March 3, 2019
After hearing from local hiking friends
Boots on the Trail that the
Jacksonville Forest Park had some new trails, we decided to venture out on a sunny Saturday and see if we could find and hike these new trails. We parked at the P1 parking area and picked up a new map to find 3 new trails either made or "to be made: Knobcone Pine, Rattlesnake, and the Arrowhead Pass trail - which includes the China Ditch area of the park.
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| The new wildlife viewing shelter at the reservoir. |
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| Katie enjoying the leftover snow! |
We decided to head out and try the Knobcone Pine trail since it wasn't too far out in the park and it would also lead us to Granite Falls which we wanted to see. With all the recent rain and then our snowstorm last Tuesday, we figured the falls and creeks should be full of water. As we made our way by the Historic Jacksonville Reservoir we came across a new (at least since the last time we hiked here) wildlife viewing shelter which is a great addition, and got to see the P1A parking area being made which will increase parking capacity and also feature restrooms.
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| On to a new trail! |
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| View along the Knobcone Pine trail of a Knobcone Pine Tree |
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| Madrone bark chips on snow -- looked like chocolate shavings on ice cream |
After working our way along the Norling and Siskiyou trails, we came to the sign for the 1-mile long Knobcone Pine trail. We also came across lots of leftover snow which added beauty to the hike and made for a much slower hike. Glenn failed to look at the description of this new trail which was rated as "Difficult" since it climbs around 600-700 feet in that one mile, but regardless, it is a great trail with amazing views and will have 2 viewing areas that are currently cleared but not built.
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| Hiking along the snow filled trails. |
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| Granite Falls - Most water we have seen! |
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| View of falls from other side with sign in view. |
We then connected to the Pipsissewa trail and hiked down to Granite Falls. Most of the year Granite Falls is either dry or barely a trickle, but today there was a descent amount of water and we took time to enjoy this rare view of Granite Falls.
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| A full and beautiful Jackson Creek |
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| Small waterfall on Jackson Creek |
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| View of Norling Trail on our return hike. |
We made our way down the hill and over to the Norling Trail just below the Canyon Falls Trails and enjoyed seeing all the water in Jackson Creek as we made our way back to the parking lot. A nice snow-filled 5.9 mile hike that took us 3 hours due to the snow and climbing. On our next trip here we hope to work our way out to the Arrowhead Pass loop trail which is a 1.5 mile loop and will require around 6-7 more miles to get there and back. This may be a 10+ mile hike in the near future. If you can, get out to the Jacksonville Forest Park and explore any of the 32 trails available for hikers and bikers.
Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol
So the Knobcone is open? Cool. Maybe the Rattlesnake is too so we can make a new loop. We definitely have to get up there SOON to see Granite Falls actually falling rather than dribbling or dry.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not a major waterfall by any means, it was still nice to see all the water that was flowing. Don't know if Rattlesnake is done yet. The brochure said "Spring 2019" for Rattlesnake and the Arrowhead Pass trails so I am thinkging another month or two? I will try to contact and let you know if I find out more.
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