Past Activity

National Public Lands Day

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Start date: 09/26/2026
Start time: 9:00 AM
End date: 09/26/2026
End time: 12:00 PM

Description:

For National Public Lands Day and our first outing of our winter schedule we're going to tackle the Main Spencer Butte Trail. We'll work to clear the summit and trailhead steps, brush above the Junction Meadow, and clear ditches and culverts.

Meet at the main Spencer Butte Trailhead parking lot, the paved lot on Willamette.

Mandy, Naith, and Keith clearing more steps.

Photo by: Matthew Bell

Event Leader: Matt Bell
Event Leader Phone: 503-884-8829
Event Leader Email: matthew.v.bell@gmail.com
Assistant Leader:
Event category: Stewardship
Area Type: Urban
Departure Location: See Trip Description
Rating: Mixed
Roundtrip total drive miles:
Season: 2026
Permits Required:
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required: Dress for trail maintenance and weather and bring your gloves.
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance:
Member Fees: —
Elevation Gain:
Non-Member Fees: —
Committee: Stewardship
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

For our first Saturday morning outing of our Winter schedule we met at the Main Spencer Butte Trailhead parking lot to work on the Main Trail. We reviewed the tasks for the day: clean trailhead kiosk and steps, clear drainage ditches and culverts, and clear debris from the summit steps. We grabbed tools and set off. We hiked to the top of the butte before working our way back down. Garden hoes were the tool of the day. They enables us to loosen and remove the gravel and grit from the summit steps and check the culverts to clear them of debris. Our work on the summit steps was greatly aided by the recent rains making the grit wet and heavier so that the work wasn\'t too dusty. Comedicly the battery-powered backpack leaf blower ran out of battery with only a couple of sections of steps left to go. Next time we\'ll need to bring an extra battery. We continued to work our way back down the trail checking and clearing culverts before returning to the trailhead to help finish the steps. <br />
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Special thanks go to Janet for the energy balls and post outing treats.

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