Trail Talk – June 2022

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 lily). While we wait for the heady burst of mock orange and ocean spray, we admire the trilliums, their white blooms gradually turning pink, then magenta. Hillsides of sea blush, larkspur, and popcorn flowers seem reluctant to give way to tarweed and buckwheat.

After last spring’s abrupt conversion to the fiery furnace of summer, we are thankful for lingering moisture. A mid-May excursion in the local hills was one of winter wonder, footfalls muffled by fresh powdery snow, a far cry from the crunchy textures of last year’s dry trails. Cooler weather later into the season will push our local fire season back, allowing us to enjoy our surrounding woodlands longer.

Jacksonville’s dedicated trail volunteers spent the winter and spring preparing the trail system for eager visitors. Zigler Trail, with its new crushed granite surface, is in the best shape it’s been for quite some time. The extensive blowdown and tangled madrones of the heavy January snows have been cleared and damaged trails have been repaired. Some areas of ongoing erosion have been re-aligned to provide for sustainability in the longer term.

Jacksonville has a trail system that draws visitors from around the world and has reason to show pride in this ownership. A recent encounter on Atsahu Trail, a more remote trail in Forest Park, with a couple from Bristol, England reminds us that we have a remarkable “crown jewel” showcased in our nearby hills. Previous visitors from Norway and Japan have also expressed their delight in finding so many trail choices for their explorations while traveling through our corner of the world.

Leading a group of 2nd graders recently along Ponderosa Snag Trail, we were reminded of the remarkable diversity to be found so close to our city. After a lesson on the nature of a madrone forest, where spring blossoms hummed with honeybees and remnant berries from last year’s crop festooned the ground, we traveled but a little farther, and found ourselves in an oak savanna, and the discussion changed to one of acorns and the role these oaks played in the pre-European culture.

Continuing on our way, we overtook a young pond turtle marching along Rail Trail, on its way to the old reservoir. The excitement of so many youngsters seeing “a real turtle in the wild” for the first time was a joy to behold. The later discovery of a rough-skinned newt on Norling Trail added to the day’s success. Our lesson to take away as adults is to always be aware of our surroundings, and marvel at the diversity of our local woodlands. There is much to discover here. And travel cautiously, for you never know whom or what you may encounter along the trail.