Trail Talk is a monthly column by Clayton Gillette about hiking the Jacksonville Woodlands trail system. For more information, please visit the Jacksonville Woodlands Association website at www.jvwoodlands.org. 
WITH ANOTHER merry spring upon us, we’re wise to consider the simple message from Melanie Safka. She writes, “sometimes when we feel as big as the land and we lie back with the velvet hill in the small of our back and our hands are playing in the sand, and our […]
THAT NOTION that we might one day travel to that blank spot on the map, to explore where others have not gone ahead of us, is a fantasy that draws so many of us into the wild places. We search out those places to explore, to have new and different adventures […]
“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” ~ Aldo Leopold
THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY HERE, in the gradual reclamation of a damaged environment, to be out and about on our two legs, to experience some of this healing. Our trails lead […]
ONCE UPON A TIME, in a land not so far away, snow fell from the December sky. As it piled higher and higher, the woodland critters became anxious that their winter food stores would become difficult to find. But as had happened many times before, no sooner had the snow […]
ONE CONSIDERS THE THANKSGIVING SEASON most often from the perspective of gustatory delights, time with kinfolk, and brilliant change of the seasons. Here in the Siskiyou region, we can be thankful that the long, hot, dry summer days have yielded to more temperate conditions, beckoning us into the woodlands that surround […]
“There are some good things to be said about walking. Not many, but some.” ~E. Abbey
AFTER RECENTLY FINISHING Kevin Fedarko’s, A Walk in the Park, we were reminded of the mindfulness that becomes imperative when venturing out on foot into wild places. Biting off large chunks of difficult terrain, as “long-distance […]
NATURE BATHING. Mindfulness. Sense of Place. We venture into the out-of-doors to challenge our comfort zones, to enlarge our horizons, and to simply have new experiences. Though there are a wide array of commercial enterprises built around our need for therapeutic self-help, sometimes our wellness is simply dependent on a tried-and-true […]
OKAY, A QUICK QUIZ to start off this monthly installment: When driving on a mountain road, such as the approach to the Upper Britt parking area, or on either Reservoir or Norling Road in Forest Park, should uphill or downhill traffic yield the right-of-way on steep, narrow sections? For folks unfamiliar […]
THAT WE’D NOT ONLY BUILT THAT TRAIL, that we’d walked and run it innumerable times recreationally, and in our role as a parks volunteer, had completed routine annual maintenance there, would never have prepared us to find a new (to us) isolated member of the broomrape family. There they pushed forth […]
PERHAPS IT’S NOT SO COMMON, or at times it appears to be absent altogether. And yet, we’d expect adults to be mindful of others. So how is it that in the quiet halls of our surrounding forests, we are wise to watch for those without integrity to follow a few guidelines […]
WARM SUNNY DAYS followed by cool cloudy ones. Dusty trails one day and sloppy mud the next. Springtime is fully embracing our local woodlands. Just a blink of an eye from the impassable tangles of the late winter snowstorm, through the brilliant hillside displays of floral brilliance, and now into the […]
“THE ONE WHO PLANTS TREES, knowing he will never sit in their shade, has begun to understand the meaning of life.” (author unknown) We take this to heart because of recent feedback about fuels reduction on city-owned land. Some concerns that were raised include the spread of invasive weeds, potential erosion, […]
SPRING IS IN THE AIR and winter’s wandering thoughts of last year’s memorable hikes will soon to be replaced by the new stories our wandering feet will create along nearby trails. As the wildflowers burst forth to share the stage with the rambunctious chorus of so many spring birdsongs, one would […]
THERE’S BEEN SOME CHANGES to our woodland landscapes near Jacksonville. A couple of major fuels reduction projects have rendered our nearby hillsides more open, and hopefully, less prone to catastrophic wildland fire. Too much vegetation removed? Too little? It depends on whom you ask.
