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Hikes:
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New! Saturday, May 23rd
Vineyard Mountain and Dave’s trails, OSU McDonald Research Forest
10:00 am - 2:30 pm
Distance: 6.75-mile loop
Elevation gain: 1,300 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Pace: Modest
Registration required! Contact the outing leader to reserve a spot and obtain further details. Leader: Randy Rasmussen, quietre...@gmail.com
Group limit: 12
This forested hike starts at the Lewisburg Saddle where we will hike up all three segments of the Vineyard Mountain Trail, just below the comm towers, where we’ll level out and follow a lightly-used trail to reach the start of Dave’s Trail. Then we’ll enjoy a mostly downhill walk along three segments of Dave’s Trail (there are four total) to the gravel 580 road. We’ll follow the road back toward Lewisburg Saddle and end the hike after traversing the Old Growth and New Growth trails.
Wear clothing appropriate for the weather, including comfortable and sturdy shoes with traction. Bring water and a snack or lunch. Trekking poles are optional but could be useful on descents. Our pace will be moderate with frequent stops.
Contact the trip leader for meeting time and location logistics.
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Announcements:
Next Week!
2026 Liz & Bob Frenkel Spring Environmental Webinar Series
The theme of the 2026 series is Listening to the Land.
Wednesday, May 13th
7 pm
Lessons from the Land: Cultivating Abundance through Land-Based Education
By Marta Capriles, Corvallis Waldorf School Agricultural Arts teacher
Learn how a local schoolyard was developed into a dynamic farmscape in
which the students tend the land and learn to work with its gifts
through an Indigenized curriculum developed at the Confederated Tribes
of the Grand Ronde. The students not only tend to
the land, but they learn how to efficiently and sustainably utilize and
benefit from the gifts of the land they tend. You will wish you had
attended this school when you were growing up.
Registration Link: cbcpl.net/Frenkel3
Info:
https://corvallisbenton.librarycalendar.com/event/2026-liz-bob-frenkel-hiking-environment-series-27209
The webinars are free, but pre-registration is required. Those
who pre-register will receive a link to the webinar recording within
three days following the webinar. So, register today! You will receive
multiple reminders in advance and the Zoom link
from the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, which is providing all
of the technical support.
And don’t forget to thank our three co-sponsors:
Marys Peak Group Sierra Club
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library
Corvallis Sustainability Coalition
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Save The Date!
On
Sunday, June 28, 2026, we are having our Summer Solstice Potluck.
We are meeting at the Rotary Shelter in Willamette Park from 12-4 pm.
Hike in Willamette Park after we eat! Details to follow. If you have
questions, contact mbcd...@gmail.com.
Hope to see you there!
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The 2025 Champinefu Series is Now Available Online
This year marks the ninth season of the Champinefu Series, which was
founded by the Marys Peak Group of the Sierra Club and the Cultural
Resources Department of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. The
purpose of these talks is to inform the general
public about local Indigenous lands, rivers, and people. During the
past nine years, there have been 27 unique programs featured through
this series, some in person and others via webinar.
The 2025 series was launched at OSU in October with an in-person program
titled “The Future of Indigenous Foods in the Kalapuya Ilihi”. Members
of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde who work directly with
developing programs related to Indigenous foods
were featured. YouTube link: The Future of Indigenous Foods in the Kalapuya Ilihi
The
November talk was a webinar entitled “Indigenous Placekeeping through
Tea.” It featured David Harrelson from the Cultural Resources Department
of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. He is experimenting with
the processes related to Indigenous teas. YouTube link: Indigenous Placekeeping through Tea
The
December webinar was a dialogue between OSU’s Dr. Molly Carney and
David Harrelson as they focused on the cultural relevance of the tarweed
plant and the importance of regenerating tarweed ecology in the
Willamette Valley. That talk was called "Kalapuya Placekeeping through
Tarweed". YouTube link: Kalapuya Placekeeping
through Tarweed
The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library's Champinefu
Webinar Series YouTube playlist contains videos from this program dating back to 2021.
Co-sponsors of the series are the Confederated Tribes of the Grand
Ronde, the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, the Spring Creek Project,
the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, the OSU School of Language,
Culture & Society, and the Marys Peak Group. Champinefu
Series programs and presenters are all chosen by the Cultural Resources
Department of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
Save the date! The first program of the 2026 Champinefu Series will take place at OSUs Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative
Arts on October 15. The topic and presenters are yet to be chosen. Admission is free.
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Recordings of Spring 2025 Webinars Are Now Available
String of Pearls: The Magical River Parks of Corvallis was
the theme of the 2025 Liz and Bob Frenkel Hiking and Environment
Spring Webinar Series. Closed captioned recordings of two of the talks
are now available on the Corvallis-Benton County Library YouTube
channel. The talks provided the historical background, park ecology, and
current user opportunities for the City parks along
the Willamette River and the Marys River near Corvallis.
Webinar #1: The South Corvallis Willamette River Parks with Gwendolyn Ellen includes Willamette Park and Kendall Natural Area.
Webinar #2: The Marys River Parks with Dave Eckert includes Herbert Natural Area, Caldwell Natural Area, Marys River Natural Area,
Avery Park and Natural Area, Pioneer Park, BMX Park and Shawala Point.
Sponsors
of the webinars are the Marys Peak Group Sierra Club, Corvallis-Benton
County Public Library & the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition
Water Action Team.
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General Notes:
1) Newcomers to MPG outing events, please view the GENERAL OUTING POLICY on our MPG website, http://oregon2.sierraclub.org/marys-peak before
pre-registering for or attending an outing.
2) Contacting Marys Peak Group: Marys Peak Group contact information is obtainable at http://oregon2.sierraclub.org/marys-peak Listed
are the Executive Committee members and the Administrative and Program Coordinators.
3) Minutes
of the MPG Executive Committee (ExCom) meetings for the last 5 years can be viewed by clicking on minutes. The ExCom meetings are held on Zoom and occur quarterly. All current
Sierra Club members are welcome to attend. Contact MarysPe...@Oregon.Sierraclub.org
to get the Zoom link.
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OSU Forestry Recreation Updates: