Submitted by Sue Sullivan

The Central Oregon Nordic Club maintains roughly 100 miles of ski and snowshoe trails here in the Deschutes National Forest. As you probably know, we’re not the only group that maintains winter trails; Meissner, Sisters Trail Alliance COTA, the Dog Pack and several snowmobile groups also maintain trails nearby. In the Ochocos, there are a number of ski trails near the Walton Lake Sno-Park,  and the Portland chapter of the Oregon Nordic Club has taken on the responsibility for clearing and marking those trails. In June, Portland ONC invited us to join them in a three-day work event to spruce up the trails. Nine of us assisted the Portland group, with most people camping at Walton Lake for the event.

It was not all work either! Walton Lake proved to be a beautiful spot to camp. Ron Padgett brought along his dulcimer, and Louise Brown brought a violin, so there was evening entertainment around the campfire. Some folks spotted wild horses while doing trail work. Those of us who had never skied at Walton lake vowed to come back this winter as the trail system goes through some really nice terrain.

There’s a possibility that Portland ONC will be returning to finish more trail work some time later this summer, so we may be having another opportunity to help improve these trails.