B10 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021
TOP PICKS
WHERE TO EXPLORE
Top picks for
the mountains
Dutchman Flat Sno-park — This
is one of the higher elevation sno-
parks in Central Oregon located
north of Mt. Bachelor. As such, the
snow tends to stick around a little
longer than other places meaning
that the smaller park is great for nor-
dic skiing and snowshoeing. It can
get busy so go early and if it fills up,
head back down the road to another
park for some outdoor winter fun.
Steins Pillar — As we’ve been
having more and more mild days,
the trail east of Prineville should be
thawing out nicely. The 3.8 moder-
ate, out and back trail can stay icy
in shady parts of the trail so bring
YakTrax or crampons if you want to
do the full length. If not, stopping a
the viewpoint a little over a mile in
still gives you a great view of the tall
rock plinth that the trail is named for.
Watch for cougars that have been
seen in the area.
Twin Lakes Loop — Another place
that is beginning to thaw so watch
for icy and snowy sections. The 4.5-
mile trail begins at South Twin Lake
and wraps around counter-clock-
wise and connects to the neigh-
boring North Twin Lake and wraps
around that before reconnecting
with its southern counterpart. Plus, if
you fish the lakes are good spots for
rainbow trout and open year-round
for angling. The road out might be
snowy in spots, so high ground
clearance vehicles are still recom-
mended.
North Twin Lake with snow in 2016.
— Makenzie Whittle, The Bulletin
Bulletin file
Volunteer
Continued from B1
This makes the trail more
sustainable and more fun for
trail users.
We ride our bikes to the f ar-
thest new drain location and
work back toward the trail-
head. Tom has rigged his bike
so he can carry two tools on it,
and a few of us are given fancy
collapsible tools that can be
taken apart and put into a reg-
ular backpack.
Everyone in our group has
done trail work before, so we
have a leg up on understand-
ing trail drainage and how
to dig drains. But digging a
well-functioning drain isn’t
easy, and we work together de-
ciding the best location, shape,
angle and size of each drain.
The trail tread is firm, and we
dig carefully to avoid disturb-
ing it any more than necessary.
Tom has a tennis ball and
we have fun rolling it down
the trail to test each new drain.
If the ball rolls into the drain,
water will do the same and the
drain is a success. But when the
ball rolls right past the drain,
we keep working on shaping
the drain until the ball rolls into
it and we all cheer.
section of trail, I re-
It is a beautiful day,
member that day and
and as we work we
those great people
tell stories and say
and the satisfaction
friendly hellos to the
that comes from giv-
many bikers, hikers
ing back to the trails
and runners who pass
that have given me so
Andrews
by — most of whom
much. And that, my
thank us for the work
friends, is what living
we are doing, which makes me in Bend is all about.
Emmy Andrews is the executive director
feel like a million bucks.
of the Central Oregon Trail Alliance.
Now every time I ride that
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