October 15, 2017
Autumn is so beautiful, yet so short. With sunshine abounding and no rain in the forecast, we got out once more to see the colors and experience Autumn, this time along the
Elk Creek Trail just outside of Shady Cove.
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| Time to hike! Check out the Autumn blue sky in the background. |
Since the trail is really an old road, we usually hike the Elk Creek Trail either in Spring when the wildflowers are blooming or in Autumn to see the changing of colors. Since this is part of the "peak" color time in Southern Oregon, we were looking forward to an Autumn color show.
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| A look across the first bridges at the start of our hike |
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| Let the color show begin! |
We started our hike at the Yellow Rock TH where there are restrooms, picnic tables and plenty of room for parking. After crossing the first two bridges, we began hiking along the road where we encountered our first of many cows on the hike. It is evident that cows roam freely through this area as you have to keep an eye on the trail to avoid the many cow pies along the way. But this is the first time we have actually had cows along the trail while hiking. Katie was not sure about them, but they posed no problems for us as they either ran away or just stood and stared at us.
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| The first group of cows we came across....a mother with twins |
At one point along our hike, we actually saw a moving cow pie.....wait, a what? Oh that's right, it was a turtle (not turdle) that was going across the trail and looked like a moving cow pie.
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| Our "moving cow pie" turtle |
The trail at Elk Creek now has mile marker signs along the way which are new since the last time we hiked. Those markers do not start till 1.5 miles into the hike. Not sure why, but maybe they figure if you don't hike at least 1.5 miles you don't care about mileage.
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| New mile marker signs along the trail - every half mile |
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| Still some apples on the fruit trees along the trail |
We turned off that trail around the 3.5 mile mark and hiked over to the Seven Mile Bend area along the creek where we encountered more cows and took a break.
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| The cows at Seven Mile Bend area |
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| Looking down stream from Seven Mile Bend |
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| Series of cascades at Seven Mile Bend |
We then hiked along to rejoin the road trail at the 4 mile marker and hiked backed to the trailhead. We did see lots of folks/families on our hike back who were out enjoying the Autumn colors along the trail, in the meadows and in the surrounding hills.
Hoping to get out a few more times before this short season is over. Be sure to get out and enjoy it too!
One last note -- if you prefer biking, the paved trail at Elk Creek is a wonderful option to get out and enjoy the outdoors.
Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol
