As a hiker approaches the top of Wagner Butte the scene changes again. Instead of forest, desert, wildflower-covered field, or grassy meadow there are a few rocks to climb (not difficult) to get to the top.

I have never seen a dandelion seed head this big before. I should have put a finger in the photo to give the viewer a point of reference. Usually they are smaller than a golf ball, but this one (and the others in the field on the Wagner Butte trail) was bigger than my fist.

The sign on the top of Wagner Butte has been there for probably a couple decades now. The elements have not been kind, and it is now barely readable.

September 9th, 2011 | Tags: flowers, hike, nikon d7000, signs, Tamron 10-24mm lens, wagner butte | Category: nature, outside of ashland, places | Comments (1)

Looking west (and maybe a bit south) from the western slopes of Wagner Butte yields the above view which is probably Little Applegate in the foreground. I’m not sure what mountain ranges go beyond that.

As I mentioned yesterday, sometimes the landscape can get a bit desert like; however, frequently there are wildflowers right in the middle of these scenes. I wonder how different this view would be in the morning (or a month or two earlier). I took this photo in the late afternoon in early September.

Along the Wagner Butte trail you cross a dozen or so streams. This late in the year they were mostly a trickle of water, but in spring, or while it is raining, I imagine they can be somewhat tricky to cross. This one was probably twenty feet across of mud in early September so crossing over via the log helped to keep shoes from becoming a mess even without a small river coming down the mountainside.

My new 10-24mm lens can do some pretty cool things in the macro photography world, nice bokeh too. I was surprised how close I could get and still focus. The specs said the minimum focus distance was 9.5 inches, but I was less than that far away on this photo (and even closer on some others I’ll show you in the next few days). My other lens really does require a distance between the end of the lens and the focus subject of at least a foot and a half.

This flower probably looked much better a week or two earlier in the year. I’d like to do this hike in, say, July and then again in September of the same year to compare the wildflowers. Do some last all summer long or are there totally different wildflowers blossoming and dying as the summer progresses?

September 8th, 2011 | Tags: flowers, hike, photography, Tamron 10-24mm lens, wagner butte | Category: nature, outside of ashland, places | Comments Off on Wagner Butte (3 of 7)

I don’t believe I’ve ever been on a trail with so many varieties of surroundings as the Wagner Butte Trail. You can be under a forest canopy one minute, have lush vegetation under foot the next, follow it up walking through a meadow of wildflowers, and then be in a desert-like atmosphere soon thereafter. The views change constantly as well. Change is the only constant throughout.

September 7th, 2011 | Tags: hike, signs, wagner butte | Category: nature, places | Comments Off on Wagner Butte Hike (part 2 of 7)

Sunday I hiked the Wagner Butte Trail for the fourth time. This was only the second time I made it to the top. My first two attempts were with my kids when they were little so we only went for a mile or two. The entire hike is over 10 miles and includes climbing (and then descending) over 2,200 feet.

I brought along my new lens (Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 DI II Lens) so I have far more than a week’s worth of photography for you. I’ll post several images a day and save some for later. For today, I’ll just explain how to get there (and post some rather uninteresting images that may help in orientation) as most guide books and internet sites give incomplete and/or erroneous directions.

Wagner Butte Trail begins southwest of Ashland. However, to get there, you need to go through Talent (to the northwest of Ashland). You can also get there from the top of Mt. Ashland, but most people are coming from other places in the Rogue Valley, making the Talent route easier.

From Highway 99 (Pacific Highway) turn onto Rapp Road which will eventually turn into Wagner Creek Road. Follow Wagner Creek Road all the way out. When Wagner Creek Road turns into a dirt road, at a point crossing the creek, check your odometer. You will find the trail head 6.1 miles from this point. Continue on Wagner Creek Rd. It forks several times. Stay on the most developed road (usually a left at the forks). At mile 4 since you started on the dirt road you will find a cattle guard. Cross it and go left at the fork immediately in front of you. Only two more miles until the trail begins. At 6.1 miles you will see the sign in the first photo if you are traveling slowly enough and look to your left. Pull into the parking lot on your right, pictured above.

The most difficult part of Wagner Butte Trail is the first (and last) mile as it is fairly steep.

Bring lots of water. I brought 40 oz., and it wasn’t nearly enough. I could have used 80 ounces, but it was a warm/hot day. If the weather forecast in Ashland/Medford is for 80 degrees or more, bring at least 2 liters of water per person. Note that it won’t be as hot as Ashland or Medford at this altitude, but it will feel warmer than Ashland or Medford on the way up since you will be climbing. Bring a jacket for the way down if the forecast is for 70 degrees or less in Ashland/Medford.

September 6th, 2011 | Tags: hike, signs, Tamron 10-24mm lens, wagner butte | Category: nature, places | Comments Off on Wagner Butte Hike week

Northern California mountain ranges from Mt. Ashland in Southern Oregon

Another photo today from Mt. Ashland as the sun was beginning to set last week. I’d really like to head back up there for a sunrise before the snow makes it impossible. Mt. Shasta didn’t look so great at sundown, but I think it could look great from Mt. Ashland at daybreak.

September 5th, 2011 | Tags: mt. ashland, nikon d7000, sunset | Category: nature, places | Comments Off on The sun goes down

When I returned from Copenhagen a month ago there was a couple of baby deer frequently hanging out in my backyard (as there are every year). But they were several weeks old at least.

The one pictured above I caught sight of a few weeks later and it looked much younger, maybe born within the prior few days. You can’t really tell how small it was without some comparison so here is another picture of the fawn with its not-very-large mother for perspective.

September 4th, 2011 | Tags: deer, home | Category: nature, only in ashland | Comments Off on New deer in town

The Weepies' Steve Tannen on guitar

The blog entry with the prior images of The Weepies has quickly become the most popular on the site so I’ll offer you some more pics of The Weepies from their show opening for Aimee Mann in Jacksonville last week.

Deb Talan of The Weepies

The Weepies at Britt Festival 2011

September 2nd, 2011 | Tags: britt festivals, jacksonville, weepies | Category: outside of ashland, people | Comments Off on More photos of The Weepies

Ellie said her favorite part of the Paulina Plunge Tour was the last three-mile downhill stretch.

September 1st, 2011 | Tags: bend, biking, ellie, paulina plunge | Category: outside of ashland, people | Comments Off on Bend mountain biking

Sunset facing Medford from the top of Mt. Ashland

The lights in the distance are in Medford. I took this photo from the top of Mt. Ashland in late August. There aren’t many days in the year when you can get to the top of Mt. Ashland in a car (because of snow).

For a reverse view (from Medford during the day), a couple months earlier, check out this pic.

August 31st, 2011 | Tags: landscape, medford, mt. ashland, nikon d7000, sunset, trees | Category: nature, only in ashland, places | Comments Off on Mt. Ashland sunset