A Saturday Hike to the Summit

What a perfect day for a hike......Upper and Lower Table Rock Trails are just a short drive from us and unfortunately it's a trail that dogs are prohibited but, the hike up is a gain of 720 feet, pretty steep in some areas and would be too tough for Baylee anyway. The trail is a mix of shade from the Madrone and Black Oak trees and sunny views of the valley with displays of colorful blooming flowers along the way. At the top is a dramatic grassy meadow, surrounded by mountains all around......which inspired me break into song and dance just like Julie Andrews, "the hills are alive with the sound of music"......couldn't get Perry to take a video, so I could include it here. From the summit there is a birds-eye view in three directions. Siskiyou Mountains to the south, Mount McLoughlin to the east and the snowy rim of Crater Lake to the north. As you will see from the pictures below, the dangerous but intriguing rocky cliffs are black lava rock formed 9.6 million years ago and was the sanctuary home for the Takelma Indians in the 1800's.

Lower Table Rock is a longer trail to the top.......will do that one next time.

Just love these Madrone trees......they are a deep mahogony color.

A little too close to the edge................... with Mt. McLaughlin in the background.

This is a picture of the green, green farmland below and a small portion of the lower part of the Rogue River. This summer hopefully with Gretchen and Shaun, we'll be rafting down the upper part where the white water is rated class 4 & 5.

The weather was perfect too !!!

This is the rocky edge......and that little white spec in the distance are two people. Just to give you a better perspective.

Here's Perry sitting on the edge.....but not too close.

More Incredible Views

We found a quiet little spot to sit a spell.........yes, those are my feet dangling over the side of the mountain.

What a beautiful sight to see these huge hawks just floating on the air current.....having a great time. They flew very close to us and I tried to take a closer picture too....below is the best I could do..........I certainly have alot of respect for the National Geographic photographers now !!!

At one point we saw seven hawks soaring together on the updrafts effortlessly over the treetops and through the valley.

Off to the right in the background is "Lower Table Rock". It also has a trail to the top.....a little more challenging. We'll attempt that one soon......preparing for our hike up Mt. McLaughlin later this summer.