2019 Hiking Begins

January 5, 2019

As the new year begins, we look forward to getting out and hiking old and new trails throughout the year.  In 2018 we hiked more times (90), more miles (465.3), more long hikes of 10+ miles or 4 hours (6) and our average miles per hike even surpassed our previous personal best too.  We traveled out to Wyoming to visit our daughter and got to hike in the Snowy Mountains again and we checked off another of Oregon's 7 Wonders when we visited and hiked at Smith Rock State Park.

Snowy Mountains

Smith Rock State Park

In 2019 we hope to make a few trips to the coast where we plan to hike Floras Lake, Cape Perpetua, and more of the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT).  With the year only 5 days old, we have already been out hiking 3 times, although all were relatively short hikes.

On January 1 we hiked at Touvelle State Park. The trail took us along the Rogue River and Little Butte Creek.  Then we did a quick 1 hour hike at the Jacksonville Woodland Trails one day after Glenn got off work.  We basically hiked till it was dark which comes early this time of year.

Today we hiked at Prescott Park as we tried to get a hike in before some winter storms arrived.  As we hiked the Manzanita Trail up to the top of Roxy Ann, the wind preceding the storms hit and it felt like we were hiking at the coast.  Needless to say, we did not stop and take many pictures for fear of being blown off the trail or having a tree blown on top of us, but we did get one short of an old Oak tree along the Manzanita trail that didn't seem to mind the wind at all.

Old oak along the Manzanita trail at Prescott Park

On the hike back to our car the winds really picked up and a few times we could not even step forward as the wind blew some gusts at an estimated 60 mph.  We found that Katie doesn't like hiking in the wind as the extreme gusts made her really pull to get back to the car.

As the year goes on we hope to share our adventures with  you and look forward to hearing your comments and questions.  Hopefully you set a goal to get out and walk or hike in 2019.  In which case we look forward to hearing of your adventures.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Sterling Mine Ditch Trail - Armstrong Gulch TH

January 28, 2018

The Sterling Mine Ditch trail is over 20 miles long and currently has 7 different trailheads.  We have hiked sections of the SMDT from the Tunnel Ridge TH and the Bear Gulch TH,  so today we decided to hike another portion of the trail starting from the Armstrong Gulch trailhead.

Time to get hiking!

We actually parked at the horse trailer area for the Armstrong Gulch TH and hiked up a half mile series of switchbacks to the SMDT.  We then made a right turn and hiked over 3 miles out and along the trail.

View along the very flat Sterling Mine Ditch trail

Trail with the Sterling Mine Ditch to the right- hard to see in some sections.

The first mile was mostly in the shade and featured lots of trees and even a few areas with large groupings of ferns. We then entered the more sun exposed segment of the trail which featured great views of the Applegate Valley and surrounding mountains, some of which were still covered wtih a little bit of  snow from the last storm.  No wildflowers were seen yet, but it is still early in the year.  It was not however too early for those wonderful little friends of hikers known as ticks.  Yup, they were out already, but we only collected (and discarded) a few.

View from the trail with some slightly snow covered mountains in the distance

As the sun came out in the afternoon, we peeled off our sweatshirt/jacket ---  it actually felt hot! After turning around and retracing our steps, we finished our hike at 7.3 miles, which still leaves us with plenty of the Sterling Mine Ditch trail to explore in the future.

If you are interested in this trail, click here for the website which gives the history of the Sterling Mine Ditch and maps showing the various trailheads and hiking distance in miles.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Roxy Ann/Prescott Park - The New Nameless Trail Revisited

November 13, 2016

Back in August we hiked a brand new trail in the Prescott Park area that offers an alternative to hiking the paved and gravel roads through the park.  Being new, it still had no name and is part of an expansion of Prescott Park that will include more trails, parking and other facilities.  Having hiked the new trail beginning at the second gate, we decided to revisit the trail and hike it in the opposite direction.

What?  Where is the fun in not hiking in the mud!!!

We began by hiking the road a short distance past the second gate till we found the Madrone Trail sign and turned right to head up, up, up and yes up this short but steep trail. At the top of the trail we met the king of the Madrones overlooking his namesake trail.

King of the Madrones overlooking his namesake trail.

The Madrone trail is a connector trail between the roads, so we made a right at the road intersection and hiked the road till we found the Nameless Trail turnoff on the right.  With recent rains there were portions of the trail that were muddy, so this might be a trail to avoid during or right after rains when the roads provide a better alternative.  However, if  you enjoy mud, then you will enjoy this trail as we did for the second time.

One of the muddy sections of the Nameless Trail

Through the Manzanita's we go!!

There are great views of the surrounding areas and the trail takes you through a forrested section as well as through a maze of Manzanita.  We were also treated to great views of Little Roxy Ann before starting our climb up the switchbacks and to the end of the trail.

Great views of Little Roxy Ann

View up towards Roxy Ann near the end of the Nameless Trail

Although this is a short 5.5 mile hike, we are glad to have this Nameless Trail as another alternative when hiking at Prescott Park and look forward to seeing what other trails are created.  We'll keep you posted.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol