FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Summer Hiking Series Explores Oregon’s Untouched Wilderness

Outings led by Oregon Wild, state’s oldest conservation group

Find the hike for you during Oregon Wild Summer!

The motto is the same every year for the summer hike series put on by the conservation group Oregon Wild – “Visit the places you want to see with the people who know them best.” It’s what makes the Oregon Wild Summer presented by KEEN different from other outings across the state and region; hikers won’t just enjoy the scenery, they’ll learn about the effort to protect Oregon’s vanishing wilderness. In all, the group will lead more than a dozen outings to places recently protected or proposed for additional safeguards. The first hikers hit trailheads on Saturday, June 18 with opportunities to get outdoors extending to August 20.

Sign up for hikes at www.oregonwild.org/about/hikes_events.

“Seeing water plunge over Tamanawas Falls or the view overlooking Waldo Lake is pretty special,” said Rob Klavins, who coordinates the hiking series when he’s not advocating for protections for Oregon’s roadless wildlands. “But when you have that sense of the history, the potential threats, it makes you all the more motivated to understand these special places and connect with the effort to keep them special.”

Oregon Wild Summer offers an outdoor adventure for people of all ages and interests, including an easygoing hike at the Oregon Dunes in late June and a late evening adventure to Brice Creek on Wednesday, June 22. All of the hikes are rated according to difficulty (Easy, Moderate, or Strenuous), allowing participants to choose the hike that best matches their abilities. More rugged hikes are five miles or longer.

While all Oregon Wild Summer outings provide a great chance to see water, wildlife and wildlands, some have a specific ecological focus. Celebrated naturalist Wendell Wood will lead two wildflower identification hikes around Mount Hood and longtime Wilderness Coordinator Erik Fernandez will tour the diverse forests on the trail to Tamanawas Falls. The summer culminates with a summit hike to the top of Fuji Mountain on August 20.

A majority of hikes are free and open to the general public, with some hikes requiring a small administration fee. To find out more about membership, contact membership@oregonwild.org or call 503.283.6343 ext 213.

Oregon Wild thanks KEEN Footwear for their generous support of Oregon Wild Summer 2011. To find out more go to:
www.oregonwild.org/about/hikes_events/oregon-wild-summer-2011

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