JOHN STEWART STATE PARK REVISITED
I’m guessing its the heat and maybe some lack of sleep but I have been tired lately…no running…just a long walk in the park…
I love how many wild flowers there are in Oregon…
and the color of sun shining on leaves!
going around the reservoir to the left and looking back at the main part of the park the marina would be behind the trees
water just starting to recede from snow melt….although I am guessing that Crater Lake still has bit of snow on top!
and looking toward the damn.
took a moment to rest, and contemplate…got caught up in the rocks
MCGREGOR PARK
Right below Lost Creek Reservoir the Rogue starts up again and passes through this cute little park with trails and picnic tables…there is even a playground and nature center.
It was a raining on and off but I was having a rough week and needed to get the hell out of my house….went running until almost 8:00pm. But that is another story I may or may not post on later…
These were like some diseased or deformed oak leaves….only one branch was like this…too cool looking for me to pass up!
I wish this photo had turned out better….this little pond is soooo cute! The problem is that I’m running I see something and stop to take a photograph….and don’t always hold still enough. Probably due to me trying to catch my breath!
This is my current desk top background…I change them quite often with all of the photos I take.
Still trying to avoid going home I headed to Cole M. Rivers Hatchery which was down the road…next post
LOST CREEK RESERVOIR AND JOHN STEWART STATE PARK
These are odds and ends…
I always lament not having a bigger zoom…but I wouldn’t have had it with me to snap this little deer anyway….my purpose for being in the park was to run!
This is all the further I went….another phobia kept me from taking another step imagining the whole thing collapsing…palms sweating just thinking about it….
I heard it a million times before but never quite go the concept of LIQUID SUNSHINE….until someone explained it to me…a few days ago! As a dweller of a rainy season in Oregon I have to embrace it!
REFLECTIONS AND FLOWERS
More from John Stewart State Park…
actually beneath the reflections are slices of trees resting under water.
LUMBERING WATER BUFFALO ALONG THE LEWIS ROAD TRAIL HEAD
This was a rough week with not a lot of running or walking…and a lot of eating…one day it was a Bavarian donut and Strudel from the best fucking bakery on the west coast!!!!( Continental Bakery in Crescent City) The next day I was someplace with barbecue near by and the smell was driving me crazy…soooo…I won’t bother mentioning it because the barbecue sauce wasn’t all that good but the meat was…..and no greens….what the hell is THAT about??? Anyway then it was Vietnamese food at my favorite restaurant in Klamath Falls I thought I gained 10 lbs but it wasn’t that bad…scale photo is at the end if you don’t want to suffer reading the rest.
My brother came over WAY to early I was still debating whether to get out of bed…9:30 or so….we sat around and had coffee while I gathered my sanity which had scattered the previous night. Then I convinced him that he needed to hang out with some rocks and trees while I went running (He has a knee injury) instead of studying his school books…
Anyway for drivings sake I headed back to Lost Creek Reservoir to run on the other side of Peyton Bridge Rogue River Trail at Lewis Rd. Trail Head…I parked by the bridge and walked up Lewis Rd. to the Trail Head…you can drive but its only a mile…this is looking back at the mountains.
Lost Creek Reservoir with old trees still standing and people in a fishing boat
I didn’t make it to Lost Creek Trail Head as I told my brother I would be back in two hours….I’m not that fast of a runner!! Especially with all of the photos I take…
This side of the trail is much better for running with only a few hills and the path is in better shape….at least as far as I went..
I actually ran most of the way out stopping for photos of course….had to walk up a few inclines…a few slippery wet patches…
As you can see from the clouds the weather was beautiful!!!
You don’t follow the road but head for the bridge instead…
I love bridges…as long as they aren’t too high…
This is Fire Glen Camp….
You can’t see the smoke in this photo but these people did not put out their fire…even in a fire ring during spring I poured my drinking water on it…
There are lots of big boulders here…
Phobia aside I manged to climb on what looked to be the biggest and safest while having visions of the fall below I took a few photos then got the hell off…thankful to have survived!!
I’m not sure why there is a fence here…made me think that there were a bunch of bears on the other side…but since I survived the boulders…What the hell…
I think this is what they call the Grotto…although I did not see any signs…this was my turning around point
I was in the middle of this bridge and could feel it swaying so I walked lightly as a Lumbering Water Buffalo can….
this bridge was a little higher…
I’m not sure what these numbers are for…
What the Fuck??? the bridge is resting on rocks in CHICKEN WIRE!!!…this has been a day of survival…..
I ran a bit on the way back but for the most part walked….the views are beautiful…
More numbers…
I love trail markers…
and flowers….
