4 weeks--110 miles

34 1/2 miles this week thanks to a break in the weather. That makes 110 1/2 miles for the four weeks. So I am only 9 1/2 miles short of my goal of 30 miles per week. According to the google maps walking-route that puts me(virtually) leaving Gold Hill on Sams Valley Highway on the other side of the Syskiyous. Next week I'll be approaching Crater Lake. Its more than 400 miles across Oregon. (sigh)

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There's small tides this week so the agate gathering is not productive. The storms have moved hundreds of tons of sand to the north.

I biked Ophir rd looking for late winter flowers. Camellias, Narcissus, an early Rhododendron, and Vincas. Dug up the last of the carrots, mulched the beds and planted early snow peas.

76 miles total

Imy at North Bend sunset

Frankport

As of Friday the 20th. I am past Galice on my virtual cross-country hike/bike. Not too good, but the weather has gotten stormy and extended hikes aren't fun.Last week, I took Ed to Eugene and picked Imy up.

I thought she would blend in with her blond hair and green jacket. But for the smile....

me climbing into the gigantic Myrtlwood

Imy riding duggie the camel--a root of a fallen-doug fir

We hiked in the redwoods, Myrtle groves, Frankport, Sebastian and along local beaches.

approaching weather

 She is back in school in Fairbanks now.

week 2

Saturday--Biked 13 miles up and back Euchre Creek in the AM and beach walked a mile or so looking for agates at low water in the afternoon.
Sunday--biked 7 mi. rt to Juli's in the AM for scones and walked the beach for an hour in the PM. 8 mi.
Today (Monday)--Spent 1 1/2 hours walking along the beach and being chased up the shore-line by waves.
 It is so hard to judge walking distances. At times I walk briskly (when there are no rocks to look through), I get to a wash area and dawdle through them hoping to find an agate before another wave laps at my feet. Each charge up-hill gets  more difficult because of the baggage of sugar agates and jasper weighting my pockets.
My walking estimates will be based on a slow walking speed of two miles per hour. So, today was 3 miles. 25 so far this week. Cumulative is 56 1/2 miles.

31 1/2 miles

I forgot to put the card back in the camera so I have been taking practice pictures of my last few outings. Yesterday I walked with Caroline and Sue up a logging road from Edson creek. 2 miles.
Afterwards I followed a heard of elk along the North Bank of the Rogue snapping pictures (1 mile) and finished with a mile on Ophir beach in big surf--no agates, wet shoes and jeans below the knee. 4 mile total
Today I started a Master Gardening class in Gold Beach and had Ed drop me off with my bike. I biked home after lunch (10 miles). Yeah! a successful 6-day week!

Northbank Myrtlewood grove and south Gold Beach walk

3.5 miles 01/03/12
Ed and I drove up the north bank of the Rogue to a myrtle grove that had the biggest Myrtle tree in the world! They say they only grow here and in the holy land. So why are they called California Laurels?

Inside the myrtle tree.

There was a room inside its trunk (6X8'). After walking among them, one's sense of smell is permeated with Bay Leaf odor. As if your nostrils are infused and all other smells eliminated.

We picnicked along the river then walked from the Gold Beach visitor center to Kissing rock picking up sugar agates and jasper.

Yesterday I only walked a mile because it rained most of the day and I took a walk looking for small wild rhodies.

Hunter Creek/ Kissing Rock

 1 mile 01/02/12

New Year--new goals

young Myrtle sucker.

I've been trying to figure out a hiking biking long range goal. If I do 30 miles a week I can get to Boston (virtually) in about 100 weeks. It seems like a reasonable goal. I would like to complete it by September of next year but in the meantime, I have an excuse to log my hikes.
December 31 2011 will be day 1--Ed and I hiked 4 miles through myrtlewood groves on the south bank of the Rogue from Huntley park. I did a half mile of a mushroom loop after we got home.(4.5 miles)

Indian Sands

January 1st was sunny--50 degrees and calm. We drove south and hiked about a mile down and back from Indian Sands, off the coastal trail, south of Thomas Creek Bridge. Then we drove to Loeb Park on the Chetco--the northernmost Redwood grove.  We walked around the camping area looking for the trail then walked the river-view trail through doug fir, myrtlewood, oaks, maples, huckleberry and rhododendrons to a grove of giant redwoods. Fishermen floated in double-enders down the murky, rain-engorged Chetco river. (5.5 miles)