Trail Talk – May 2018

Frequent visitors to Jacksonville’s Forest Park have been excited by two recent trail improvements: Rail Trail’s rehabilitation and a new Rattlesnake Gulch Trail. Spring is a great time to explore these parts of the park with their endemic wildflowers waxing and waning through their respective seasons. Hot days will soon be […]

Trail Talk – April 2018

Finding Spring on our woodland trails starts simply with a step onto the path that leads away from all things urbane. Here, in our little village nestled in a corner of the valley, we find these paths with little trouble and at every opportunity. So, what’s new on the trails?

Folks have […]

Trail Talk – March 2018

So, the rains came. And the creeks rose. Water flowed into the old reservoir and mallards returned, quacking with delight at the prospects of dining in the newly opened establishment. After so many arid days under sweltering skies, here was blessed respite. Now the turtles came forth from their […]

Trail Talk – October 2017

Our friends, the trails. We can see them romantically—fantastically leading us away on adventures. Or consider them purely utilitarian—a way to get from point A to point B. Sometimes, we find them a challenge to be conquered. And yet there they are: paths leading away, to be followed if we are […]

Trail Talk – August 2017

Another 100 degree day in the Bear Creek Valley, another early morning trail run kept short by daunting afternoon temperatures, and my mind’s fantasy went to snowy trails in August. Who could blame me?

Oregon, unlike our neighbor to the south, does not have a lot of trails that boast elevations in […]

Trail Talk – June 2017

It’s time to reflect on our local trails as we head into our summer months. As residents of the Rogue Valley, we can pretty much head any direction, and in less time than it takes to shop for groceries, we find our feet pointed ahead on a path meandering over hill […]

Trail Talk – April 2017

Spring is finally upon us, yet those friendly white flakes of so many recent winter days flutter past my window as I write this. We’ll venture bravely forth to see what wonders a long, wet, cold season has bestowed upon our forested hills. Perhaps the blooms […]

Trail Talk – March 2017

Oh, but if we could hear what the stones have to tell us. So often we walk along the trails admiring the flora and fauna, ignoring the living rock beneath our feet. Sub-consciously we might appreciate the rock cycle and the millennia needed to morph sandstone […]

Trail Talk – February 2016

Winter finds Forest Park subdued and enticing. The crackling crunch of summer’s madrone leaves, followed by the deep rustle of ankle-deep big-leaf maple and oak leaves is a distant echo. Blooms of the forgotten spring sleep under a carpet of forest litter and snow, yet swelling […]