Cathedral Hills Park - Grants Pass

January 29, 2017

As January comes to a close, we got in a couple of local hikes.  First on Friday we revisited the Jacksonville Woodland Trails to find that most were now clear of snow and ice.  That being said, they were now muddy.  But hikers can't always be choosy and Katie loved getting her paws all muddy!  The sun was out while we hiked for 4.3 miles and we got to see wild turkeys, deer, and even our Screech Owl friend on the Britt Ridge trail.

Time to hike in Grants Pass!

On Sunday we drove over to Grants Pass and hiked at Cathedral Hills Park.  Our 6.7 mile hike consisted of hiking out to and on the Wild Rose Loop followed by hiking what is probably the most popular trail at Cathedral Hills Park, the Outback Loop.  We started both hikes at the Espy TH.

Looking up the ridge at the inversion layer.

One the views of Grants Pass - where???

We found out that even though Medford had some clearing and sunshine, Grants Pass was all about the inversion layer, so we literally hiked "in the clouds".  We kept trying to envision the wildflowers that will be all along these trails in a few months.  For now the trails were mostly lined with creeks & puddles from the winter weather.

View of the Outback Trail from the Outback Trail

 We did get to see a large Pileated Woodpecker while hiking the "W" trail out to the Wild Rose Loop.  We couldn't get a picture, but if you want to see what a Pileated Woodpecker looks like, click here.

The start of what we consider the toughest climb on the Outback Loop!

Well that's about it for now.  Felt great to get out a stretch the legs again and soon the wildflowers will be here!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol