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Outdoors
Middle Fork Trail:
Explore the source of the Willamette River in a lush old-growth forest..
Theater
High-Rise Humor:
VLT gambles again and succeeds.
PLUS: Book Notes.
Middle Fork Trail
Explore the source of
the Willamette River in a lush old-growth forest.
By James
Johnston
During the hot months of August most Eugeneans flock to the well-known
and often crowded swimming holes along Fall Creek or Brice Creek. But there are awesome
hiking, swimming, fishing and picnicking opportunities far up the Willamette River
that receive relatively little use.
The Middle Fork Trail follows the Middle Fork of the Willamette
for approximately 30 miles from Hills Creek Reservoir to the river's official source
at Timpanagos Lake. Probably the most interesting section of the trail takes you
on an easy day hike through a narrow gorge and the real source of the Willamette
River: a series of ice cold springs nestled in a lush old-growth forest.
Directions: Take I-5 south from Eugene for approximately 3 miles.
Take the Oakridge/Klamath Falls exit (Exit 188A). Stay to the left onto Hwy. 58.
Take 58 for approximately 36 miles through Oakridge. Take a right on Kitson Springs
Road (the first right outside of Oakridge) just past Dink's Market. Stay on Kitson
Springs Road for less than half a mile before taking a right onto Forest Service
Road 21 (follow the signs for Diamond Drive and Rigdon Road). Stay on 21 for a little
more than 28 miles. Just past Indigo Springs Campground, take a right onto a side
road marked by a brown hiker sign and park. From this trailhead it's just 50 yards
to the river and a junction with the Middle Fork Trail.
Once you hit the intersection with the Middle Fork Trail you want
to head east (left). But first, a rewarding side trip follows the trail west for
about a half a mile past several beautiful deep pools to Cliff Springs. These small
springs erupt from a short rock face and pour through mossy boulders to the river.
From the junction with the cutoff trail to your car, the Middle
Fork Trail follows the river upstream for a little more than a mile before an intersection
with the Chuckle Springs Trail. This high in the Cascades, the placid Willamette
of the valley is barely recognizable. Here, the 12th largest river in the U.S. is
little more than an oversized creek, careening through giant boulders and over rotting
logs. The forest along the riverbank is exceptional, featuring gorgeous moss-draped
Douglas fir and western red cedar.
More than half the original settlers of Lane County followed this
same route along the Middle Fork in an 1853 wagon train. The so-called "Lost
Wagon Train," exhausted and starving after abandoning their horses and wagons
in the dense forests to the east, camped near the modern day trailhead and survived
on berries and dead salmon until a rescue party from Eugene led them out of the wilderness.
At one point the upper Middle Fork supported thousands of spring-run
Chinook salmon. Today, the three Army Corps of Engineers dams you passed on the drive
up have extinguished these runs by blocking off 80 percent of the salmon's historic
spawning grounds.
Several years after the Lost Wagon Train arrived, entrepreneurs
constructed the first overland route to the southern Willamette Valley, the Oregon
Central Military Wagon Road, along the same route as the Middle Fork Trail and FS
21. You can still spot old wagon ruts along several sections of the trail downstream.
After a mile walking upstream, the trail splits. Follow the signs
for Chuckle Springs uphill for about a third of a mile. Ignore the two intersections
for now and stay to the left. The trail climbs steadily and crosses a torrent of
icy cold white water, the outflow of the springs.
Chuckle Springs emerge from the forest floor into a wide pool in
a shady grove of big trees. It's a perfect spot for a picnic before the return trip
there's even a picnic bench. After lunch, head back down the Chuckle Springs Trail.
This time take either one of the connecting trails that branch off from the Chuckle
Springs Trail to the left. If you stay to the right on these trails they'll take
you past more interesting springs and loop back down to the river and the main Middle
Fork Trail. From here, head back downstream towards your car.
Your return trip will undoubtedly be easier than it was for Lane
County's original settlers!
High-Rise Humor
VLT gambles again and
succeeds.
By David
Beck
Earlier this year, the Very Little Theatre departed from its traditional
fare when it staged Edward Albee's black comedy, A Delicate Balance. While
Albee's assault on American complacency did not appeal to everyone, the risk taken
by a theater not normally associated with taking risks paid off with full houses.
Now the VLT ends its 72nd season with another slightly unconventional show that just
might irk some, but should delight most. Richard Strand's The Death of Zukasky
blends the lunacy of a Martin and Lewis movie with the corporate ruthlessness depicted
in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. The result is a brisk, entertaining
comedy showcasing a talented ensemble.
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Marlino (Steve
Mandell) prepares to choose Zukasky's successor.
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I trust it will not diminish the enjoyment of those going to see The
Death of Zukasky if I reveal that, well, Zukasky dies. (The program notes hint
as much to any astute reader.) His abrupt passing leaves vacant both a director of
sales position and a spacious office in a Chicago high-rise.
