Monday, May 27, 2019
Before driving back to Portland today, our final hike of the holiday weekend was the East Applegate Ridge Trail. It’s a new 5.6-mile trail south of Jacksonville and there is now a trailhead on each end (until recently there was only a trailhead at the east end). We started at the east trailhead off Sterling Creek Road.
The hiking was pleasant and pretty right off the bat:
After just one tenth of a mile we came to our first view, looking west to the mountains on the other side the Applegate Valley:
There were a number of these pretty meadow traverses:
We saw quite a lot of poison oak:
But we also saw quite a few wildflowers:
Oregon sunshine
Hooker’s Indian pink
California poppy
This trail had a nice variety of open grassy areas and pleasant forest:
The trees had been oak and madrone, but about 1.5 mile in we passed through a section of tall Douglas fir. It felt like a totally different trail:
After 2.25 miles we reached a bench with a very nice view:
Despite the clouds we could see the snowy peaks of the Red Buttes Wilderness:
Looking southeast at Dutchman Peak hiding in the clouds:
We sat on the bench for awhile enjoying the pleasant day and the nice views. I explored a short distance beyond the bench. The trail continues through a grassy meadow:
Right before the trail goes back into the trees there are some trailside rocks that would also make a good stopping place:
Back at the bench we enjoyed watching the paragliders. We could see them prepping on a hillside across from us:
We watched them soar over the mountains and trees, which was really fun. I got a photo of this one backdropped by the peaks of the Red Buttes Wilderness:
We headed back under increasing clouds:
Incredibly, someone tried to bring a stroller on the trail. They gave up and abandoned it, to be retrieved on the hike back:
It started raining right as we were finishing the hike, so that was good timing! This trail is really great, and this is the perfect time of year to hike it. We hiked about half its length, and I’d like to come back up and hike up from the west trailhead.