Explore Oregon: Making the most of the outdoors Statesman Journal

In this episode, host Zach Urness talks to ultra runner Emily Halnon of Eugene, who back in 2020 set the speed record for the Oregon segment of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Halnon ran the Oregon PCT's 460 miles in 7 days, 19 hours and 23 minutes — an average of 57 miles per day. She set the record for both male and female runners. 

In the podcast — and in a recently published book — Halnon talked about doing the run to honor her mother, who died of a rare form of bone cancer.

Halnon's recently published a book about her experience called "To the Gorge: Running, Grief, and Resilience & 460 Miles on the Pacific Crest Trail." She's currently on a book tour in Oregon and elsewhere. See her page, emilyhalnon.com, for a full list of book tour stops.

In this edition of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness talks about a program that allows harvesting plants from national and state forests and replanting them your own backyard.

With the program, you can transplant ferns, saplings and even wildflowers into your own yard for free. It's called the "forest products free use permit" and we'll tell you how you can use it to go on your own plant hunt.

In this episode, Zach talks about Oregon's wildflower hotspots and the best times to visit with expert Greg Lief.

Lief, who runs the website OregonWildflowers.org and the Facebook group Oregon Wildflowers, talks about some of Oregon's most interesting blooms and the best times to visit places such as the Columbia Gorge, Old Cascades, Coast Range and Eastern Oregon.

In this episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness talks about the rebound of one of Oregon's most iconic fish from near extinction.

Urness was interviewed by Think Out Loud host Dave Miller on Oregon Public Broadcasting about why this year's run of winter steelhead in the Upper Willamette Basin was so special. After their population nearly crashing in 2017, the sea-run trout returned their best numbers in two decades this year.

The interview was based on a story Urness wrote on the subject titled: "Once in 'extinction vortex,' Willamette winter steelhead post best returns since 2004."

In this episode, host Zach Urness revisits the Oregon Desert Trail, a challenging but beautiful route designed to open the eyes of hikers to the wonders of the high desert.

Urness talks about why spring is a time to consider hiking or planning a short or long-distance trek along the 750-mile route that travels from just outside of Bend all the way to Lake Owyhee State Park.

Urness get expertise from Renee Patrick, trail coordinator for the Oregon Natural Desert Association about everything hikers need to know about undertaking the route, and just what makes it special.

In this episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness talks about the recently established Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary — the largest such sanctuary in the world.

The 2.5 million acre sanctuary, located east of Lakeview near towns such as Plush and Adel in southeast Oregon, becomes the largest dark sky sanctuary in the world.

Urness is joined by Bob Hackett, executive director of Travel Southern Oregon, to talk about what a dark sky sanctuary actually is, how it was established and how people can best experience it. They also talk about how dark skies are measured, and how they compare to what we see in the Willamette Valley.