Three of the company's employees emerge as viable heirs to the
job. Anne Desmond, played by Valerie McMahon, has logged 10 years with the company
and has yet to be promoted; she appears as unlikely to climb the food chain as the
giraffes that adorn her purple dresses. By contrast, A.C. Tattums (Mike Hawkins)
has worked in the sales department for only a year and a half but has a killer instinct
and a hunger for rapid advancement. Barry Mills (Michael Walker) is a witless establishment
stooge, bewildered by the task of making coffee, yet a savant at the art of taking
money. When bigwig Henry Marlino (Steve Mandell) chooses Zukasky's successor, the
remaining two candidates quickly begin to plot another untimely demise.
The play's leitmotif might best be described as "stacking."
All the action occurs more than 20 stories up. In Act One, Marlino starts a meeting
with a seemingly irrelevant anecdote about a Chinese acrobat who performs handstands
on a growing tower of chairs. "Every time I think he's done as much as he can
do," Marlino marvels, "he does something more." Later, a scandalous
memo crops up concerning an odd plan called "stack architecture." Collectively,
these details suggest that the conspiratorial employees seeking promotion within
the corporate infrastructure are climbing a precarious tower likely to topple without
warning.
The performances of the three principles complement one another
well. Displaying extremes of emotion, McMahon is at one moment coolly sardonic, the
next a hand-wringing time bomb, making her fun to watch. It's worth noting, though,
that while the play observes the obstacles women face in the workplace, Anne's character
seems to reinforce the stereotype of a female executive turned easily into a hyperventilating
knot of anxiety.
Hawkins attacks his role with the single-minded tenacity of a circling
shark. Even the award-winning score to Jaws can grow monotonous, however;
as the actor with the most stage time, he might look for subtle ways to vary his
vocal patterns. Walker deftly plays a goofy simpleton. In a supporting role, Mandell
does nicely as an esoteric corporate pontiff. Don Moyer and Aliya Dean make conspicuous
cameos.
Wanda Grabau's direction appears natural and the stage crew merits
applause. Also notable is the artwork procured for the set; I guarantee you'll never
think of circles and triangles quite the same way again.
I enjoyed The Death of Zukasky. It runs at the Very Little
Theatre through Aug. 25.
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After Hours
Late night series improves
with new works.
By Aria
Seligmann
Lord Leebrick Theatre Company's Bride of 99 Minutes of Midnight
Madness continues this weekend with a second set of all-new works, much higher
in quality than those that made up the disappointing first set. Rounding out the
show is live music by Boston's Dave Dersham, also worth seeing.
The show opens with Quarters by Patrick Torelle, a dark
comedy that explores the possibility of quite conditional love between a mother and
her daughter. The two characters, a grandmother and her grandson, engage in a frank
discussion of the woman in between them. The grandmother (Sharon Sless) admits her
disappointment in her 40-year-old retarded daughter, while her grandson (Kurt Prather),
tries to explain his mother's survival challenges. What evolves is the grandmother's
abiding love for her grandson and her desire to ensure that he has his own survival
skills.
The script explores new territory, to be certain, and sets the
tone for the darker mood of the following works that play well in a late-night setting.
The theatricality of Mario Tucci's From Here I Can See Past the Hills deserves
praise. Costuming, makeup, dance, movement, music, light and shadows all add up to
a mesmerizing effect of the telling of one individual's experience of war.
A human being turned into a clown manipulated like a marionette,
by -- his mother? politics? government? -- offers a poetic recollection of one night's
attack while he and others -- shaking, terrified from the bombing -- bunker down.
Allison Rickenbaugh's authentic dance movement speaks for itself while the script's
musical language, haunting in Tucci's accent, frees the text's images and allows
visions of war to sweep across the stage in a much broader expanse than the tight,
constricted area the actors play in.
By contrast, Joe Von Appen uses every inch of playing area in his
one-person performance piece, Swearing at God.
Like Tucci's work, the piece has had ample rehearsal time, or at
least appears to have had, plays well, and was a very good choice to end the set
with. Appen's fresh, appealing take on life makes this piece succeed. The script
is divided into several segments, most of which work, some of which could be cut
(particularly the audition scene) for length. I liked his script, his ideas -- especially
the ventriloquist with a mute dummy -- and most of all, his flexibility.
That command of movement is best displayed in the scene in which
he becomes a homeboy student trying to describe to a friend how he found God. He
shows utter physical control while at the same time spouting a seriously challenging
monologue. Another hysterical physical scene chronicles a telephone conversation
that is not quite what one would expect.
Swearing at God works because it is well-written and well-done.
Not all of the ideas are brand new, but they are new to Appen, and delivered in an
innovative way. If Lord Leebrick continues with this series next year, then this
is the type of script to go after. These works are out there, and with some effort,
can be found. Likewise, for writers, this venue and series exists to showcase such
works-in-progress, so get busy. Bride of... wraps up this weekend with two
more performances, Friday and Saturday at 11:11 pm.
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Book Notes:
Congratulations to former EW books columnist Susan Rich for winning
the PEN USA West award in poetry for her collection, The Cartographer's Tongue
(White Pine Press). A former Fulbright scholar with an M.A. from the UO in Creative
Writing, Rich now lives in Seattle and teaches writing and global studies at Highline
College. ...Kent Nerburn reads from his new travel narrative, Road Angels,
at 4 pm Aug. 24 at Tsunami Books. ...Mari Gayatri Stein reads from Unleashing
Your Inner Dog at 1 pm Aug. 26 at Barnes and Noble.
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