.9).
Continued from Page B1
A well-rounded athlete
Kevin also holds the school
record in the javelin (179-8),
the 110 hurdles (14.8) and the
300 hurdles (38.9).
Tim has the top marks
in the long jump (23-6),
triple jump (45-5) and was a
member of the 4x100 relay
team (44.7) as a freshman,
while grandpa Charlie has the
record in the pole vault (11-0),
which the school no longer
off ers.
Porter’s mom, Whitney
(nee Wagner), also played
volleyball, basketball and ran
track for the Grizzlies. She is
When Porter was at Pend-
leton High, he ran cross-coun-
try, played basketball, swam
and did track. It was on the
track that he excelled.
“In high school, I was
training to be a decathlete in
college, so I did a lot of diff er-
ent events — 100, 200, 300
hurdles, 400, long jump, triple
jump and threw the javelin,”
he said. “In college it was far
more specialized. By the time
I graduated, I ran the 100, 200,
400, 4x100 and 4x400.”
During his last indoor
season before the COVID-19
pandemic hit, his 4x400 relay
team won the Great North-
west Athletic Conference title.
“The day before our fi rst
outdoor meet (in 2020), our
coach called and said we
weren’t having a season,” he
said. “I couldn’t believe it. I
had been training for months.”
Since he graduated last
spring from CWU, Porter has
been working the family farm
with his dad.
I’m just trying to decide
if that’s what I want to do,”
he said of farming. “I have
an anthropology degree. I
specialized in archeology
(people, not dinosaurs).”
Until then, he will add to
the family legacy with the
Griswold track team.
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