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. 
OLFACTORY MEMORY is one of perplexing magnitude. When considering our sensory inputs from the world around us, our sense of smell is seldom high on anyone’s list. Perhaps this is due to our evolutionary relationship with dogs, whose noses make ours pitiful in comparison. Where scent molecules exist […]
AND THERE WE WERE, knee-deep in bear and moose scat, mixed into the soft shale where the swollen stream ran underfoot. For some reason, this section of the legendary Iditarod Trail wasn’t as romantic as the books had made it out to be. Black spruce and birch roots, exposed by the […]
IT’S A frustrating reality that we have to once again consider the insidious occurrence of vandalism in our local woodlands (Jacksonville Woodlands and Forest Park). Since the first of the year, some illicit activities have been a reminder that park patrons, especially our citizenry (who indeed are the “owners” of our […]
COYOTE WAS GOING THERE, making tracks, making tracks… We continued along the trail less traveled, hopping the occasional log, pushing through the overgrown brush, because we understood that there were sights to see, birds to hear, and fragrant early summer blooms to smell. Somewhere, back there, behind us, were our shoeprints, […]
SUMMER IS UPON US, and our intrepid Jacksonville Woodlands and Forest Park volunteer trail crews are happy to present our trail-using public with well-maintained trails for their hiking, running, and biking pleasure. For that matter, just simple rambles in the woods, along shaded stream beds and up across ridges through the […]
LATE SPRING finds trails in prime condition for some welcome time in the woods. Our disappointing winter season left little residual snow, so high country trails will be accessible much earlier than normal. We can even expect mosquitoes will be out and about early, and in great numbers, before hot summer […]
SUCH AN INTERESTING winter season. In general, temperatures stayed above average, though a few frigid nights were experienced. Rainfall was sorely missed after such a promising start, and little snow materialized. After the past couple of years with heavy, lingering snow making travel at higher elevations a bit more challenging, it […]
AS THE SPRING SEASON rolls around in our local woodland areas, we find ourselves eager to get out to enjoy the trails. How lucky we are to live where trails abound in all directions, and where the climate is mild enough to enjoy them year-round. As the daylight hours extend further […]
AS TRAIL PEOPLE, we are wont to point out that trails are as organic as the hillsides and canyons they traverse, climb, descend, and generally meander through. No more permanent in the great scheme of things, ephemeral as mayflies, it may seem, but a lifeline for critters traveling to and fro […]
“The only goal for man is beauty, and beauty is found only in harmony, and this harmony of nature is a dazzling complexity” ~ Tony Hillerman, Dance Hall of the Dead
HERE, THEN, is that which draws us back to the wild places again and again. Here, then, is […]
When the white eagle of the North is flying overhead
The browns, reds and golds of autumn lie in the gutter, dead
Remember then, that summer birds with wings of fire flaying
Come to witness spring’s new hope, born of leaves decaying
As new life will come from death.
~ Janis Ian, Graeme Edge
THERE IS […]
TO PARAPHRASE PAPA, “It was a long summer, it was a hot summer, it was a dry summer. It was a long, hot, dry summer.” Weather prognosticators teased relentlessly about possible showers, about a fictitious cooling trend just “a week to ten days” away, all to keep a modicum of hope […]
“Who will monitor the consequences of climate change? The inhabitants of the mountains can be caught off guard, but they have an unteachable understanding of their territory, and the small, consequential ways in which it is changing. Rather than abandon the landscape, it may be time to engage with it more […]
AS THIS lonely monologue creeps forth from that quiet place that all trail denizens know so well, our summer doldrums are written largely across the land. We’ve had another spring season when the life-giving waters of the sky were again shut off at the spigot. Unseasonal warmth has decimated the plentiful […]
THAT FEELING we get that something or someone is watching us seems to be a residual reaction from our cell memory of living a much more tenuous existence. But it also gives rise to our inherent ability to take in clues from our environment that allow us to develop a strong […]
MAGGIE BARKED just the one time. This was unusual; if there were other hikers or dogs ahead of us, we’d expect a bit more of a serenade. An early morning walkabout on Steep Canyon Rangers’ Trail in Jacksonville’s Forest Park was always a great way to start the day. Seldom did […]
WE SUPPOSE AT TIMES that it’s the unexpected that catches our attention. On a recent Spring day, as folks in camouflage spread across the grassy hillside, the juxtaposition of urban grays, navy blues, and desert beiges against the backdrop of Spring’s new growth was startling. We’d come to view the wildflowers, […]
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 […]