Escape!

Last weekend was our 6-year wedding anniversary!  Hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly...Anyhow, we figured that reaching the six year mark of wedded bliss (which is more than many other couples make, and we aren't even 30 years old yet!) constituted some sort of celebration.  Since our last "vacation" (a 3-day kamikaze getaway to the coast) was TWO YEARS ago (and no, we have not left the farm since then), we thought a weekend trip was in order.  We had an awesome young couple willing to farm-sit for free, so we booked ourselves a night at a secluded cabin along the Rogue River, and spent the weekend hiking and fishing!  It was FABULOUS!  No, we didn't catch any fishies (though we had a bite or two), but we did hike the Rogue River Trail to the Whiskey Creek historic cabin (I SOOOO want to live there!  Talk about my perfect dream house!), fished in the Wild & Scenic section of the Rogue River, and had a romantic 4-course dinner overlooking the river (while watching beaver and muskrats swim about, ospreys diving for fish, and fish leap out of the water for bugs).  It was absolutely amazing overall, and I was sad to go home on Sunday!

 

 

 Looking down at the view from the bridge where the Grave Creek Trailhead begins (i.e. the beginning of the Rogue River Trail):

The first mile or so of the hike is over very rocky terrain with quite a long drop down should you fall.  Not for the faint of heart!

 

The SPECTACULAR views make it all worthwhile!

 

This is my "Hurry up and take the damn picture!" face

King of the World!!  WHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Whiskey Creek Campground was BEAUTIFUL!  Oh, it was such a shame we left our fishing poles back at the car...would have LOVED to have done a little casting off of the shore...sigh...

The historic Whiskey Creek Cabin site - where I would happily live for the rest of my life!  Whiskey Creek's waters are ice cold and crystal clear, and there are trout in the stream.  

After you cross over a lovely wooden bridge, there is a brief walk to the cabin site.

 

The cabin is located in a beautiful little meadow

I call this my "Wall of Temptation"

Look at how thick those floor boards are!!!  WOW!

Seriously, can I please just live here??!

  

View off of the deck while we ate our 4-course dinner and watched beaver, muskrat, fish, and osprey.  BEAUTIFUL!

Feeling Grousy

Yesterday dawned somewhat overcast and cooler - perfect for hiking! 

Unfortunately, we did not have the energy for another Collings Mountain or Steine Butte trails, but we decided to do the quick but lovely Grouse Loop Trail.  At 9 am, we drove out to Applegate Lake and parked our car by the Collings Mountain trailhead (Grouse Loop is located near by, but the parking is better here).  The Grouse Loop Trail is a 2.8 mile loop (take the left fork first for easier traveling) with a mere 700' elevation gain.  In short, a lovely hour's walk on a Sunday morning - easy enough not to tire, but with adequate elevation gain to get your heart rate going to the point where it feels like healthful exercise.  

A view of Hart-Tish Park from the trail...

 

Towards the end of the trail, there are some very pretty views of Applegate Lake!

And the best news of all?: I only saw three ticks - none of which came home on me!

Ex-Sta-TICK Adventures!

Our tick-filled hiking adventures out at Applegate Lake on Sunday, May 20th. We hiked 7 miles on the rather difficult Collings Mountain Trail, then detoured for another 4 miles via the Dakubetede trail around Applegate Lake & back to the car. 5 hours of hiking and 2 tick bites (plus dozens of tick passengers! Ick...), here is photo-documentation of our adventures.

Here is the description of this difficult hike, per the gorp website: 

"Leaving Grouse Creek, the trail climbs steeply for one mile to the ridge top, gaining 1,000' elevation, and begins a long traverse of the western slope of Collings Mountain summit. Excellent panoramic views of the Applegate Lake and surrounding mountains are seen at several locations along the trail.  After following the ridge line for 2 miles, the trail then descends at a moderate rate for 3 miles to Watkins Campground, The last 1/2 mile of trail passes through the 62 acre Watkins fire that burned in 1981."

Collings Mountain definitely kicked our butts, and I would never, EVER, go again during this time of year due to the EXTREME number of ticks!  *shiver*  However, it was a gorgeous hike, blood-suckers aside.  Most of the trail is shaded, so you are protected from the hot summer sun, and you get the awful insanely steep portion of the trail over with in the first ~2 miles (while you're still "fresh").  BRING LOTS OF WATER!  We went through 2 liters on Collings Mountain, and another liter on Dakubetede trail.

The start of the hiking (Collings Mountain Trail)! Note the spring in our step and the twinkle in our eyes! This faded quickly...one tick at a time...

 

A pretty babbling brook at the start of the trail. 

The first mile or so of the trail offers three sets of points-of-interest: an old miners' cabin (which has since collapsed), the notorious Big Foot trap, and several mine adits.

 

Stroud-style, I helpfully point out necessary survival tools at the Big Foot Trap: an abandoned pair of sunglasses and a (definitely used) jock strap. These tools could be vital in a survival situation, but what kind of survival situation remains to be seen...

 

Fierce and ready to scare off the elusive Big Foot!  GRRRRR!

 

Ryan's WTF expression upon first seeing the trap is rather priceless... 

Gamely posing for the camera...

"What kind of Big Foot would be STUPID enough to get caught in there?!" Now you understand why the trap was abandoned after 2 fruitless years...God Bless the 1970s!

Gaining elevation as we work our way towards the ridge...that was some intense climbing! We gained 1,024 feet in about 1 mile or so...

 

A peek at the lake to strengthen our weakened resolve as we climb ever upwards along the forested path...

 

California Ground Cone - one of the most fascinating things I have ever seen! These were everywhere, and so cool!

 

Gorgeous view of the lake from the trail!

Trail's end after 11 miles of hiking. Smiling but tired...and definitely itchy!