Twilight and Greenhorn Trails @ Prescott Park

April 29, 2017

We headed out early to hike at Prescott Park today where we hiked a newly named old-new trail and a newly named new-new trail.

The new Prescott Park Trail System logo

Confused.  We started by hiking the "Nameless" trail that we have mentioned in a couple of past postings and have hiked twice before.  That trail, starting at the first gate, is now called the "Twilight Trail" and has signage at the trailhead showing who can use the trail (hikers, bikers, horses), mileage to connecting trails (if built), and a trail rating of how hard it is (easy, moderate, difficult).

Twilight TH sign

The Twilight trail is 4.3 miles long and takes you around Roxy Ann and eventually puts you on the loop road. It passes through various types of landscapes, each with numerous varieties of wildflowers.

Katie's least favorite wildflower, Cat's Ear

Balsamroot

Once at the loop road, we turned left and hiked the loop road past the rock quarry till we came upon another trailhead sign for the "Greenhorn Trail".  We had seen this trail our last hike here, but there was no info on where the trail went or how long the trail was.  Now that signage and info is listed.  As a matter of fact, there are now large map postings all around Prescott Park that show the new trails as well as the proposed 3 trails to be built in May 2017.

The Greenhorn trail switch-backed us down to where our car was parked, so it was a nice way to finish our hike of 6.1 miles. When we did get done, there were parked cars all the way from the gate back to the power plant area -- for those of you not familiar with Prescott Park, that is quite a few cars -- maybe 60-70?  So join the crowd (or go early and beat the crowd) and get out to Prescott Park to try some of the new-new and old-new trails instead of hiking the loop road.  The wildflowers await you!

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

Prescott Park Update

March 11 ,2017

After hiking the Cathedral Hill trails on Friday, we headed up to Prescott Park for a short hike along the main road and loop around Roxy Ann on Saturday morning.  Nothing eventful about the hike, but just wanted to share an update on the Prescott Park trail improvement and expansion project.

The world is a dangerous place!

At the beginning of the loop around Roxy Ann they have now cleared out, leveled and added rock to what will be one of the new parking areas.  

New parking area at beginning of Roxy Ann loop

We also noticed new posts at various trails around the loop that will eventually include the trail names and maybe miles or other information.

One of many new trail posts that we spotted.

There were also covered display boards put in since we last hiked that we are guessing will eventually include maps of the park with trail information and the famous "you are here" dot.

One of the future homes for park maps???

We did find another new trail just before the rock quarry on the right side when hiking the loop road counter clockwise.  If anyone hikes this or knows where it leads, let us know.  Otherwise we will eventually hike it ourselves and see where we end up.

Snow covered Mt McLoughlin looms in the distance

We did see a few Goldfield and Desert Parsley wldflowers in bloom and included their pictures below. That's if for now - looking forward to seeing what other changes takes place over Spring & Summer.

Goldfield

Desert Parsley

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

Roxy Ann Loop

December 26, 2015

Even with the holidays and all the recent rains & snow, we have still managed to get out hiking.  We haven't done any postings on those treks because most have been local hikes that we have posted about in the past.  But since our daughter Maggie was out visiting for the holidays and there was a good covering of snow, we decided to do this quick posting about our recent hike on Roxy Ann.

And so it begins......

 After driving up through the clouds to get to our starting point, we were treated throughout the hike to blue skies, much welcomed sunshine, and beautiful views.  The trail around Roxy Ann wasn't too bad although the shaded parts were still covered with lots of ice and snow.

Hiking along one of the shady portions of trail

Glenn's 3 snow angels - Maggie, Carol & Katie

We enjoyed seeing the Upper and Lower Table Rocks, the Rogue Valley, the snow covered mountains toward Ashland, and of course, Mt McLoughlin with its snow covered peak.  It's great to see all the much needed snow already!

First view of Mt McLoughlin

Full view of Mt McLoughlin

Katie got her snow fix as she took time to make snow puppies (her version of snow angels) and take an occasional dash through the snow off trail.

Panoramic view from the trail

When we started our hike there were only four cars at the trailhead, but as we finished two hours later, there were literally dozens of cars.  It's great to see so many people taking time to get out and enjoy nature.

Panoramic view with Mt McLoughlin  in the middle of the picture.

In closing, we want to wish all of you a Happy New Year, and we hope that in 2016 you will get to do some trekking of your own.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol (& Maggie)

April 7 -- Repeat Hiking

Just a quick posting to update those of you who follow our blog........

Since our last posting in March, all of our hikes have been on trails that we have hiked before and as a result we have already done postings on them.  Please feel free to check out some of those past postings.  As always, if you have questions on any of the hikes, email us at tablerocktrekker@gmail.com.

Those hikes include the Jacksonville Woodland Trails which we have hiked 3 times this past month as we enjoy seeing the constant change from winter into spring.

We also went camping with our daughter Maggie at Harris Beach State Park and enjoyed hiking in the park as well as along the beach.  We included a few pictures from that trip for your viewing pleasure.  One disclaimer though.  In his second ever attempt at taking a selfie, Glenn broke our camera.  Yes, this is no joke.  The camera flash went off, Glenn flinched, and the camera froze.  The lens will not recede, the camera will not turn off, and as a result, we are shoping around for a new camera.  We included that selfie below, not to scare you, but to warn you of  the hazards of selfies!!

Kaite enjoying the beach!!

View from cove along one of the State Park trails

Sunset at Harris Beach

ONE VERY GOOD REASON TO NOT TAKE A SELFIE!!!

We hiked Lower Table Rock about a week ago and really enjoyed all the wildflowers that were in bloom along the trail and at the plateau, including one of our favorites, Fiddleneck.  We also got to see a large number of wild turkeys while hiking the short nature trail located near the parking lot.

Yesterday we hiked the Roxy Ann loop at Prescott Park and braved the cold winds and gravel pit trucks. We were once again treated to the many colors of the spring bloom!

So we are still out there hitting the trails and look forward to some new hikes planned for late spring and summer with names like "Mule Mountain", "Mount Elijah", "Eel Lake" and "Cape Perpetua".  Let the adventures continue!!!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

The Wonder of Wildflowers

As the month of April ends and we head into the warmer months and summer, we have lots of new hikes planned and are excited about seeing and hiking new places.  We also have trips planned to the Redwoods and the Oregon Coast.

The month of April has been mostly about hiking locally.  However the wildflowers this Spring have been beautiful and abundant.  Both Roxy Ann and the Jacksonville Woodlands Trails provide variety and color when it comes to wildflowers and it has been fun to hike both areas often and the see the changing wildflower landscape.

So before we get to those new hikes, we wanted to share some of the beautiful wildflowers we have seen in the month of April & have posted pictures below.  We did not include the names so that you can simply enjoy their beauty. However, if you really want to know the name, just email us.

Also this is the time of year when most long distance hikers begin their thru hikes. We are again following Erin "Wired" Saver who is hiking the Appalachian Trail to finish her triple crown.  She does a great job of updating you almost daily with stories, pictures and videos and has recently been featured in various magazines.

Two new blogs we are following are MarmotsAdventures as she hikes the Continental Divide Trail and Eathikerepeat which features Alan & Janel as they hike the Pacific Crest Trail.  So in a sense we are watching the Triple Crown hiked at the same time!  Please take some time and check out each of these blogs by clicking the link highlighted or use the link listed under blogs we follow. You can also subscribe to each blogs so you get automatic updates.  It's lots of fun to follow along on these hikes.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol