Jacksonville Woodlands
We left the morning fog behind in Ashland and had a mild day on the trials in the Jacksonville Woodlands.
Sixteen Monday hikers met at the Jacksonville Library’s public parking lot.
The predicted rain was a “no-show” and the temperature ranged from the high 40s to mid-50s…another great day for hiking!
We went up the old steps from the parking lot, pushed the crossing button to safely cross Hwy 238, and entered the grounds of the historic woodlands.
Our route on the day started with the Zigler Trail next to the highway and went up to the Britt Ridge Trail and then to the Rich Gulch Trail, which reminds us of the 19th century Gold mining in the area. The Rich Gulch Trail led us to Panorama Point, but the low clouds and fog in the valley obscured the view. So we took the opportunity to get our group picture taken with a massive Madrone tree as our backdrop.
On our way down from the point we stopped to admire new pink blossoms on a few Manzanita bushes.
Our final trail was the Petard Mine ditch loop. We could see parts of the old ditch. And then we dropped down onto the South Fork view trail for a view of Jackson Creek, roaring from recent rain and snow. This trail dropped us onto a decommissioned road, which we climbed up to get back onto the Rich Gulch Trail. The Rich trail dropped us onto Oregon St which we followed downtown to the La Fiesta Restaurant for an excellent lunch.
On this day, we hiked 5 miles with perhaps 500′ of gain.
Happy Trails,
Rich
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