Last week was 196.6…..
And as far as miles for the week go..12.97…was worried I wouldn’t make the Nike 10 miles a week challenge over at Nike Running…big relief…..
GROWING ALONG THE ROGUE RIVER
More photos from my excursion along the Lost Creek Reservoir…Rogue River..
LUMBERING WATER BUFFALO TRIES TO NAVIGATE LOST CREEK RESERVOIR
This week as incredibly busy with work…had a hard time working in any running but on Friday I did manage another 3.2 miles but instead of seeing how far I could run lumber -I ran as fast as I could and then walked…ran then walked. Discovered the brain likes the running faster as far as producing the runners high….oodles of good chemicals hit my being…same place on the Bear Creek Greenway so I didn’t bother with photos.
Saturday morning almost noon I took off towards the Upper Rogue thinking I would try my luck on the trails around the Upper Rogue Gorge…then I remembered that I had been meaning to try the Peyton Bridge Trail Head to the headwaters of the Lost Creek Reservoir….not big on reservoirs but its better than running in Medford! I have two different books on trails in Southern Oregon which usually give detailed descriptions of hikes….but in the case of this trail there is very little so I assumed it was going to be a bit on the boring monotonous side walking through trees around a reservoir for 5 miles. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety in landscape!!
I had hiked about a mile up this trail previously about two years ago….had a little picnic and took photos…
This is Peyton Bridge…spanning Lost Creek Reservoir…
Not sure if the water is blue from algae….but most of this water comes from Crater Lake via the Rogue River and lots of little creeks that feed into it….
The thing I don’t like is that like most reservoirs there is a marina and you can hear power boats and even in the middle of the lake where people are just fishing with the engine turned off you can hear them talking….but as I discovered the further you go the less boats!!
Madrone leaves lit by sunshine..
The trail is in good shape most of the way….there were a few points where some brambles are growing over the trail and other parts where the ground is a bit soggy!
Bad people have no place else to put their used tires except to roll them down the hill!!!!
The trail goes up and down and around constantly so my running was limited to the places that were flat….or just a slight incline. But to my shame I met a man who was in his sixties on another trail in California who was recovering from prostate cancer who ran on a trail much worse and more hilly than this one….he also ran ultra marathons….50 miles and up….none of that pussy 20 mile running for him!!! (my head is hanging with shame!!!)
looking up
There are a few waterfalls along the trail not sure if they are seasonal….
Lots of bridges along this trail!!! I love bridges
Place to rest…..but didn’t. There are no mile markers along this trail….that I could see anyway
The trail leaves the forest for a time and ahead are some wonderful cliffs above!!
the reservoir stretches on….
another place to rest….but didn’t. I got such a late start and took quite a few photos…most not included in this post.
looking back at a bridge
I found this curious….closest part of the trail to a boating accident??…eaten by cougars or bears??….tree fell on them???
lots of bridges!!
hard to see through the trees and shrubs but this is a fairly big falls….they ramble over a fairly wide distance
about this time I wondered if I should turn back my feet were getting a bit tired but there is always another bend to see around….
This looks like its getting close….
finally I came to this drift wood clearing
lovely family of geese in the distance…I only brought my little digital because I wanted to run next time I will bring my back pack to take one of my “real” cameras….
There are thousands of these little burrs….stick right to you even after picking them off I kept finding them on the way back ….even found one stuck on my butt when I got back to the car!!
Cool flotsam and jetsam….lots of pumice rocks floating among the wood…
a little further is another bridge…and waterfall of course. The trail doesn’t stop here but its my turning point….hate to be a pussy but my feet were really getting tired by this time…and still there were no trail markers.
Finally….leaning over the bridge I realize that I now have the the conservative estimate of five miles back!!!
And I could swear that the hills grew bigger and there were more of them on the way back!!! Resting on one of those benches on the way back….actually did a lot more running too. Then my knee started bothering me towards the end so I walked….NO INJURIES!!! No problems today but still debating whether I will lace up my shoes and at least walk….
Since there weren’t any markers like I said I am calling it a 10 mile excursion…although I think it was a bit more after looking at maps when I got home…can’t find any decent maps either…even the one by the Army Corps of Engineers….Norton says is dangerous….
Anyway I got my appetite back and while I mostly stayed away from anything bad….I did break down and buy ice cream….to celebrate finally doing my taxes!!!!….the shame of it all!!
So far I have been weighing myself on Friday but because of an exhausting work week I completely forgot on Friday (had to watch my latest installment of MAD MEN)….anyway with an extra day I logged in 20.79 miles. Good thing I gave myself an extra day…10 of it was on Saturday…
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