Jacksonville Forest Park

November 17, 2018

With a forecast of rain in the near future, we took advantage of another beautiful sunshine day with blue sky to get out and enjoy what may be the last color of Autumn.  Nearby Jacksonville Forest Park was our destination as we set out to hike up to the Upper Peak lookout.

The sign says it all.  Richard, this sign is for you.

We began at the P-1 parking area and hiked up the Ol' Miners trail, up the Owl Hoot trail, up the Twin Peaks trail (notice a trend here?), and finally up the Upper Peaks trail where after an hour-and-a-half of uphilll hiking for 3.3 miles, we could stop, sit down on a bench, and take in the view of the valley.

One of the very nice park shelters on the way up to Upper Twin Peak

View from Upper Twin Peak lookout

Although there was a little smoke haze from the fire in Northern California, it was still a great view and we enjoyed the silence with an occasional breeze that would blow an oak leaf or two past us.  Katie on the other hand, is always impatient when we stop and unless food is involved, is ready to hit the trail.  So out came a few biscuits to soothe the savage beast.

Autumn color and blue sky!

We could have hiked the same route back to the car, but instead we hiked over to the Canyon Falls trail and then the Norling trail to enjoy some last Autumn color in the trees and along the trail.  We have really enjoyed seeing the color on our many Autumn hikes this year and will be sad to see it go.

One last view of Autumn color.

Hope you had a chance to get out and enjoy the Autumn color too. Next up, winter hiking.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

Upper Table Rock and Beyond

November 11, 2018

We have hiked both Upper and Lower Table Rocks here in Southern Oregon many times.  However this year we had hiked only Lower Table Rock and that twice.  So it was time to show a little love to Upper Table Rock and combined with beautiful Autumn sunshine, it made for a great hike.

A sign of things to come......

Since we have been up the trail many times, we decided to hike as quickly as we could up the 700 foot elevation gain -- 1.25 mile trail to the plateau.  Our time -- 28 minutes.  Once at the top we headed out along a "sort of" trail that leads to the VORTAC (very high frequency omnidirectional range aviation tower) which is operated by the Federal Aviation Administration since the 1960's.  In our previous hikes we have never hiked out to this sight -- till now.  The trail added another 1.5 miles to our hike so that we finished at about 5.5 miles total.

Heading out to the VORTAC on the "sort of" trail

The VORTAC.....aaaahhhhh....oooohhhh

After oooohs and awwwws at the FAA wonder, we hiked back to the main trail and enjoyed views of the surrounding area and a snow-less Mt McLoughlin --- or Mt Pitt to you old timers.

Heading back down the trail as the sun begins to go down.

Enjoyed the hike back down to the parking lot with views of the surrounding properties in Autumn color and found the lot still full of cars just like it was when we arrived.  Not surprised considering the beautiful weather we are enjoying.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

ART 400

October 27, 2018

From the posting title, you might think is about some College course.  Instead our last hike and 10th of this month, was along the East ART (Applegate Ridge Trail) on one of those sunny and windy Autumn days. It also put us over the 400 mile mark for the year -- a first ever for us.

We started at the main trailhead off Sterling Creek Road and since there are now mile markers along the trail, we hiked out to mile 3 and back for a beautiful 6 mile hike. Along the way we were treated to great views of the Applegate Valley while being surrounded by the Autumn colors of Oaks and high dry grasses, some as tall as us. The wind would come up every now and then providing us with a shower of leaves across the trail.  Great hike with great Autumn beauty.  Here are a few pictures for your viewing enjoyment.  Hope you are getting out to enjoy Autumn too.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Trail through the dry grasses of Autumn

Spooky tree along the trail

Views, views, views

Autumn Colors

October 21 ,2018

We have done many hikes in this our favorite season, Autumn.  Since many of these hikes are local we have not been taking pictures or posting about them on our site, but instead have just been enjoying the sights while on the trail.  Places like the Jacksonville Woodland Trails, Elk Creek, Cathedral Hills Park, Valley of the Rogue SP and Prescott Park are a few of great hiking areas that are close by where we can go to enjoy hiking and at this time of year, the Autumn beauty.  As you can see from our hiking miles counter, we are almost to 400 miles on the year.

We did hike a portion of the Rogue River Trail at Lost Creek Lake a few weeks ago and took a few pictures. You can see our write up on the same hike under our March postings of this year.  Hope you enjoy the pictures, but better yet, take some time to walk or hike in your neighborhood, local park, or out in the woods and enjoy the beauty of Autumn before it is gone.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

A view of some changing color on a nearby hill.

View across an inlet from the trail to where we would be hiking in an hour or so.

The turtle we met on the hiking trail.

View of Lost Creek Lake and Rogue River Trail

Applegate Lake

September 23, 2018

Autumn.....just the sound of it is enough to make us want to hike,  It is our favorite season of the year and along with Spring, is one of the most beautiful times to get out and hike.  So we wasted no time and got out on the first full day of Autumn for a hike at Applegate Lake.

