Habitat's hardy hikers

Making new friends and spreading the word about Sisters Trails Alliance brought an adventurous group together last month at Sisters Habitat for Humanity ReStore for a five-mile hike on the Peterson Ridge Trail. After a brief talk by our trail guide Ken Serkownek about trail hiking and a look at the map of the Peterson Ridge Trail, the group car-pooled to the trailhead off Elm Street. 

Ken pointed out the trail markings and crossover connectors along the way where people can decide how far they want to hike. If you head out on the west-side trail, instead of turning around at some point and doubling back, turn left at a marker to cross over to the east-side trail and head back. Along the way Ken mentioned various things of interest about the trail-building process, life in the forest, and things to be sure to bring on a hike. The trails are mostly well-marked, but he suggests you pick up a map at the trailhead because some markers are confusing. Ken says he's going to take care of that! 

The group braved the climb to the top of Eagle Rock and took a break to admire the view, have a snack and take some pictures. No eagles stopped by. The rain held off except for a brief light sprinkle early in the hike, and the temperature was perfect. There were a number of other hikers and mountain bikers on the trail. We had three dogs with us, and most of them had dogs as well. It was a small enough group that everybody got to know each other and shared hiking stories.

Not five minutes after we returned to the ReStore two-and-a-half hours later, the clouds let loose with a downpour! We were all exhausted but hyped by the fun of our adventure. All participants were rewarded with a $5 coupon on their next purchase at the ReStore. 

We had left Ann Marland behind with a table of information about Sisters Trails.

"Our spot inside the ReStore was very active," Ann said. "I talked with quite a few folks that were hikers and even some non-hikers. A few people were concerned about what the Pole Creek fire had done to the trails. We added two new members and several people took our membership applications with them. Some of our members stopped to say hi and have a cup of coffee with me. Partnering with Habitat ReStore was a very positive experience, and we hope to do it again next year."

Sisters Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Thrift Store hope this will be the start of a new tradition of community-spirit hiking events twice each year.

Diane Goble is event organizer for Sisters Habitat for Humanity.