Jeff Crews, left, Jonah Lindeman, center, and Forrest Warren move wood chips Saturday, May 22, 2021, to the floor of a new shelter at the Mount Emily Recreation Area near La Grande. Dick Mason/The Observer
UNION COUNTY â Exhausted hikers and mountain bikers at the Mount Emily Recreation Area now can recharge in a new building at the edge of Caffeine Trail.
The structure is not a coffee shop but a large lean-to type of building that provides protection from the sun and rain. Forrest Warren of Summerville constructed the structure. He is a retired educator, a farmer and the Imbler Rural Fire Departmentâs assistant chief.
UNION COUNTY — Exhausted hikers and mountain bikers at the Mount Emily Recreation Area now can recharge in a new building at the edge of Caffeine Trail.
UNION COUNTY â The threat of rain Saturday, May 22, did not douse the volunteer spirit burning within local mountain bikers.
The Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Clubâs annual Mount Emily Recreation Area Work Day drew about 30 people.
âIt was one of the biggest turnouts weâve had,â said Sean Chambers, Union Countyâs parks director.
The National Weather Service forecast rain for the day, and some fell as the work started at 8:30 a.m. but it did not appear to cause anyone to leave.
âThese are real die-hards,â Chambers said late in the afternoon after a day in which rainfall at MERA was far less than what some expected.
LA GRANDE â A section of trail in the Mount Emily Recreation Area got a facelift last week thanks to the generosity of some local outdoor enthusiasts.
Volunteers with the Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club chipped in their time to improve a section of the Red Apple Trail, notorious for becoming swampy in the spring months.
âThereâs a section that goes through a meadow, and in the spring and the fall, itâs just like a mud pit,â said Sean Lerner, a member of the clubâs board of directors. âItâs been something thatâs on the list of things to fix for a long time.â