The weather lately in Southern Oregon has been cold & foggy in the morning, but sunny skies by noon. So with a 3-day weekend for both of us, we decided to try and hike each day....and we did!!!
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| Frost covered leaves |
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| Katie begging. How can one resist? |
Saturday was a nice hour and a half hike on the nearby Jacksonville Trail system. We brought our dog Katie along and hiked various trail segments. Those in the sun were pretty muddy and those in the shade, hard as rock and icy. Oh well, that's winter hiking at it's best. We did see a group of Acorn Woodpeckers, a covey of quails and even a deer which Katie (who was on a leash) wanted to chase. The frost did make for some interesting patterns and sights on the fallen autumn leaves. We took a break at the Britt Festival area for snacks and of course Katie did her best to guilt us into giving her some snacks too.
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| Water pools @ top of Upper Table Rock |
We got a later hiking start on Sunday and decided to hike the Upper Table Rock trail. Upon pulling into the trailhead parking lot we saw numerous emergency vehicles, which is not a good sign. Sure enough, we ran into the paramedics on the trail and they were transporting a man down who had slipped on the icy trail and broke his ankle. I'm happy to say that Carol and I took our time and made it successfully to the top and back without incident. The trail was muddy and icy ( I see a pattern here), but we had great views of a snow covered Mt McLoughlin along the trail and it was sunny at the top. This time of year there are lots of pools of water on the top of both Table Rocks which made for some interesting scenery while hiking around at the top.
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| Snow covered east side of Roxy Ann |
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| Mt McLoughlin in the distance |
On Monday, my sister Karen joined Carol, Katie and I as we drove to the Roxy Ann/Prescott Park area and hiked the loop road that circles Roxy Ann. The best part of this hike was when we got to the east side of Roxy Ann where there were still patches of snow. Katie had a blast running through and rolling in the snow. We were treated to more views of Mt McLoughlin along with views of both Table Rocks in the distance. The pine trees and snow along with sunshine made for some beautiful scenery.
Well, it's back to work tomorrow and more winter weather is forecast for the week. But I have memories of 3 sun filled hikes in one weekend!! I can hardly wait for spring and all the wildflowers......
Trekking Together,
Glenn & Carol
