800 Miles Later: Oregon Desert Trail Hiker Sage Clegg Gives Talk in Bend

Bend resident Sage Clegg, the first person to hike the entirety of the roughly 800-mile Oregon Desert Trail, will give a free talk on her adventures at FootZone on Wednesday, September 4.

The event will take place at the new FootZone, 842 NW Wall St., across from the Tower Theatre. Doors will open at 7pm, with the presentation starting soon after.

Created by the Oregon Natural Desert Association, the Oregon Desert Trail links trails, dirt roads and some route-finding to wind through some of the most scenic and ecologically critical areas of Oregon’s high desert, including Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, Steens Mountain Wilderness and the Owyhee Canyonlands. Its purpose is to build recreation opportunities and appreciation for eastern Oregon’s special places.

Sage, 33, an experienced through-hiker, trekked the route in June and July from the Oregon Badlands Wilderness outside Bend to just shy of the Idaho border at Lake Owyhee State Park, completing the journey in 36 days.

Through all sorts of weather, Sage encountered eagles, bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope; found petroglyphs and obsidian worked by long-ago peoples; and marveled at the beauty and solitude of the high desert. She also blogged about her trip and collected data along the way that will shape the trail.

The Oregon Natural Desert Association is a conservation nonprofit organization based in Bend that works to protect, defend and restore eastern Oregon’s high desert.

Learn more about Sage Clegg and the Oregon Desert Trail at ONDA.org.