Southern Oregon is a landscape shaped by fire. […]
As this is written, our Grayback Forestry crews continue the fuels reduction work in Forest Park. The contracted work will continue well into the winter, and visitors to the park are expected to respect all trail closures. The closure of trails is necessary for public safety as well as the […]
The Douglas firs are dying. Numerous articles in a variety of publications have covered this phenomenon and, sadly, our local woodlands are no exception. Forecasts of 80% mortality of large firs in forests below 3000’ elevation in the next decade have been proposed, and one only need look at the yellowing […]
Onion Springs Trail. Wickiup Trail. Hemlock Lake. The Oregon Skyline Trail from Devil’s Peak Saddle to Sky Lakes. Puck Lakes Trail. Solace Cow Camp. Gopher Ridge to Lake Ivern to Ranger Springs. In the Sky Lakes Wilderness of Southern Oregon, these are all trails that were abandoned during the federal government […]
The cooler weather that’s promised to us every summer should be somewhere below the horizon. We can only hope. Maybe it shows the age of your correspondent, but our summers seem to start earlier and last longer. And with such a short spring this calendar year, we find ourselves yearning for […]
“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing views.” ~ E. Abbey
Our general impression of views is that they are for looking far and wide. Vistas is a word that feels more inclusive, if you will. And why not? Those individuals brave enough and tenacious enough […]
The roller-coaster that was our recent weather should settle down as we head into July. Was that a late Spring followed by an early Summer we just witnessed? The heavy mountain snowpack from the lingering Winter belied the continuation of the drought affecting our local valley floors. Another water year at […]
Sitting on the Vulture’s Roost bench on the Lower Twin Peak hiking loop trail in Jacksonville’s Forest Park in mid-May, I was pleasantly surprised by a loud rustle of large wings. An early morning hike had brought me to this vantage point in time to catch our resident turkey vultures as […]
Well, with our tardy Spring season finally awakened, we can get up and get out amidst the annual wildflower show along our local trails. Only time will tell, but with the later seasonal outpouring of the native blooms along our byways, perhaps Summer will also arrive a bit later, allowing the […]
As this is being written, spring seems far away, yet we know it has to come around eventually… in all its glory. Pussy willows that bravely pushed forth in mid-January were caught in arrested development, and two months later are still uncertain whether to proceed. The lack of rain throughout our […]
As the cosmic wheel of the seasons turns once again to warmer days and brighter sun, it’s time to renew our relationship with wild places. Pussywillows abound and Spring blooms push up from their overwintering bulbs. Young leaves bravely venture forth on the bare twigs of deciduous trees, promising a canopy […]
After multiple articles for the Jacksonville Review and other publications regarding the “Trails Community,” we feel this is an appropriate time to catch our collective breath. The last decade has seen a substantial increase in the local trail availability, with a healthy increase in both hiking and mountain biking opportunities.
The Ashland […]
Another year of hiking our forest trails draws to a close. It’s a time to remind ourselves to be thankful that we have the ability to get out into the wild places so easily; something that we should never take for granted. It’s a time to remind ourselves of our […]
For this issue’s musings, I’m putting on my Forest Park Volunteer cap. The last two years have seen a considerable growth in the number of folks enjoying Forest Park. In a recent issue, an explanation was given of the relationship between Jacksonville Woodlands Association and Forest Park, which is managed as […]
Reading the newly-posted Chugach National Forest trail sign for Carter Lake Trail near Moose Pass, AK, I thought that a nice morning hike was in the cards. According to the posting, the trail was steep, but well-maintained, ending near Carter Lake in the high pass between Upper Trail Lake and Crescent […]
Poison oak. An interesting plant. Actually, quite pretty, as plants go. Often sprouting brilliant scarlet and purple leaflets in the Spring, it matures to a rich verdant green as Summer arrives. The blossoms are quite delicate and even fragrant, attracting a multitude of pollinators, some as delicate as the smallest midge […]
Since I was born with two perfectly functional legs, my choice has always been to use them as my first option for travel. I enjoy being upright as Nature intended, and with alliteration intended, with my head held high above the madding masses of immobile minions caught up in their frenzied […]
Once upon a time, two intrepid individuals carried a bundle of 50 ponderosa pine seedlings, along with the appropriate grubbing tools, up a steep ridge to rehabilitate a highly-eroded OHV track. Another bundle of 50 incense cedars was also packed along to fill in more shaded areas. Decades of ATV, 4-wheel […]
What a delightful spring season we’re having. The cool, damp weather has made our walk-abouts so much more pleasant, and our wildflower season has been prolonged. It’s such a pleasant surprise to enjoy the calypsos (lady-slippers) along the trail, then stroll around the corner and see a late-blooming lamb’s tongue (fawn […]
