Today was a grand conflation of an absolutely perfect day for a hike with no duties for The LovedOne at the library. Yes, Dorothy, there are (small) miracles. Jennifer introduced me to the Mountain of the Rogue trail system in 2018 and I’ve done several hikes there since – just not with The LovedOne. So today we set out to remedy that omission.
Unlike some multi-use hiking/biking areas, trails at the Mountain of the Rogue are clearly signed multi-use versus bike-only (and these are often separate). So we went up the multi-use RAT Pack, Sasquatch, Darkside Trails (through a patch of freshly sprouted Fawn Lilies) to the top of Tin Pan Peak and returned via the multi-use Easy Street and RAT Pack Trails. When we got near the top, we found a professional trail building crew putting the finishing touches on a new downhill, bike-only trail from the summit to the Arm Bar/Easy Street Trail junction. 🙂
The LovedOne celebrated her successful ascent of Tin Pan by standing next to the graffiti-rich old shack that adorns its summit. Not quite in the same league as prayer flags on Everest, but we work with what we’ve got.
This hike gave us a nice view of Mount McLoughlin from the top before we headed down for a satisfying sandwich lunch at Paisanos in Rogue River. All told, a great 7 mile, 1,300 feet of gain hike! 😀 It was a brief (but welcome) respite from watching the stock market tumble into the abyss, a pandemic grip the globe, and our government stumble around trying to respond. 😕
BOOTS on the TRAIL 