Earlier this month Oregon Timber Trail volunteers convened on the site of the 2018 Watson Fire in the Fremont Tier to kickoff a multi-year rehabilitation effort. One local volunteer—Michael Norris of Paisley—recounts his experience at his first OTTA event.
Photos by Dan Sharp.
People come from all over to visit Lake County, Oregon for its dark night skies. Endless threads of Milky Way weave their way throughout an ebony background dotted with thousands of bright points of light.
This can be special on any given night when the only light pollution comes from the moon. Then, when the moon is New and hidden from sight, it is nothing less than spectacular. We are lucky to live here and occasionally need to be reminded of some of these features lest we take them for granted.
The Oregon Timber Trail Alliance hosted a Covid-sensitive gathering for trail maintenance and development over the weekend of October 16-18. It replaced the annual Memorial Day work weekend on the Fremont Tier of the OTT. We were lucky to be a part of it. An impressive showing of OTTA Board members provided years of trail building experience, development skill, a variety of earth working tools, and good cheer. Ten to fifteen ready-and-willing volunteers from all over Oregon showed up with a variety of tools, experience, and smiles. We worked hard each day, got really dirty, and learned all kinds of new skills and ideas about creating and maintaining sustainable trails. We created sustainable water crossings that required moving small boulders. We rerouted sections of existing trail around sensitive meadow areas. All while carefully considering the mountain bike experience. And, there was more, including test riding and making new friends, but at the end of each day we returned to Campbell Lake Group Camp, exhausted, waiting for the stars to show themselves.
And they did. It was a weekend of a New Moon which meant it was as dark as it gets in Lake County. The stars were out in full force and splendor mesmerizing us all. My wife Kris and I were fortunate to take part in the OTT work-weekend, meet the stars of the non-profit organization, and, luckier still to be reminded of where we live. We were thrilled to have been included in the cheerful and ever-growing OTT family and can’t wait to continue improving our local trail system with our newfound knowledge. We are also excited to be a part of the OTT mission and eager to join future projects! Thanks OTT, for making our home and a visitor’s experience in the Oregon Outback even better!
Michael Norris has been teaching woodworking classes in Paisley, Oregon for the last eight years. A native Nevadan, he’s a lifelong skier and mountain biker who grew up ripping around the Sierra of Lake Tahoe. He currently operates Paisley Adventure, a small bicycle tour/rental/service shop in Paisley. Michael is super excited to help make this part of Oregon a cycling destination.
