Sisters to celebrate key trail system

A celebration of the remarkable trail system in Sisters’ backyard is happening on Saturday, September 21 at Village Green Park.

The Peterson Ridge Trail system (PRT), built and maintained through volunteer effort, has been providing recreational opportunity for equestrians, hikers, dog-walkers, mountain-bikers and most recently snowshoers for more than 20 years.

Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) is hosting this celebration, which marks a decade since a major expansion of the system put it on the map as a destination for a variety of users. The celebration features hikes and mountain-bike rides on the trail system, activities in the park for everyone, a little history of the PRT, a free lunch and the just-released “Pete’s Ridge Pale Ale,” crafted by Three Creeks Brewing Company.

Sign-up is now available for several organized hikes and mountain-bike rides as part of the event. This is a great opportunity to explore some of our close-in trails with folks who know them best.

Participants can join Maret Pajutee for a wild and scenic river exploration, starting with the Whychus Creek Overlook trail and a side trip down to one of the most beautiful spots on the creek. Maret will talk about watershed history, fire ecology, trail etiquette, wild and scenic river values and the stewardship of those who help keep the river wild and beautiful. The overlook portion is an easy walk, and the optional hike down to the creek is moderate.

Another hike is in the works, with details to be announced later.

For mountain-bikers, STA’s trail gurus Gary Guttormsen and Patrick Eckford will lead a rolling site tour of two upcoming additions to the PRT system, give you a little history about projects in progress and share their expertise in trail planning, design, layout and discuss the approval process they go through with the U.S. Forest Service to add to the trail system. These two know the PRT better than anyone. This is an easy-to-moderate mountain-bike ride on the close-in portions of the PRT system.

Another trail duo, John Rahm and Chuck Humphreys, will open participants’ eyes to sweet sections of trail that many folks never see. Most people ride the trail system in a big loop around the outside or in a simple Figure 8. These options only include a connector or two. With Rahm and Humphreys, cyclists will ride in a continuous figure 8, emphasizing the connectors, interesting shortcuts and special overlooks. This is an intermediate-level mountain-bike ride with several short moderate technical sections.

Each of the hikes and rides require pre-registration and participation is limited. Participants under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The meet time for all activities is 9 a.m. at Village Green Park. Hikers and riders will be back at the park by 11:30 a.m. in time for lunch. A complimentary gluten-free and vegan-friendly lunch will be provided along with informative displays and activities for trail lovers, families, and kids. Advance registration for lunch is required by September 10. Registration for activities is open until filled. The link to register for lunch and activities can be found at http://www.sisterstrails.org.

The day will also feature a drawing for three raffle packages provided by local businesses, and donations from members. There will be a duffel of items for equestrians; a backpack of hiking supplies; and a package for cyclists. Each raffle package is worth over $1,000. Raffle tickets are available at Sisters Feed & Supply (equestrian package), Hike-N-Peaks (hiking package), Blazin Saddles or Eurosports (cycling package) or Your Store (all three packages) as well as through the online registration link. Proceeds from the raffle support the trail-building, maintenance, and advocacy work of STA.

Your Store is underwriting the event. Clay Warburton created the trail image promoting this event.

STA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect people and communities to each other and their natural surroundings. The organization maintains the Peterson Ridge Trail system, produces a free trails map, hosts an annual speaker series, and supports local & regional trail advocacy and trail-related activities and events throughout the year. STA relies on memberships, donations and grants to support its work.

For more information about STA, the PRT Celebration event, or to volunteer or donate, visit http://www.sisterstrails.org.