Once the roads into the high Cascades have been closed for the winter, there are more limited hiking opportunities for Central Oregonians. However, one favorite hike is close to La Pine state park and on the road to Newberry Crater. This is the Peter Skene Ogden trail which follows Paulina Creek all the way to Paulina Lake. Hikers can take the trail as far as they wish, although during winters with heavy snow, it can be challenging and snow shoes would be recommended.
November 2, 2024 was scheduled to be cloudy, but dry. The lower elevations of Peter Skene Ogden Trail had patchy snow, but it was easy walking.
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Two and a quarter miles into the hike, the second large, "twin" waterfall is passed and then the hike steepens until the bridge is reached which crosses over Paulina Creek. Past the bridge the snow deepened and hikers without snowshoes had to post hole in soft snow to get any further.
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The path also steepens past the bridge and there was more accumulated snow. Central Oregon typically doesn't get a lot of snow early November, but 2024 was different with the snow depth on Peter Skene Ogden Trail over a foot at Paulina Falls. With more snow falling and the trees covered in a snow blanket, it was truly a winter wonderland with no other hikers seen. The entire hike up and back was just under twelve miles and over 1500 feet of elevation gain.
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In Q3 2024, the Bend Oregon Real Estate market and surrounding communities experienced a change, moving closer to a balanced market after many years of being a seller's market. The number of listings grew, days on market increased, but prices appear to have leveled off, at least within Bend and Redmond. In Bend, Redmond, Powell Butte and Black Butte Ranch, the number of sold homes increased as third quarter 2024 also saw mortgage interest rates drop. Outside of Redmond and Sunriver, all of the Central Oregon real estate markets saw an increase in new listings year over year, many above 20%. This can partly be attributed to sellers recognizing that with lower mortgage interest rates, the cost of their replacement property would be less and the delayed move they planned on taking could finally happen.
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