Spring 2025
A few months into Covid lockdown in 2020, when we were all hunkered at home trying to reimagine life and desperate to figure out what the heck our kids could do for fun, I got a message from mountain bike coach Bekah Rottenberg. She was offering to put together some informal mountain biking sessions for kids she’d previously coached. With an energetic 7thgrader doing school on an iPad and no extracurricular activities in sight, it was a message I desperately needed. I took Bekah up on her offer before I even asked my son. When I dropped him and his bike off at Post Canyon a few days later to meet Bekah and a handful of other kids, I shed some tears of joy.
It turns out those pandemic-era rides were not only a welcome slice of normalcy in a weird time, they were also the start of what would become Brave Endeavors. A one-time competitive mountain bike racer, Bekah combined her background in teaching with her love for mountain biking to create a business focused on bike camps for kids, as well as clinics and retreats for adults — mostly designed for women. She also teaches strength-training classes to help bikers and other athletes build muscle and confidence for their active pursuits. You can read about Bekah’s journey and Brave Endeavors starting on page 10.
Parkdale resident Gretchen Bayless has undergone an altogether different journey — one that began when she was a child and continues today. Severe joint pain led to a misdiagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 10. She endured years of medications, medical debt and deteriorating health before she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease more than two decades later. She’s in a much better place with her health today but must continue to manage the lingering effects of chronic Lyme disease. You can read our story about Gretchen starting on page 56.
Most of us probably don’t think too much about the Hood River watershed and its vital role in the health of farms, fish and this beautiful valley of ours. Luckily, there are a bunch of people who do, and their collective work as the Hood River Watershed Group over nearly three decades has been a model of collaboration and consensus among diverse interests for the good of the whole. Writer David Hanson’s story about the group starts on page 45.
You’ll find lots of other interesting stories in this issue as well, including a piece on Iliana Maura Muhl and her vegan butter (page 20), and a profile of chef Anthony Dao (page 16). Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the annual Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour in May. Find a preview of the beloved event starting on page 50. We wish you a lovely spring in the Gorge!
— Janet Cook, Editor
