News

Contributed by hike leader Gary Jones

A group of seven hikers enjoyed cool but dry and non-smoky weather for a pleasant hike to Green Lakes.

Contributed by hike leader Roz O'Donoghue

Friday the 13th was a lucky day for 6 CONC hikers. We walked under clear, sunny skies and excellent air quality after days of smoke. The 12 miles hiked featured older growth forest, several sparkling lakes and an ascent to the summit of Red Butte, a cinder cone 1800 ft higher than the trailhead. We returned via the same route, a bit tired but content from a day well spent.

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The Vista Butte Snowshoe Trail is cleared, signed, and ready for snow. With a break from the heat and smoke, CONC volunteers headed out Tuesday in a “Vista Butte or Bust” spirit to finish clearing the abundant blowdown, install trailhead signs, hang reassurance markers and trim for marker visibility. 

The trail departs from kiosk and begins its 700- foot climb to the summit. It is rated “Most Difficult” due to the elevation gain over its 1-mile length. Be aware that it has been implemented as a Class 2, winter-only trail. It is not cleared to ground and should only be used with a minimum of 12-24" of snow. The alternative, less strenuous route is to reach the summit in about 2 ½ miles via the Nordic trail (share the snow - please stay off the ski tracks).

Work on this trail began in January 2016 with an initial scouting; followed by refinement, submission to the Forest Service for approval, and this year, construction. 

Over these years, the following 24 volunteers contributed over 250 hours in scouting, marking, clearing, trimming, brushing, and sign & marker installation on just this trail. Funding for the markers and signs was provided by the Small Projects grant from Deschutes Trails Coalition.

This project completes the implementation of 4 1/2 miles of new and re-routed snowshoe trails proposed by CONC in 2020 and approved by the Forest Service in October 2021.

Contributed by hike leader Roz O'Donoghue

6 CONC members experienced a classic club hike on August 27th.  The weather was pleasantly cool with clouds passing by from time to time.   The hike featured several sparkling lakes, a lunchtime summit on a mountain with views, trailside blueberries, dramatic volcanic formations as well as a visit to a historic wagon road in the lava fields.  The hike finished with 6 contented hikers.  

PowderHouseSkiTuningSpecial_forCONCMembers_August2024.pdf

Recently Mt Bachelor created a new trail from their West Village area to the Pine Marten Lodge that is accessible for free to hikers. This new trail, called the Evergreen Trail, is over 4 miles long, is wide and has an easy grade. It comes with a bonus, as  hikers can also take the lift down for free! So a lively bunch of  21 CONC folks did this hike on Thursday, August 22.

The weather forecast called for a slight chance of showers after 11 AM, then a chance of rain and thunder showers after 2 PM. We got an early start in hopes of beating the rain, with fingers crossed that there would still be decent views of the mountains.

We lucked out! We set out from the base in cool temperatures and high clouds. We spread out into the Hares and the Tortoises, with everyone going at a pace comfortable to them, and with lots of opportunities to enjoy the nice views along the way. We made it up to Pine Marten Lodge in a couple of hours, and although the trail is open to bikes we didn’t encounter any bikes as we hiked up.

After a nice lunch at Pine Marten Lodge, about half the group decided to continue on to the top of the Rope Tow trail at about 8200 ft. This trail is also new this year, and ends at an overlook next to the remains of the top of the rope tow. From there, a much rougher trail continues on to the summit.

Then came the reward! Just as the rains began, the last of our group got on the chair to head back down to the base. Even if you’re an old hand at riding up the lift in winter, riding down is a new experience, as it offers a front row seat for views of the Sisters and Broken Top.

Everyone agreed that the whole experience was really fun, and we talked of making this a regular part of our hiking schedule.

Contributed by hike leader Gary Jones

 A gorgeous day was enjoyed by a group of 11 hikers from the club on Sunday, August 18

Contributed by hike leader John Sweat

I had a few hikers willing to take this trail by the horns and endure the steady climb up for 3.5 miles. After trudging up hill for an hour and 40 minutes, we hit the summit.

Our reward for our efforts was a relatively smoke free sky to the south and great visibility to the west and north.  After a quick snack we made it down in short time to the trailhead and back to Sisters. Our stats for the day was 7.6 miles with an elevation gain of 2300+ ft.  A fun day and a big thanks to all who joined me!

Contributed by hike leader John Sweat

It didn't take long for this hike to fill and with good reason.  Canyon Creek Meadows Trail has so much to offer, beautiful wild flowers, lush green meadows a meandering creek, a cirque lake with Three finger Jack looming in the background.  What more can you ask for?
We were all very fortunate on our hike with comfortable temps, clear skies (Smoke Free) and best of all, relatively free of mosquitos!  The only down side of our outing was no signs of Mountain Goats, one hiker had informed us they were up on the higher plateau. Oh well, can't have everything..
I want to thank everyone for joining me on this hike.  A very fun day!