Trail Talk – July 2026

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, […]

Trail Talk – April 2026

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 […]

Trail Talk – December 2025 / January 2026

“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 […]

Trail Talk – October 2025

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 […]

Trail Talk – August 2025

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 […]

Trail Talk – June 2025

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 […]

Trail Talk – May 2025

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, […]

Trail Talk – February 2025

“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 […]

Trail Talk – Dec 2024/Jan 2025

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 […]

Trail Talk – November 2024

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 […]

Trail Talk – October 2024

“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 […]

Trail Talk – August 2024

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 […]

Trail Talk – April 2024

“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, […]

Trail Talk – March 2024

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 […]

Trail Talk – February 2024

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. […]

Trail Talk – July 2023

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 […]

Trail Talk – June 2023

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 […]

Trail Talk – May 2023

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 […]

Trail Talk – March 2023

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 […]

Trail Talk – February 2023

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 […]

Trail Talk – December 2022/January 2023

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 […]

Trail Talk – September 2022

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 […]