Pilot Rock (Ashland, Oregon)

Just a mile over the California border lies Pilot Rock (in Oregon). I made it to the top today for the third time. However, I think this will be my last time. Today was my first time in almost eight years, and I don’t remember it being this difficult. I don’t think it has changed which means I must be the one who has. (I’m getting old.)

The trail to the top has changed and is currently changing. Recently the old part of the trail you can see in the lower-right portion of today’s photo has been covered over in branches. Instead of a straight up, wide ascent over loose gravel for this old part of the trail, a new switchback has been created. Nice. A big improvement.

The other new change to the trail is its length. Previously you could park near the intersection of the Pilot Rock trail head and the PCT. No more. They are currently turning the last mile or so of these directions into single track. I’m guessing that by the beginning of September 2015 the fire road that previously took you to the small parking lot will all be single track. The new parking lot is much bigger. The Pilot Rock hike is now a mile or so longer (each way).

If you want to see what turning a fire road into a single track hiking trail looks like, head up there in the next few days or weeks. The process is surprisingly interesting.

Also, the recently refreshed and marked Lone Pilot Trail can be accessed from the location of the old parking lot.

Lone Pilot Trail (Southern Oregon)

Posted on July 21st, 2015 under nature, only in ashland. Tags: hike, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, pilot rock. Comments Off on Changes to the Pilot Rock trail

Yesterday we went in search of Boundary Springs. We couldn’t find the trailhead (or maybe we did and just didn’t know it). In any event, we parked at the Mazama Viewpoint off Highway 230 as we could see no other place to park near the Mile 19 marker, which is where we read the trail is supposed to start. The sign at Mazama Viewpoint said Upper Rogue River Trail (I think). There was no internet from there, but my GPS worked fine. It looked like we could still do the Boundary Springs Trail if we could find it.

Even though there should have been tons of snow in the area, the snow was fairly minimal–especially for this time of year–so we didn’t bother to put our snowshoes on. We ended up walking on the trail for several miles before realizing we were no longer going toward Boundary Springs. At that point we turned around, walked back to our car, drove to Crater Lake, and snowshoed there.

I want to try the Boundary Springs Trail again. I saw this sign, but couldn’t read it. Apparently this is where we should have turned to get to Boundary Springs.

Posted on January 26th, 2015 under nature, outside of ashland, photography. Tags: hike, moss, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, rogue river, winter. Comments Off on Upper Rogue River in winter

View of Mt. Ashland from Roxy Ann Peak Trail

@mtashland @TravelOregon

The day before heading to Daytona, two weeks ago today, we took a walk up to the top of Roxy Ann Peak. Strangely enough, this was our first time up Roxy Ann Peak even though we have lived in the Rogue Valley for over 14 years now.

The weather forecast was for no rain. That’s not what the sky looked like. We didn’t get rained on, but it did begin raining the moment we got into the car at the end of our hike. This storm ultimately turned out to hold enough snow for the mountains that Mt. Ashland was able to open a few days later for the first time in two seasons.

Posted on December 28th, 2014 under nature, outside of ashland, places. Tags: hike, landscape, mt. ashland, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, Roxy Ann Peak. Comments Off on Road to Mt. Ashland

Ashland from White Rabbit Trail

@AshlandSprings

Posted on December 1st, 2014 under nature, only in ashland. Tags: ashland springs hotel, hike, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750. Comments Off on Ashland from the Siskiyous

Pilot Rock from Soda Mountain

Today’s photo shows a different side of Pilot Rock. The view of Pilot Rock from Ashland or I-5 heading north from California are the more common vantage points. Today’s photo is from the east. We hiked a few miles from the Hobart Peak trail head on Soda Mountain Road to the Soda Mountain lookout last month. There is also a 9-mile trail on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from near this location to Pilot Rock.

Posted on November 6th, 2014 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: hike, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, pilot rock, soda mountain. Comments Off on Pilot Rock from Soda Mountain

hiking Castle Crags

Today’s photo is from nearly two years ago. We weren’t really hiking Castle Crags (in the background to the right), but the views of Castle Crags from this location were fantastic. For more on how to get to today’s photo spot see this prior post.

Posted on June 15th, 2014 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: california, castle crags, hike, landscape, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Castle Crags

Lower Table Rock lizard

Whenever I go for a hike I face the dilemma of whether or not to bring my camera and if I bring it which lens. Sometimes I just attach a prime 24mm lens to minimize weight and size. But if I had gone that route when we did Lower Table Rock a couple weeks ago I would have missed out on this shot. My 24-120mm comes in very handy in such situations.

Posted on May 19th, 2014 under nature, outside of ashland, photography. Tags: hike, Lower Table Rock, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D600, wildlife. Comments Off on Hiking lens

Upper Table Rock and Mt. McLoughlin

We took a little hike for Mother’s Day yesterday. While I’ve done the Upper Table Rock hike a half dozen times or so over the 14 years I’ve lived in the Rogue Valley, this was my first time going up Lower Table Rock.

Posted on May 12th, 2014 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: hike, Lower Table Rock, mount mcloughlin, Mt. McLaughlin, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D600, Upper Table Rock. Comments Off on Upper Table Rock from Lower Table Rock

Ellie & Ryan on Hobart Peak looking north toward Emigrant Lake and Ashland

After living in Ashland for nearly 14 years, I thought I had been on every nearby hike. Turns out I was wrong. Hobart Peak (AKA Hobart Bluff) is more of a walk than a hike as it isn’t long (about 3 miles round trip) and only has a bit of elevation gain near the end. The sky was completely blue on the day we went. I want to go again for a sunrise or sunset or between storms.

If you are in Ashland and want to check it out, get on Highway 66 toward the Green Springs. After a little less than 15 miles from Oak Tree Northwest Bar & Grill, turn right onto Soda Mountain Road. In about 3.5 miles park at the trail marker near a meadow. You’ll be on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) initially. A sign a mile in will direct you to the left to get to the location in today’s photo.

Posted on March 29th, 2014 under nature. Tags: ellie, emigrant lake, hike, hobart bluff, Nikkor 70-300mm VR, Nikon D600, ryan. Comments Off on Hobart Peak