Elk Creek Trail -- 300 miles!!

Hopefully the title of this posting did not confuse you -- we did not hike 300 miles along the Elk Creek trail. But we did hike the Elk Creek trail and as a result we reached 300 miles hiked for the year 2014.

Closed to cars, but not hikers!

During the late Autumn and Winter months it is hard to find trails that are not all mud and water, so we ventured up highway 62 just past Shady Cove to the Elk Creek trailhead.  The day use area is closed for the season, so we had to park our car at the gate and hike down the road to the day use area where the trail begins.  It was quite chilly at 37 degrees when we started hiking and the first part of the road was mostly in the shade, making it seem even colder.

We eventually got to the trailhead and enjoyed viewing the inlet stream that flows into Elk Creek.  The bridge  crossing offered us a great viewpoint and photo opportunity

Downstream view from bridge of the inlet stream

The bridge at the beginning of the Elk Creek trail

Upstream view from bridge of the inlet stream

When we hiked the Elk Creek trail earlier this year, we enjoyed all of the green meadows & the unique wildflowers along the road.  Hiking it today provided us with meadows flooded with pools of water, an Elk Creek that was full and fast, and even icicles on rock formations.  Each season has it's own beauty.

Meadows with Elk Creek in the background

It's cold - icicles on rock formation along trail

A little more water in Elk Creek this time!!!

We enjoyed hearing and seeing Elk Creek along our hike and Katie especially enjoyed running leash-free along the road.  It was evident that cows use this road/trail quite often, but we did not see any today. Katie was not sure what to make of the cow plops and probably was a little worried about what type of animal would go so much.

Mushrooms instead of wildflowers

The cold and clouds melted away as we hiked and we enjoyed some nice warm sunshine and blue skies for most of our hike.  It may have been just a quick 2 hour hike today, but it is always nice to get away from all the man-made chaos (especially the after Thanksgiving weekend) and enjoy God's creation.

Teasel along the Elk Creek trail

There is just one more month to go to finish out the year, but we are hoping to get a few more hikes in.  It's hard to believe that we have hiked 300 miles this year -- a far cry from the 54 miles we hiked our first year!!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Lithia Park - Ashland

Lithia Park is one of those places that you take for granted because it's in your own backyard.  This 93 acre park has a lot to offer from wildflowers in the spring, to a cool creek and shade in the summer, an outdoor ice skating rink in winter and in autumn, the beautiful orange, yellow and red foliage. It was also recently rated as one of the top 10 Great American Spaces.

The park has a great trail that takes you through the park to the upper reservoir.  Once there, connecting trails to the watershed, fairy ponds and Mount Ashland branch off in all directions.  Along the trail there are benches and stream access points that allow you to take a break and relax and take in the sights and sounds.  There is also a large playground for kids and occasionally musicians performing in the park.  It is a great place for a family day trip!

What Autumn beauty!!

So we decided to pay another visit to Lithia Park before the colors of Autumn were gone.  We started at the north end of the park and walked the trail past one of the ponds.  We had to stop for a few minutes as a group of ducks had decided to make a crossing.  We walked past trees in their orange, red and yellow autumn colors all the while within sight and sound of Ashland Creek. Since the sunshine was out and the temps were in the 60's, many other folks had the same idea of a Sunday stroll in the park!

View of the first pond area

Duck crossing!!!

We didn't hike the entire trail, rather we cut across one of the many bridges over Ashland Creek and returned on the opposite side of the creek where we encountered even more trees in their Autumn beauty.  It was a beautiful one-hour stroll that left us wishing every day was like this!!

The park floor also was covered in color

Even a family of fungi were out for a sunny day in the park

 

Autumn color and blue sky - what a combo!!

European Swindle fruit/seed pod

Of course hiking (or strolling) does work up an appetite, so our next stop was the Great American Pizza Company - best pizza in Southern Oregon!!! Pictures don't do justice, but take a peek at the pizzas below and let us know which you think sounds and looks better!!!

New York Tomato Pie pizza on sourdough crust

Vegetarian pizza on whole wheat crust

If you live in the Southern Oregon area, maybe you should check out Lithia Park for a day. (and the Great American Pizza Co)  Or maybe there's a park in your area that you take for granted.  Either way, get out and enjoy the outdoors while you can.  Life is an incredible journey!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Upper Rogue River Trail

The Upper Rogue River trail is 47.1 miles long and stretches from the Mt Mazama Viewpoint to the Prospect Reservoir Park.  Over the years we have hiked various sections and decided to complete one more section before the winter snows arrive.

This trail sign has seen better days

We started at the Mt Mazama Viewpoint trailhead located off highway 62. Our plan was to hike all the way to Rough Rider Falls & back, a little over 9 miles.  About 3 years ago we hiked the other half of this section from Hamaker Campground to Rough Rider Falls. Today's hike would complete another section of the trail for us.

The first half mile was a steady descending trail into sparsely wooded forests due to the volcanic soil.  Trees were down on the ground everywhere except across the trail (for now).  We came to the Boundary Springs Trail intersection but continued on the Upper Rogue River trail.  We have hiked the Boundary Springs Trail a few times and highly recommend it. Not only it is a beautiful hike, but it gives you the chance to see where the Rogue River begins as water gushes out of the rocks -literally!

Downed trees were everywhere at the beginning of our hike

The next few miles took us up and down through various wooded areas and also brought us within view and sound of the Rogue River.  However, the river soon dropped away as we climbed up and along the ridge that follows the Upper Rogue Canyon. We had some amazing views as the trail brought us to very edge of the canyon numerous times.  We kept a close eye on our dog Katie since the canyon drops over 200 feet to the river.

Upper Rogue River Canyon - a long ways down!

We hiked many more ups and downs along the trail before we started one final steady descent, entering into the woods towards the river and Rough Rider Falls.  After hiking in the open sunshine area along the canyon rim, this portion of the trail was the exact opposite as it was shaded, dark and much cooler in temperature.

The upward view was also amazing!

As we descended we began encountering fallen trees across the trail.  Some were difficult to navigate due to their size and the narrowness of  the trail.  We decided to stop for a lunch break in the shaded area next to the river.  As we looked ahead, the trail had many more down trees and since we did not hear the falls, we decided to make this our turn-around spot.

Katie working it to get some jerky during our lunch break

Although we did not get to the see Rough Rider falls on this hike, we included a picture of the falls from our 2011 hike below for your viewing pleasure.

Rough Rider falls in 2011

It is always interesting to see a trail in a different direction and so on our return hike we were treated to new views of the river and canyon.  We did meet and talk to a few other groups of hikers as we neared the Mt Mazama viewpoint area and arrived tired after almost 5 hours of hiking uphill both ways....this time it is true!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

P.S. In addition to the Upper Rogue River hike, we have hiked numerous times at the Jacksonville Woodland Trails and also at Valley of the Rogue State Park enjoying the Autumn colors.  We are fast approaching the 300 mile mark for the year (276 currently), an amount that a few years ago seemed impossible to hike within one year.