COFFEE BREAK B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD SATuRDAY, JunE 26, 2021 Teen’s sudden death comes amid fractured friendship funeral and how it would be perceived. I want to show sup- port, but I’m concerned I’m not wanted there. I’m also concerned that if I don’t go it will look awful and disrespectful, since I have been a part of this boy’s life. I don’t know what to do. — Cared For Him in Ohio Dear Cared For Him: You may not have heard from the family because they are grieving and not communicating with everyone. As I see it, you have several choices: Send a condo- lence card, send flowers, con- tribute to a charity in the young man’s name and/or go unob- trusively to the funeral and sit in the back. If, however, you decide to do this, do not go with Dear Abby: Last year, after a falling out with someone I have been friends with for more than 20 years, I was OK with writing this person off and going on with my life. From my understanding, this person felt the same way. Last week, their teenage son died in a terrible acci- dent. I was heartbroken. I truly cared about the boy and had watched him grow up. I reached out and received no response (as I expected). I’m torn about whether I should go to the SUMMIT Continued from Page B1 The highlights of a hike along the Elkhorn Crest often aren’t limited to the floral. The area between Marble Creek Pass and Elkhorn Peak is prime hab- itat for the mountain goats that have thrived in the range since the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released the first batch in 1983 along Pine Creek, just north of Elk- horn Peak. I saw five goats on our hike — including a nanny and three kids reclining on a snowfield, the ani- mals’ favorite spot on summer afternoons. But if you’re patient, and bring binoculars, you’re almost certain to see far more goats than I did. The best places to look are those aforementioned notches along the trail, as goats prefer the nearly sheer east side of the ridge, where their surefootedness makes them all but immune to predators. There is no trail to the top of Elkhorn Peak. The easiest way to get there is to hike the Crest Trail for about 2.75 miles north from Marble Creek Pass, then pick your way up the slope to the peak’s south ridge. We diverted from the trail about where it bends to the west. The climb to the ridge is steep but not technical. We had to bypass a steep snow- field, but I expect it will be melted by mid July. The ridge drops steeply — dangerously so — on its east side, so unless you’re equipped for roped climbing, stay well to the west (left) of the ridgetop (besides which, the area east of the ridge is part of Baker City’s watershed, which is off limits to the public). There is a false summit a couple hundred feet below the peak — this notch is distinct even when seen from Baker City, just to the left of the triangular tip of the summit. From the top you can see four lakes. Almost directly below to the east — and about 2,300 vertical feet — is Goodrich Lake. The lake is a supplementary water Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald Goodrich Lake from the summit of Elkhorn Peak on June 19, 2021. source for Baker City. Pine Creek Reservoir is barely visible to the northeast, and Twin Lakes glisten in the sunshine to the northwest. Twin Lakes are tarns — they formed in the basin gouged by an Ice Age glacier. The hulking peak that forms the backdrop for weather | Go to AccuWeather.com off the Elkhorn Crest Trail and descends to Twin Lakes. From the saddle it’s about 3.5 miles to Marble Creek Pass. Hikers with an abun- dance of energy (and enough water; one down- side of the Elkhorn Crest Trail is that it doesn’t cross any water sources) can claim the top two sum- Twin Lakes is Rock Creek Butte, elevation 9,106 feet. Although the fastest way back to the trailhead is to reverse your route, it’s also possible to descend Elkhorn Peak by its north- west ridge — again, stay to the west to avoid the steepest ground — to Twin Lakes saddle. Here a trail branches Astoria Longview 62/94 Kennewick 70/111 St. Helens 74/113 Vancouver 75/109 Condon 74/114 SUN MON TUE WED Sunshine and very hot Sunshine and very hot Very hot with sunshine Mostly sunny and very hot La Grande 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 Eugene Comfort Index™ 3 2 1 1 ALMANAC THURSDAY EXTREMES TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Thursday Low Thursday High: 113° Low: 30° Wettest: 5.44” 88° 50° 90° 53° 91° 52° 0.01 0.21 1.00 2.44 5.53 0.00 0.02 1.31 5.92 9.11 0.00 0.77 1.48 14.98 13.40 PRECIPITATION (inches) Thursday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date AGRICULTURAL INFO. HAY INFORMATION SUNDAY Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration 20% E at 6 to 12 mph 14.6 0.35 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Friday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 64/96 15% of capacity 73% of capacity 41% of capacity 80% of capacity 39% of capacity 73% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Thursday) Grande Ronde at Troy 2450 cfs Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder 121 cfs Burnt River near Unity 89 cfs Umatilla River near Gibbon 53 cfs Minam River at Minam 842 cfs Powder River near Richland 19 cfs Ontario Lakeview Baker City WEATHER HISTORY New York City was hit by a blizzard in March 1888. By June 26, however, a different type of weather had set in, and the city had its 14th consecutive day with average temperatures above 80 degrees. SUN & MOON SAT. SUN. 5:06 a.m. 5:06 a.m. 8:45 p.m. 8:44 p.m. 11:01 p.m. 11:36 p.m. 6:57 a.m. 8:12 a.m. MOON PHASES Last Jul 1 New Jul 9 First Jul 17 Full Jul 23 Jordan Valley 62/92 Paisley 56/97 Frenchglen 59/98 Klamath Falls 59/101 Hi/Lo/W 94/66/s 103/67/s 98/73/s 64/54/pc 97/63/s 74/55/pc 111/65/s 98/65/s 102/67/s 111/64/s 110/71/s 109/78/s 102/71/s 101/64/s 97/70/s 110/77/s 101/63/s 97/62/s Hi/Lo/W 74/59/pc 107/68/s 102/75/s 64/53/pc 101/65/s 70/55/pc 94/58/s 102/66/s 103/74/s 94/58/s 112/75/s 115/74/s 105/67/s 104/67/s 100/71/s 113/78/s 103/58/s 101/60/s Grand View Arock 69/99 60/96 Lakeview 58/97 McDermitt 59/94 RECREATION FORECAST SUNDAY REGIONAL CITIES City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Diamond 61/96 62/97 Shown is Sunday’s weather. Temperatures are Saturday night’s lows and Sunday’s highs. MON. Boise 70/98 Fields 73/112 SUN. 63/101 Silver Lake 61/97 Medford Brookings Juntura 58/97 71/116 56/64 Ontario 71/102 Burns 56/99 69/113 Grants Pass OREGON Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Beaver Marsh Chiloquin Death Valley, Calif. Wolcott, Colo. Falls City, Neb. High: 100° Low: 44° Wettest: 0.08” 58/98 59/99 Roseburg Powers Brothers 71/110 56/74 Huntington 59/95 62/103 Oakridge Council 62/98 73/98 Seneca Bend Elkton Coos Bay 2 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. 65/101 63/103 66/105 60 98 67 101 69 102 68 100 67 62/99 56/97 John Day 64/106 Sisters Florence 59/77 Halfway Granite 59/91 Baker City Redmond 67/111 1 63/106 71/105 57/74 2 63 102 65 102 69 106 70 106 67 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 3 73/113 Corvallis 63/102 Monument 71/108 Idanha Enterprise 60/98 68/111 Newport 56 97 60 100 63 103 62 104 61 Comfort Index™ Elgin 61/102 La Grande 68/101 Maupin Clear and mild 75/109 Pendleton The Dalles 75/113 Salem 71/108 Hood River Portland Newberg 73/113 Lewiston Walla Walla 75/110 76/113 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 68/110 64/99 TONIGHT mits in the Elkhorns in a single day. To climb Rock Creek Butte, hike north on the Crest Trail for about a mile, through a scenic pass. Just beyond the pass, head straight up the south ridge of Rock Creek Butte. It’s about 800 ver- tical feet from the trail to the summit. AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION TIllamook Baker City dating, close your checkbook and move on with your life. Dear Abby: After an invita- tion to visit, how long can I stay before I’m imposing? — Too Long in New Mexico Dear Too Long: It depends upon the relationship you have with the person who invited you. Usually, when an invitation is extended, it is for a specified time period — a week, a weekend, etc. Two truisms apply here: “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days” (Benjamin Franklin), and “One of the most important things that Hollywood teaches is to always leave your audience hungry for a little more” (Howard Bragman). P.S. When in doubt, ask! Between my husband’s pay- days, I help him out financially. We’re both close to retirement age because we married late, and we still have a teenager at home. Do I wait for him to come around, or move on with my life? I still love him, but I’m feeling used. — Disillusioned in the South Dear Disillusioned: You are not only being used, but also being lied to. In addition, your in-laws’ behavior is emotionally abusive. (Could they have been told things about you that aren’t true?) Offer your husband the option of marriage and family therapy and a chance to repair what went wrong. However, if he refuses, quit being so accommo- any expectation it will heal the breach in your relationship. Dear Abby: I was happily married for almost 20 years. Suddenly my husband became withdrawn, obviously unhappy, and moved out. He keeps telling me we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, that we aren’t divorced, just “taking a break.” Although I had a great rela- tionship with his family, they no longer speak to me. My family still treats him the same. He has a friend who is always whis- pering in his ear about how ter- rible I am. My husband denies it, but I have seen the text mes- sages. As far as I know, I haven’t done anything to this friend. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla SUN. MON. Hi/Lo/W 108/74/s 111/73/s 102/64/s 112/73/s 74/57/s 105/68/s 102/74/s 111/77/s 110/73/s 113/79/s 96/62/pc 106/67/s 113/67/s 113/71/s 104/76/s 114/77/s 99/63/s 109/77/s Hi/Lo/W 110/76/s 104/63/s 103/64/s 105/69/s 64/55/c 107/60/s 106/72/s 114/77/s 112/76/s 109/68/s 85/59/pc 109/67/s 95/62/s 101/62/s 105/76/s 116/76/s 102/65/s 110/81/s Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Sunny and warm Sunny and hot 71 59 93 63 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. Sunny and warm Sunshine; very hot 88 65 100 71 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK Sunny and warm Sunshine; very hot 79 57 95 53 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Sunshine; very hot Sunshine; very hot 97 70 109 71 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Sunshine; very hot Sunshine; very hot 97 60 102 65 Buy your 2021 / 2022 season pass now! E-Edition Subscription • • • • • • • • • $ 8.25 A Month Prices increase after June 30 Purchase at AnthonyLakes.com