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High mountain waterfalls and giant trees reward trekkers on Red Blanket Trail

Late last summer a cluster of lightning strikes ignited a series of blazes in and around the Sky Lakes Wilderness that burned about 21,000 acres. One of the fires in that complex burned across the Red Blanket Trail, a high-mountain path that skirts the border between Crater Lake National Park and the Sky Lakes.

Hobart Bluff, a centered and varied world

Standing atop Hobart Bluff, I'm reminded of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo — Mount Taylor, the San Francisco Peaks, Mount Hesperus and Blanca Peak — marking the traditional boundaries of the tribe's territory in the Southwest.

Nominations sought for trails award

The Oregon Recreation Trails Advisory Council is accepting nominations for its Doug Newman Recreation Trails Achievement Award honoring the state's leading trail builders.

Coast Trail is a tribute to Oregon's vision

From the bluffs, filled with grasses, Douglas irises and seashore lupines, the horizon stretches to a panorama of headlands, sand, offshore rocks and ocean. The clouds have broken for a moment, revealing streaks of blue behind thinning puffs of gray. Along the beach, a few dots move slowly across the sand — people braving the uncertain weather to take in the bracing sea air, the calls of shorebirds and the steady roar of the breakers.

Jacksonville-Ashland trail system could be a reality

JACKSONVILLE — A dream to link the trail systems in Jacksonville and Ashland is germinating among local hiking enthusiasts.

Table Rocks aren't the only wildflower haven

I stand in a cluster of wildflowers — shooting stars, scarlet fritillaries and larkspurs — their violets, reds and purples dappling the gray-tan ground in a forest of Oregon white oaks. It is mid-spring, the air is cool, and I am walking with a bounce in my step at last.

Natural Beauty

It might be the most fun and educational recreation in the Rogue Valley that you can do for free, it only takes an hour and a half and you walk away with new eyes for seeing nature.

Bat boxes are latest stewardship project

WHITE CITY — Tiffanie Phariss took a little mud in her eye so a few Chiroptera could enjoy their version of the American dream.

On Tunnel Ridge, nature's adaptability shines

I am out of breath from the climb, a cold breeze whipping across my face.

Local hiking guides: imperfect, but valuable

There is no perfect hiking guide. I've looked long and hard, and have yet to find one that isn't flawed in some way. But there are some good ones for Southern Oregon, all of them like old friends to me. When I moved here 20 years ago, they were my first hiking companions, and they have proven to be a likable and easygoing bunch, full of practical advice.

Trip Tip: Umpqua Hot Springs

There's nothing like a sheltered soak in the great outdoors.

Interpretive trail opens at Squaw Lakes Saturday

Squaw Lakes has a new interpretive trail and wildlife viewing platform thanks to the efforts of two Eagle Scouts and a Forest Service recreation worker with plenty of scout-friendly Applegate Valley projects in his back pocket.

It mutes, it shrouds, it's tough to breathe, but simple fog has its own inherent beauty

I'm walking in a shrouded world, the air like light-gray smoke, every branch laced with ice, as if nature has prepared herself for her wedding day by dressing the world in white. All perception is reduced to wintry silence in a small patch of visibility. Enclosed in this ghostly reality, the blurred sun finally begins to form — its first glitters of brightness reflecting off the icy branches, an opening at last into a fuller world.

Resolutions reaffirm commitment to nature

I've never been a big fan of New Year's resolutions, but once in a while they can be useful.

Group hopes to conserve piece of PCT

The Pacific Crest Trail's path across private property in the Greensprings will be protected against changes to the landscape if $66,000 can be raised by Feb. 1.

Oregon's spiritual places restore the soul

I've sometimes thought it one of life's worst ironies that my physical home — the place where I've raised my family, made my best friends and spent most of my working years — has never been my spiritual home, too. It's as if my spiritual center always exists elsewhere, some remote locale I go to rarely and then long for painfully until I can return. It's a landscape often more vivid in my imagination than in reality.

Hiker Society

Many beautiful, remote trails in the State of Jefferson await your exploration. But, let's face it, you'll probably never get to most of these out-of-the-way spots unless you find a guide (or several) who's been there many times, who can get you safely there and back, turn you on to great views and teach you about the local wildlife "� for free.

On the Web: MapMyRun

MapMyRun.com is an essential tool for travelers who wouldn't dream of skipping their run while they're away from home.

Crater Lake snowshoe hikes are back

Rogue Valley residents looking for something different to do with their out-of-town Thanksgiving guests can turn to Crater Lake National Park for a chance to work off some of that turkey and fixings.

Taylor Creek trail has good access

Taylor Creek Canyon is so deep and densely forested that in some places hikers walking on the Taylor Creek Trail are more likely to see sunlight bouncing off ridgelines overhead than to feel it touch them directly. A couple of weeks ago, leaf color blazed like concentrated sunlight along this trail — golden big leaf maple, yellow vine maple and reddish-pink dogwood.

October 30, 2008