Cathedral Hills Park - Wild Rose Loop Rock Hunt

October 6, 2017

It's been such a beautiful Autumn week that after work on Friday we made a mad dash with Katie to Cathedral Hills Park in Grants Pass to get a hike in before it got dark.  We have hiked at Cathedral Hills Park many times with many of those visits including the trails to and around the Wild Rose Loop.  But today's hike was a little different and unique as we came across a pumpkin, hiking boots, and even a skull along the trails.

 

Evidently there is a trend to paint small rocks and then bring them out on the trail and leave them for others to see, take or trade.  We saw a total of 9 rocks on the three trails we hiked and it became a game for us to find them and it made our hike go by quickly.  So for this short posting our pictures are some of our favorite rocks from this hike.  Hope you enjoy and if you get out to Cathedral Hills, maybe you will find some fascinating rocks too.

Be sure to comment on this post and let us know your favorite rock.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

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