One would certainly hope that folks got out to enjoy our wildflower show in our local parks this spring. With our warm, dry February, hound’s tongue violets and manzanita brush were blooming early, heralding an early showing of our other wildland flowers. Shooting stars soon followed and fawn lilies were […]
With the coming of Spring, we find ourselves anxious to be out and about on our local trails. Recent outings to many nearby wild areas have found most trails in fairly good condition because of another “less than moist” Winter season. Some of the heavier windstorms have brought down limbs and […]
As our interesting winter season draws to a conclusion, it’s time to look afield to trips on our local trails. Having a record-setting dry spell coming on the heels of a heavy winter storm at the turn of the calendar, we’ve seen some phenomena not usual in our recollection. Finding fresh […]
A recent article in the Mail Tribune highlighted the efforts of our National Park Service to preserve the natural habitat surrounding the Grove of Titans in Redwoods State and National Park. An elevated walkway is being constructed to protect the shallow root system of this community of spectacularly large and ancient […]
With the advent, or shall we say, return of Autumn rains this October, we can breathe a bit easier heading into the colder days of mid-winter. Shortly after the publication of this piece, as we celebrate the season, we’ll sense the days lengthening and a quickening as new growth arises […]
So, our Hunters’ Moon has come and gone for another year. With the skies finally rid of the pesky smoke of summer, we can breathe more easily. The crisp morning air is accompanied by the crisp crunch of autumn’s leaves, and on the crispiest of mornings, the delightful crackle of hoar-frosted […]
That’s the late summer/early fall mantra for so many of us as we venture out for time on the trails. The cool, moist air that heralds the onset of our damp, foggy winters is still but a dream—but a dream worth having. To consider that we once wished for those dark […]
Returning to the familiar footpaths of one’s local environment after forays far and wide creates a certain deja’ vu. To return to a familiar stomping ground while the temperatures persist in the triple digits, just like the day you left, yields a feeling far more poignant than any “been there, done […]
Summer is upon us, and it’s a time to get out and explore farther afield. Trails in our local wilderness areas have opened as the snowpack has melted, and though winter storms may have created blowdown over many of the trails, intrepid hikers should still be able to get through to […]
Our Woodlands have seen an explosion of visitors since COVID. These warming days of spring and summer are indeed a popular time to be out and gathering out-of-doors and does carry less risk of exposure than indoor activities.
Research published last summer by the European Forest Institute in Bonn found that visits […]
The blooms came late this spring, a welcome respite from years past, when all of Nature’s tapestry of color seemed over-anxious to burst forth and then fade even more quickly. The cool February weather, damp, but no wetter than normal, held in check previous year’s ‘too much, too soon’ extravaganzas. What […]
Quietly, they came to feed and potentially nest and raise their young. One day, the old city reservoir in Forest Park was bone dry. The next day, after a bit of rain fell on the parched uplands, it filled, and water flowed quietly through the boulders in the old spillway beneath […]
There is a time when the tumult and chaos of life in a 24/7 news cycle breaks the spirit of the bravest consumer. Overwhelmed by the cantankerous rantings of so many talking heads, the appeal of a timeout spent in the musty cold fog of our mid-winter world becomes undeniable. The […]
Fall finally comes to our woodland areas. Crunchy leaves give way to damp blankets of color beneath the naked stems, branches, and trunks of our deciduous brethren. Fungi again bravely venture forth, reclaiming a world denied them during the harsh summer’s drought. The forests are quieter now, beginning the long slumber […]
As we hope for the smoke to clear and the out-of-doors to become welcoming again after some fall rains, we are obligated to take stock of our climate crisis. “Mega-drought” feels overused, but how else do we account for streams that seem to never run, waterfalls that never fall, bogs where […]
“Leave only footprints; take only memories.” The hikers’ mantra played loudly in my subconscious on a recent walkabout far from our local trails. A quarter century ago, two motorcyclists ignored a wilderness boundary sign and rode onto a pumice ridge, where they turned doughnuts in the powdery soil before diving off […]
Having recently spent some time running on trails farther afield, I am happy to report that our local trails are in tip-top shape. It is disappointing to see that so much of our once robust forest trail system on BLM and Forest Service land has been neglected for so long, and […]
Summer is upon us. We can only hope for occasional rain to dampen our extreme fire season and keep the smoke from our skies. Dry, dusty conditions under a blazing sun do little to entice our walkabout mojo into action. But to be out and about during a rare summer shower, […]