April 6, 2019
With all of the rain and snow storms this season in Southern Oregon, hiking has become a matter of timing. A few weeks ago the
Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Club from Roseburg came down and hiked at Applegate Lake. With rain storms in the forecast, we didn't make it to that hike. So when their club came down again on Saturday to hike a section of the
Sterling Mine Ditch Trail and it appeared that storms would hold off, we were in. Besides, we had never hiked this section of the SMDT from the Little Applegate TH to the Tunnel Ridge TH.
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| Time to hike another section of the SMDT |
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| It may have been a daytime hike, but there were plenty of Shooting Stars out! |
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| Carol & Katie enjoy one of the many "benches with a view" along the SMDT |
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| Fawn Lilies were in abundance on this hike! |
After a quick car shuttle, we started at the Little Applegate TH and hiked uphill for about a half mile to connect with the main flat trail that typically follows the mine ditch. This particular section would wander through forested sections and then along grassy ridges with beautiful views of the surrounding valleys and snow capped mountains. We were also treated to many wildflowers which are in abundance this year due to all of the rain. Towards the end of our hike we did check out the tunnel at the Tunnel Ridge area where they now have a historical sign highlighting various facts about the Sterling Mine Ditch creation, cost and usage.
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| A typical section of the SMDT with "the ditch" off to the right |
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| The squirrels have been very busy along the SMDT |
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| John taking a break by an old oak while taking in the views |
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| Richard painfully crosses the one large fallen tree on the entire trail |
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| Looking through the tunnel at Tunnel Ridge |
We are glad that the
Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Club let us join them and want to thank
Richard, John and Diane for letting us tag along on their adventure in Southern Oregon. Make sure and check out their website and if possible, join them on one of their hikes in the future. They venture out twice a month from Roseburg to Crater Lake to Southern Oregon to the Coast. They are a wonderful group and we have always enjoyed our hikes with them.
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| Thank you John, Diane, and Richard! |
One last note. We have yet to see a bear or mountain lion on one of our hikes. But today, for the first time ever, we actually saw the ever elusive Unicorn and got a picture to prove it. Maybe we will see Sasquatch next!
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| A very rare photo of the elusive Unicorn - a first for us while hiking! |
Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol
Sorry to have missed a famous "Richard Hikes" hike but Saturday is Linda's day at the library and I usually walk downtown to meet her for lunch. If you didn't have the photo, I'd think you're unicorn sighting was due to an over-application of insect repellent. ;)
ReplyDeleteNow thinking about hiking the Bigfoot Trail at Applegate Lake to see if Sasquatch can be found!
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