Maybe it’s the hot neon lycra, the tiny water-bottle waistbands or the sultry sweatiness a runner exudes while hammering the trail, but there’s just something about that slender yet strong physique that makes one long to be a runner. With all that talk about that mythical “runner’s high,” there’s something to say about striving for […]
Outside
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Natural World: From Marsh Hawks to Northern Harriers
There was a time in the long-long-ago of “bird-watching” when today’s Northern Harrier was known as the Marsh Hawk, because the low-flying, small bird- and mammal-eating raptor could almost always be seen in western marshes, flitting along just a few inches above the foliage, always looking down and rarely where it was going. Those were […]
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Talkin’ Trail
It’s still too muddy to ride some of Central Oregon’s trails, but in the meantime, Bend becomes a gathering point for trail builders from all over
It’s a busy time of year for trail builders all over North America. Every year, more and more communities are seeing the impact on health, happiness, and economy that comes from creating access to good forest trails. Because of this, there’s an ever-expanding need for further education of the professionals within the industry. Last week, professionals […]
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Spring is here, but snow sports endure.
Ready for your next feat of endurance and strength? Try running on a sea of snow.
For thousands of years, humans have been known for their inventive minds — crafting tools to perform tasks more efficiently, observing nature and finding inspiration. Watching a snowshoe hare, with its large hind legs, hopping around in deep snow, seemingly effortlessly. Our ancestors took notice by developing snowshoes—footwear that allows for greater floatation in snow […]
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Natural World: Owls, owls and more owls
Recently I’ve had some interesting phone calls to my home and travelin’ phones, giving me cause to suspect the alien barred owl population (from the eastern United States and Canada) may be on the rise, and people are confusing them with our native great gray owls. Great grays are owls of the open spaces in […]
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20/40/60: Indoor Climbing
It’s almost spring. Time to get pumped up for outdoor sportsing!
It doesn’t look all that imposing from the outside, but step inside the doors of Bend Rock Gym and the specter of its 50-foot walls plays large. At a size of 20,000-square-feet, and with one of the highest number of auto belay routes on the West coast, BRG has it goin’ on. But with nearby […]
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Natural World: Eagle Watch
It wasn’t snowing or blowing, and the temperature wasn’t down to the 20’s like it sometimes can be at Eagle Watch. In fact, the sun was shining all day while hundreds of participants strolled about Portland General Electric’s Round Butte Park. This two-day event, usually held the last weekend of February, has been an annual […]
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Triple Threat
Central Oregonian Ari DeLashmutt recalls his experiences in the void
For many Central Oregonians, these are experiences that make life worth living: Skiing down the steep slopes of a mountain, trees going by at high speeds, letting gravity guide you with each turn through the snow. Or walking the tight rope, hundreds of feet above the ground, like a balancing act in the circus. Or, […]
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Natural World: Journey’s Adventure
Sisters Middle School science teacher Susie Werts’ record-setting monarch butterfly, “Journey,” named such by her students, is back in the news. Professor David James of Washington State University at Pullman—who issued the numbered tag placed on the underside of the butterfly’s hind wing—is keeping in touch with researchers in Carpinteria, Calif., who originally reported the […]
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Ready to Ride
Spring is nearing, and for passionate cyclists it couldn’t come sooner
Whether you’re an enthusiast or even a professional, pedaling on a bike has been particularly challenging this winter. Bend has a reputation for being a place to comfortably ride bikes year-round, but not during this record snow year. For mountain and road bikers alike, the trails and roads have been covered in snow, promsing to […]
