On the hottest day of the year so far, nearly 300 volunteers braved dehydration, rattlesnakes and heavy rocks to take part in the Spring Thing cleanup at Smith Rock State Park on Saturday.
The annual event, which was started in 1993 by a small group of dedicated climbers, was back at full strength Saturday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled it entirely in 2019 and 2020 and forced a scaled back event in 2021.
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