Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Tiina Jaatinen and Barb Jaksa joined the celebration on February 8 at the Nordic area. A quick stop at the warming hut before setting off for the trails.
Blues Crew volunteers have been busy improving the recreational experience at the Horseshoe Prairie Nordic Area. There is a new warming hut and expanded routes for skiers and snowshoers.
WESTERN, OR. - Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT) hosted a celebration party on February 8 at the Horseshoe Prairie Nordic Area Trailhead in Oregon. The event marked the opening of the Blues Crew Warming Hut and the addition of new trails, bringing the total mileage to 26 (24 ski/2 snowshoe dedicated) miles. The Blues Crew provided hot soup (the Coconut/Butternut Squash was excellent), hot chocolate, and cookies alongside a toasty fire and informative conversations about BMLT and its mission.
We set off from Waitsburg at 8:00 a.m., fueled by Ten Ton lattes and the promise of a Nordic adventure. The one-and-a-half-hour scenic route included a stop at Tollgate Crossing Store to pick up an Oregon Snow-Park Pass.
We brought our skis and snowshoes, but rentals are available in Walla Walla at Dusty's Ski, Snowboard & Skateboard Shop, and Whitman College Outdoor program. Adventure-Fit in Walla Walla offers guided trips and equipment rentals at the Nordic park.
The snowshoe trails required breaking trail through fresh 6" to 8" of snow, however the Nordic and cross-country ski trails were groomed for track and skating by volunteers from the BMLT Blues Crew. Overall, the trail signage was good, though overcast and low snowpack impacted trail marker visibility, providing another level of adventure to the day.
The Horseshoe Prairie trail system traverses through rolling hills, forests, and open meadows for a variety of backcountry experiences for novice to expert winter recreational users.
BLMT website has comprehensiven information on trail etiquette, maps, and snow and groomed trail conditions. One should be prepared for winter backcountry recreation with appropriate gear and up-to-date weather information. For this trip, I made sure to pack the following:
•Sunglasses
•Layered clothing
•Hat and gloves
•Water, snacks
•Nordic skis and snowshoes
•Oregon Snow-Park Pass
•Trail maps
•Sense of humor
And don't forget your sense of adventure.
Access to the Horseshoe Prairie Nordic area is at the Andies Prairie Snow-park parking lot at milepost (MP) 26 on Oregon Hwy. 204.
For more information on the Horseshoe Prairie Nordic Area, go to https://bmlt.org/horseshoe-prairie.
For rentals, check out Dusty's Ski Shop at https://dustys.ski and Whitman College Outdoor Program at http://tinyurl.com/mhf7h3d.
Adventure-Fit guided tours at http://www.adventure-fit.com/day-trips
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