Bob Woodward

Approximately 75 people showed up Saturday morning to volunteer for the Central Oregon Trail Alliance’s annual Spring Fling trail maintenance day. And what a work day it turned out to be what with moderate temperatures and a bit of cloud cover during the four hours of work and then bright sunshine for the after party at Hutch’s Westside.

For some time now, the lower section of the Mrazek Trail as it drops from the Forest Service access road down into Shevlin Park has been in bad shape. Deep ruts had formed in some parts of the trail and chunks of lava had become dangerously exposed as the dirt around them eroded.
That’s changed as one dedicated trail maintenance volunteer (with a few hours help from two other active riders) has transformed the trail. Dangerous rock sections have been made less so with some dirt fill, both sweeping s-curves in the mid portion of the trail have been smoothed out and have steeper banks and the section of the trail where it enters the park has been moved out of what was essentially a drainage ditch and cut into the hillside.
The final tight s-curve coming into the park has been widened and is now easier to ascend and descend. Also note that trail drainage channels that will eliminate future erosion have been created along the whole length of this section of trail.

In a move to help shore up its finances, the state of California is closing 70 state parks at a cost savings of $22 million. It’s a shame given that the list of closures includes several personal favorites.

One sure way to beat the Central Oregon weather blahs and the typical bland high-desert spring landscape is to head to the Columbia River Gorge where spring, although over a month late this year, is arriving. And with its arrival comes brilliant, almost iridescent green foliage, wildflowers and waterfalls crashing with runoff.
A recent ride and hike four-day trip revealed the Gorge at its best. The Oregon side of the Gorge is densely forested and verdant, in contrast to the Washington side, which is browner, sparsely timbered with wild oaks yet spotted with wildflowers and greenery in the gullies cut by small streams and springs.
Nowhere is the Washington side displayed better than at Coyote Wall and the Syncline Trail near Bingen. Here, the hills are alive with wildflowers.
Mountain biking the Syncline is interesting. Like just about every mountain bike ride in The Gorge, you’re riding either uphill or downhill. In our case, we rode well over an hour climbing more than 1,000 feet on the seemingly endless switchback trail to Catherine Creek.
From there we doubled back taking a side trail down what’s known as “Little Maui”. This trail parallels a mountain stream that slices through between two ridges and tumbles over dozens of waterfalls. And all this with spectacular views out over The Gorge toward Hood River and environs on the Columbia River’s southern banks.
A steady diet of riding the Syncline and Little Maui (it’s rock strewn and dicey in parts) would make some give up mountain biking for life. But making the ride once a year works when spring is in the air.

For most of March and all of April to date, I’ve been trying to be optimistic about the blah weather. Optimistic, as in saying to people complaining about it: “well, it means there will be great wildflowers and terrific mountain bike trails when it stops_________ (insert your favorite): raining, snowing, sleeting, blowing, or doing all the same at one time.