Oregon-California Trails Association

E-News for Monday, December 14, 2020 - https://mailchi.mp//e-news-membership-meeting-and-other-im

If anyone received an email from OCTA leadership asking for the purchase of gift cards, please disregard it. It is a scam. It appears that at least one email address was compromised.

Snowy scene in Oregon near the Barlow Road designated as Oregon National Historic Trail, which is part of the National Trails System. What a beautiful combination of wild and scenic river and historic trail!

Some history for everyone . . .

Four extreme athletes, Bob Crowley, Tim Twietmeyer, Jennifer Hemmen and Elke Reimer, will follow the trail of the Forlorn Hope. It has taken seven years of research, both literary and physically, to ascertain what was the most logical of the misguided and desperate route the 1846 party took. This reprise will be a tribute to the original Forlorn Hope’s story, their courage, perseverance, and their sacrifice as they beat the elements undertaking the greatest endurance feat in ...history. The four athletes will be leaving Donner State Park at 7 a.m. on Dec. 16, 174 years after the original event. Their approximately 100-mile route will take them up and over the eastern Sierra at Donner Pass (7,057 feet), across the high chaparral, into and across the daunting North Fork American River canyon and down the foothills to the northern Sacramento Valley. Read more here.

For history buffs and trail lovers, 'America’s National Historic Trails: Walking the Trails of History' is a must-give item. Written by Karen Berger, who has authored 13 books on hiking and has completed the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails, and with stunning photography by Bart Smith, who walked every historic trail mentioned, this coffee-table-worthy book takes you from the Pony Express to the paths of Civil Rights marches and along 17 other trails designated as nationally historic by the National Park Service. The trails range in length from 54 miles to 5,000 and are perfect for socially distant adventureswhether you decide to hike, bike, or armchair-dream about them. Outside Magazine