A view of the very low but still beautiful Applegate Lake from the Payette trail

We started at the French Gulch trailhead and hiked along the Payette trail which follows the shoreline of Applegate Lake.  However, this shoreline had no lake as Applegate Lake is very very very low.  So our first mile or so was along dry lake with a shoreline.  We did notice a few Autumn colors in the trees and spotted a large Osprey nest up on a tree, so not all was disappointment at the start.

Osprey nest along the Payette trail

Autumn sunshine and blue skies!

We continued on the flat Payette trail for about 4 miles which did provide us with some beautiful views of various portions of the lake.  We then turned off onto the Osprey trail which headed uphill to the Prospector's Loop trail. Our plan was to hike the loop trail, but after about a half mile, we came across a very large tree across the trail.  The picture does not do justice. Our choices were to hike either up or down the very steep ravine 20-30 yards to the end of the tree and then hike either up or down the ravine to get back on trail.  Not our idea of fun with all the poison oak and since Katie voted "no" to make it a 3 - 0 vote, we turned around and headed back to the Osprey trail.

Road block and turn around spot on the Prospector's Loop

We then hiked up the Osprey trail to the Dagelma trailhead parking lot and started down one of our favorite trails, the Calsh trail.  This short trail wanders down and around the ravine from the trailhead to the lake shore where it intersects the Payette trail.  With the sun out, blue skies, and a slight breeze, it was a wonderful hike along the Calsh trail.

A little color of Autumn along the Calsh trail

After rejoining the Payette trail we hiked back to the French Gulch trailhead and our car having finished a beautiful 7.2 mile Autumn hike.  Get out and enjoy Autumn yourself.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Sterling Mine Ditch Trail -- Deming Gulch TH

September 3, 2018

We decided to spend our Labor Day laboring on the trail.  But since it was a flat and fast trail, there wasn't much laboring, just blue sky above the beautiful woods.

Time to hike!  The trail awaits.

The Sterling Mine Ditch Trail from end-to-end is 26 miles long.  We have hiked various portions of the trail from 4 of the 7 trailheads available, and today we hiked another portion from our 5th trailhead, the Deming Gulch TH.

View along the flat Sterling Mine Ditch Trail (ditch to the right)

As mentioned earlier, the SMDT is a flat trail and our from the Deming Gulch TH to our turnaround spot, proved that point.  Only the occasional dip of the trail into the "ditch" provided any uphill or downhill grade.  There were also two basic scenery views along the trail.  Some sections were in the open sunshine which provided views of the surrounding Applegate Valley, while other sections passed through forested ravines that provided cool shade with lots of trees to enjoy.  Both were welcomed and enjoyed.

Some sections provided views of the Applegate Valley

Other sections were dominated by trees and shade.

After hiking toward Grub Gulch for just over 3 miles, we took a break and then backtracked to our starting point.  We then hiked a portion of the trail between the Deming Gulch TH and the Armstrong Gulch TH to add a few more miles to our hike.  I guess you could say we did an out-and-back hike in two different directions.  When all was said and done, it was an enjoyable 8.3 mile labor of love.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Escape to the Coast!

August 16 & 17, 2018

Southern Oregon has been hit with numerous wildfires since mid-July.  It seems we are surrounded by fires and the Rogue Valley is a natural catch-all for the smoke.  As a result we have hiked very little and those hikes have been local and short due to the air quality.  So it is only natural that like other hike deprived hikers, we had to venture out a ways to get to some clean air for our "fix" of hiking.

Time for some hiking at the coast!

We packed up the car, Katie included, and drove to Gold Beach for a few days. We also managed to stop at Harris Beach SP in Brookings on the way to and from Gold Beach for some hiking.

Path from our lodging to the beach....

Beautiful ocean!

From our cabin at Ireland's Rustic Lodges in Gold Beach, we hiked out to and along the beach to Kissing Rock enjoying the beautiful and wide beach under clear blue skies.  Katie especially enjoys beach hikes and rolled in the sand and/or on rocks numerous times.  We also enjoy beach hikes but due to other people being on the beach, we refrained from rolling in the sand on our backs like Katie.

Kissing Rock

We also made a stop at the Cape Sebastian Viewpoint and hiked the Oregon Coast Trail in each direction from the parking lot.  It felt great to be among the trees and ferns with the wind blowing and to have views of the ocean and coastline.  The  hikes were not that long, but it felt great to get out and stretch our legs.

View of Oregon Coast along the OCT

OCT winding its way through the trees.

We also took time to just sit back and enjoy the sights, sounds and smell of the Oregon Coast.  It truly was a much needed break for us and we ended up hiking over 11 miles too!

Arch rock at North Myers Creek Beach

Hopefully the fires will subside in time for some Autumn hiking as there are lots of trails we really enjoy during that time of year.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Laramie Mural Project

July 1, 2018

On our last full day in Laramie, Wyoming, we did a walking tour through the downtown area to see the various murals that are part of the Laramie Mural Project.   This wasn't a "hike", but we thought you might want to see some of these amazing paintings and learn a little bit about the project.  The project was started back in 2011 and to date there are 30+ murals.  To learn more about the project, click here and you will go to their website where you can access more information and details.  Below are some of the pictures we took on this 1-hour walking tour.  Let us know your favorite.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

#1 of 2

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Panorama of two walls