Jacksonville Forest Park

November 17, 2018

With a forecast of rain in the near future, we took advantage of another beautiful sunshine day with blue sky to get out and enjoy what may be the last color of Autumn.  Nearby Jacksonville Forest Park was our destination as we set out to hike up to the Upper Peak lookout.

The sign says it all.  Richard, this sign is for you.

We began at the P-1 parking area and hiked up the Ol' Miners trail, up the Owl Hoot trail, up the Twin Peaks trail (notice a trend here?), and finally up the Upper Peaks trail where after an hour-and-a-half of uphilll hiking for 3.3 miles, we could stop, sit down on a bench, and take in the view of the valley.

One of the very nice park shelters on the way up to Upper Twin Peak

View from Upper Twin Peak lookout

Although there was a little smoke haze from the fire in Northern California, it was still a great view and we enjoyed the silence with an occasional breeze that would blow an oak leaf or two past us.  Katie on the other hand, is always impatient when we stop and unless food is involved, is ready to hit the trail.  So out came a few biscuits to soothe the savage beast.

Autumn color and blue sky!

We could have hiked the same route back to the car, but instead we hiked over to the Canyon Falls trail and then the Norling trail to enjoy some last Autumn color in the trees and along the trail.  We have really enjoyed seeing the color on our many Autumn hikes this year and will be sad to see it go.

One last view of Autumn color.

Hope you had a chance to get out and enjoy the Autumn color too. Next up, winter hiking.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

Owl Hoot Trail

March 31, 2017

It didn't take too long for us to return to the Jacksonville Forest Park  - six days to be exact - and try one the many new trails that have been added over the last year.

Time for a hoot of a hike!

We parked in the P2 area and hiked a couple of connector trails till we finally arrived at the Owl Hoot Trail.  Not sure why it is named that, but after a steady steep climb over the first 1.5 miles we began to think that maybe an Owl's Hoot is like a person laughing!

A view along the Owl Hoot trail

The trail itself is only 2.5 miles long but it provided a great workout at the beginning of the hike and then let us take in views of the Jacksonville Hills over the last portion.

View of the Jacksoville Hills from the Owl Hoot rrail

One of the many falls along the Canyon Falls trail

We hiked a couple of other trails to get back to our car which included our favorite, the Canyon Falls trail with it's many waterfalls.  It was a nice 4.5 mile hike, but it proved that even a short hike can be a hoot!

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol