Last Saturday we kicked off our stewardship season on the Eastern flank of the Mt Hood National Forest with about 20 eager volunteers. We accomplished our objective to get 4 miles of neglected face-slapping singletrack clear and running awesome again! This little-used trail connects the 44 Trails system to Wasco County’s hill country and the quiet oasis of Dufur. It’s unique because much of the trail traverses the ecotone (an ecological transition zone) between a dark needly conifer forest to the open scrub oak savannah speckled with lupine. It's been overgrown and unmaintained for at least 6-10 years, and now it's good to go for at least another 6.
Dustin Klein joined us and made this video from the experience:
All told we logged 280 hours, or about $8,000 worth of volunteer labor which is super important for quantifying the value of our work with our National Forest partners. A huge thanks goes out to Laird and Rapha for their support of the event!
And last but not least, we’d like to remind you that our important work relies on individual donors like yourself for at least 50% of our annual budget. We're committed to creating profound, life-changing backcountry experiences for everyone, and as a donor you’re part of creating that as well. We're currently running a fundraising campaign and you can snag some rad OTT items as a token of appreciation for your donation.
If you're able, please consider donating: https://oregontimbertrail.org/donate
