Upper Rogue Trail: Takelma Gorge

Deer on Jacksonville Trails

Since our last posting two weeks ago, we made a couple of trips back to the Jacksonville Woodlands and Trail System. After completing the Britt Canyon Trail and the two trails in the Beebe Woods area, we have now hiked all 18-miles of connecting trails.  Our last hike there included seeing many deer which was a special treat.  I would encourage anyone in the area to get out and hike a trail or two in Jacksonville.

Limpy Creek trail waterfall

We also made a stop at Limpy Creek Botanical trail south of Grants Pass on Saturday.  We saw many wildflowers  in the meadow area (Shooting Stars, Buttercups, Camas Lilies, Wild Iris', Indian Paintbrush) and enjoyed the segment along the creek which included a small waterfall.  This is a great short hike for the entire family (hint, hint) with benches along the trail for taking breaks and enjoying the views.


Since the weather in Southern Oregon has been in the upper 70's to 80's this past week, we decided on Sunday to venture to higher elevations again and chose the Union Creek area.  We have hiked various segments of the 48-mile long Upper Rogue trail over the years and hopefully will finish all of them in the future. Sunday we started our hike at the Woodruff Picnic Area and hiked south to Takelma Gorge. My sister Karen decided to come along and hike with us too!

Takelma Gorge

The weather was BEAUTIFUL!!!!  This trail segment is pretty level and for the most part follows a very calm and quiet segment of the Rogue River.  At times you don't even know that the river is nearby.  Eventually the river narrows and the trail gets rockier until you finally reach your first viewpoint of Takelma Gorge. The trail continues along the top of the Gorge, although views of the water are hard to come by since the Gorge is so deep. We stopped about halfway along the Gorge at a beautiful viewpoint just off the trail and took in the view along with some snacks and water.


Eventually we had to get up and begin our hike back.  The weather was much warmer on our return trip, so we were glad that we started hiking early enough  (we hit the trail around 10:00 am).  We did see some wildflowers along the trail - trilliums, violets and even a few Calypso Orchids. When we got back to the Woodruff Picnic Area, we took in a view of the Rogue River whitewater just above the parking area.  BEAUTIFUL!

Whitewater above the trailhead

Katie enjoying the view during our break. Notice the leash - not a good place for a dog to jump

Trillium

We are excited to be able to get back up into the woods for another season of hiking ( and so is Katie!). Hope you follow along with us and get out and  hike yourself.  There's so much beauty to see!!!!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol