Central Oregon is home to remarkable little mammals known as the vole. Not a “mole” but a “vole.” Just a tiny, short-tailed mammal of no significance—about the size of your thumb—a mere tidbit to a coyote, or a tasty snack for a badger. But put 10,000 of them in one pasture and they will eat […]
Outside
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North Cascades Gains a New Route
Local climbing guide helps create 11 pitches of The Tiger
What’s now deemed as the second hardest technical climb in the North Cascades was pioneered this past August by a trio of climbers including Bend local and climbing guide, Max Tepfer. The Tiger—11 pitches with six leads of 5.10+ and harder—was created by Tepfer, Blake Herrington and Colin Moorhead on 1,000 feet of granite near […]
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SHE Climbs
Local teen takes the road to Kilimanjaro to support African women’s cause
What began with a kitchen blender in a suitcase en route to Rwanda has turned weaving banana fibers into feminine products enabling African women to stay at work and at school. The success of Sustainable Health Enterprises, or SHE, has provided thousands of women and girls with affordable menstrual pads by spinning banana fibers into […]
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Go Here 10/8-10/16
Created by the tumultuous relationship between molten rock and water, dozens of hot springs emerge seemingly scattershot across Oregon’s landscape, illustrating our geologic past and providing the adventuresome with a broad spectrum of relaxation opportunities. Paulina Lake Hot Springs Found in the crater of the Newberry Caldera, Paulina Lake is rife with geothermal activity. Hot […]
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Lying In Wait
The ambush bug and its kin
There are about 200 species of insects in this part of the country that makes life on Earth very difficult for other insects: Ambush bugs. They have that very descriptive name because: a) They wait silently and unmoving for their prey to get close enough to grab them (literally), and, b) they blend in so […]
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Go Here: Bike Rides
Bear Creek Road-Alfalfa Market Road Loop, Fryrear Loop and Tumalo Loop
Back in March when the city was looking for a slogan, I humbly suggested “Bend: so much awesome, so little time.” It didn’t win, but c’mon, rings true, doesn’t it? There is so much to be done and behold around these parts, trying to squeeze it all in on even the longest of timelines is […]
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Putting Together the Puzzle Pieces
Deschutes Land Trust has an ambitious plan to give Whychus Creek back to the public
On Oct 1, the Deschutes Land Trust publicly announced an ambitious goal to fully reclaim and restore Whychus Creek, a cold water tributary that runs northeast from Sisters into the Deschutes River. In an exclusive interview with the Source, Executive Director Brad Chalfant and Associate Director Zak Boone excitedly laid out a three year campaign […]
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Mountain Bike Mecca
How Bend’s biking history was built and the pioneers who launched it
There are more than 15 bike shops in Bend, hordes of riders, countless trails and trail possibilities, and today mountain biking is a booming industry—equal parts cultural identity and athleticism. But it wasn’t always this way—and the pioneers, really unknowing trendsetters, that put mountain biking on Bend’s map, and Bend on mountain bikers’ maps, celebrate […]
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There Is Only One Rule: Finish!
If Lewis & Clark had been drinking Red Bull, this race would be for them!
For Bend Adventure Race, held this weekend, the challenge is to complete a scramble over land and water to reach certain checkpoints—and, ultimately, a finish line somewhere out there in the woods. The rules are both simple and vague: Like a rugged connect-the-dots game sketched across Central Oregon, each team has 30 hours to complete […]
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Fort Rock
Heaven’s Gate
The other day, my daughter Kristin — born in Bend way back in the ’50s, and who went with me regularly to Fort Rock in North Lake County — sent me a text that I had the good fortune of reading while looking at Fort Rock. The quote’s from a book, “1000 Gifts,” by Ann […]