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Developing a heritage trail could attract a new breed of hikers to the region

Northeastern Oregon has world-class assets right at its feet, and it’s high time, a group of city officials say, that the region began sharing its scenery and topography with the ramblers of the world.

A trio of presenters — Baker City Planning Director Don Chance, Economic Developer Gene Stackle and retired teacher and hiking enthusiast Dick Hentze — told the Baker City Council Tuesday what the planned 870-mile Blue Mountain Heritage Trail could one day mean to the region.

For one thing, attracting ramblers — the European style of hiking, where people hike from bed to bed and carry only a small backpack containing their lunch, a change of clothes and rain gear — is big business.

Each year in Great Britain, for example, the English countryside is home to 527 million walking trips. Ramblers spend $12.24 billion and support 245,000 full-time jobs.

“Based on that model, not only can Baker City but communities outside Baker City and the region can build their economy based on a trail system without impacting the way of life in a negative manner,” Stackle told councilors.

It will take probably 10 years to build the entire trail, Chance said, but the first three sections — Baker City to Halfway, Baker City to Sumpter and then on to Prairie City, and Baker City to Sumpter and then north to La Grande — could come about in two or three years, using existing trails, primitive roads — even waterways.

“Almost the whole trail physically exists,” Chance said.

There are parallels to what the local group is proposing. The Appalachian Trail in the eastern U.S. is 2,170 miles long and is maintained by a large cadre of volunteers.

“It is the classic backpacking experience. It’s a social thing, and it takes five months to hike,” Chance said. But the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which oversees activities along the AT, is for the first time looking at what Chance, Stackle and Hentze are trying to do locally: establish meals and beds at regular intervals to cater to ramblers rather than more rigorous backpackers.

“As we get older, the pack gets heavier and the ground gets harder at night,” Chance said. “I like to backpack, but I’d like to do it in more comfort.”

Hentze has spent years, Chance said, in front of his computer to research possible routes, which can be shared with bicyclists and horse enthusiasts.

“Dick is the real hero of this thing, ground-truthing trails and linking them together,” Chance said. “It’s nothing short of amazing.”

As it turns out, the U.S. Forest Service manages about 60 percent of the proposed route, while another 23 percent are in designated wilderness areas. The Bureau of Land Management manages another 9 percent; the remaining 8 percent is in the public right-of-way.

About 38 percent of the route is currently in the form of a trail and another 31 percent can be considered primitive road, Chance said. Gravel maintained roads account for 20 percent. There’s no route at all along 7.4 percent, and 2 percent is water to entice kayakers and canoe paddlers. A little more than 1 percent is paved roadway.

Stackle said walking is by far the nation’s number one recreational activity, enjoyed by 25 million women and 14 million men at least once a week.

Ramblers drop between $100 and $150 per day in the local economy. Walkers from foreign countries “are fascinated with the American West,” Chance said, “but they are intimidated by backpacking.”

There’s a lot of work ahead to make the trail system successful, Chance said. It must be marketed, signed, placed in guidebooks and maintained. Most importantly, arranging for intermittent stops — including farmers and ranchers willing to open their homes as a kind of bed and breakfast — will be the most difficult task, Councilor Dennis Dorrah predicted.

“The facilities don’t have to be fancy,” Chance said. “It can be four or six beds with people being served right out the kitchen.”

Another entrepreneurial possibility is establishing a shuttle service — hotel/motel operators or bed and breakfast purveyors willing to transport ramblers to and from wherever they are along the trail in exchange for two or three nights spent at their facility.

“We have long distances, but we have a culture to show people,” Chance said. “With 78 million baby boomers set to retire, this is something that should be a rich vein to mine for several decades.”

Councilor Beverly Calder deemed the plan “really solid.”

“We just need to find out who to talk to at Lonely Planet (tour books),” she said.