A10 Sports/Outdoors wallowa.com Photo contributed by Oregon Parks and Recreation Department First Day Hikes will be held New Year’s Day in 21 state parks across Oregon, including Cottonwood Canyon State Park. State parks will kick 2017 off with First Day hikes Wallowa County Chieftain Celebrate New Year’s Day in the great outdoors with one of 21 First Day Hikes scheduled at state parks across Oregon, including Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area and Cottonwood Canyon State Park in Eastern Oregon.. America’s State Parks and the Ore- gon Parks and Recreation Department are sponsoring First Day Hikes at partic- ipating parks, where rangers or volunteers will lead fun and educational outings for people of all ages. “This is us helping people have a little fun and remember your parks are there for you any time of year,” said Lisa Sumption, director of the Oregon Parks and Recre- ation Department. “Bundle up and enjoy your first walk of the year with a state park ranger.” Day-use parking fees will be waived for all visitors participating in one of the First Day Hikes. Hikers should plan for in- clement weather, dress appropriately and bring binoculars for wildlife viewing. At Emigrant Springs, visitors will gath- er at 11 a.m. for a snowshoe hike begin- ning at the Oregon Trail kiosk west of the park entrance. Emigrant Springs is located at the summit of the Blue Mountains, near Meacham off Interstate 84. At Cottonwood Canyon, park manager Tom Peterson will lead a hike down the Pinnacles Trail along the John Day River. The trail runs easy to moderate, Peterson said, though he expects temperatures for the day will be at or below freezing. Peterson said he will discuss historic settlements of the area, and hikers could see wildlife including osprey, river otters, bighorn sheep and deer. Cottonwood Can- yon is located on Highway 206 between Condon and Wasco. For more information on other hikes around the state, visit the Oregon State Parks website at www.oregonstateparks. org. A horse packer named Nora By J.R. Groupe For the Wallowa County Chieftain Nora Hawkins grew up in Wallowa County in a packing family. Her father, Meryl, began packing with horses and mules as a high school student for Arnold Shaffer at Lapover Pack Station on the Lostine River. Her mother’s father owned and oper- ated Red’s Horse Ranch. His name was Red Higgins and he was a colorful and respected operator. I know — I used to see him on occasion. Nora’s mother knew her way around a diamond hitch, a mantie pack and all other aspects of run- ning a dude ranch. Mr. and Mrs. Meryl Hawkins bought Lapover Pack Station as a young cou- ple. Their three daughters grew up in the business and learned it well. As young ladies they spread their wings and hired on with Ed Millar at Wallowa Lake Pack Station. In the 1990s Barry Cox bought out their parents and changed the name to Del Sol Wilderness Adventures. All three girls worked for him at times. Growing up in La Grande and be- ginning packing as a teenager, I have heard the legends of Meryl Hawkins for my whole life. Though our paths never crossed it was fun interviewing him on the phone recently. I was able to pene- trate his modest persona to learn a few facts of how legends are initiated. He began packing alone as a junior high stu- dent. As a very young man he packed for the concession at Wallowa Lake, Troy, Red’s Horse Ranch and Lapover. He was able to buy out Arnold Shaffer at around 22 years of age and ran Lapover Pack Station for a couple of decades. While at Lapover, life could be color- ful. Meryl generally ran about 50 horses to accomplish the wide variety of outfit- ter chores. Notable jobs included haul- ing fire hoses, powder and dynamite and packing 22-foot-long steel re-bar. The re- bar was for the headgate at Minam Lake, Submitted by John Groupe Nora Hawkins saddles a horse this summer before leading a group into the Eagle Cap Wilderness. which is still operational. He had a high-profile neighbor who often helped with packing. One time Meryl was short-handed so the neighbor anonymously packed a group into Mi- nam Lake. Successfully completing the trip, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was beaming with pride at his $5 tip. I ran into Nora a few days ago while she was on the job with Del Sol. She was adjusting saddles for ten dudes and instructing them on basic horsemanship. Her demeanor was efficient, reassuring and comforting to the bewildered dudes. We saw her the next day with several of her pupils enjoying a ride through the Lakes Basin of the Eagle Cap Wilder- ness. “Classy in the saddle” would be overblown but nonetheless they looked relaxed and were enjoying the magnifi- cent scenery. Obviously good students except the two with mosquito nets cover- ing their heads. Nora and her coworkers spend most of their time wrangling livestock, trans- porting them to trailheads and packing equipment and supplies into and out of the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Their job de- scription includes some trail work and setting up camps, and it all must be done rain or shine. Nora used this mode of employment to put herself through college. She has earned a three-year Bachelor of Science degree as a licensed midwife. Having just completed a two-year internship, she will soon enter the workforce in western Ore- gon. In a couple years she plans to return to the county she loves and hang up her own shingle. Like all young people, she had to try a couple of things. One summer she hired on as a packer in Alaska. Another time she went to the Antarctic. On that trip she became acquainted with and was hired as a model by Duluth Trading Compa- ny. They use only real working people as models for their outdoor wear. Nora is one of about a dozen ladies who promote their dry goods. They travel to where she is working and photograph her in Dulu- th jeans, flannel shirts and belts. She has been on their payroll for five years. While Duluth Trading Company is most likely not going to get into mid- wife apparel, they will still use Nora’s recreational packing and ranch work for backdrops. It is enjoyable seeing her in catalogs and on the internet promoting Duluth products. Her career as a Wallowa County midwife and an international real working model will be fun to watch. ■ John Groupe is a retired veterinarian and author. SCOREBOARD DEC. 27-29 Joseph at Damascus Christian, 12:30 p.m. Enterprise opponents to be determined Joseph at Echo, 6 p.m. FRIDAY, JAN. 6 SATURDAY, JAN. 7 La Grande Optimist Tourney, Wallowa boys and girls competing DEC. 29-DEC. 30 Boys basketball Girls basketball Girls basketball THURSDAY, DEC. 29 Les Schwab Shootout, Pendleton Enterprise opponents to be determined Joseph at Echo, 7:30 p.m. Pine Eagle at Wallowa, 7:30 p.m. Weston McEwen at Enterprise, 7:30 p.m. Joseph at Wallowa, 4 p.m. Pilot Rock at Enterprise, 5 p.m. Boys and girls basketball Girls basketball Joseph at Damascus Christian, 11 a.m. DEC. 30-JAN.1 Boys basketball Les Schwab Shootout, Pendleton Boys basketball Girls basketball Weston-McEwen at Enterprise, 5 p.m. SATURDAY, JAN. 7 Boys basketball Joseph at Wallowa, 5 p.m. Pilot Rock at Enterprise, 7:30 p.m. December 28, 2016 Wallowa County Chieftain