What does one do on Thanksgiving weekend? On Saturday, there were only 5 of us who decided hiking was the answer. Liz, Cleve and I met at the courthouse and met Shannon and Jan at South Slough.
There was no sunshine, but just a drizzle here and there with gray cloud cover, not very picturesque. We enjoyed the downhill side and the various viewpoints along the water, and then made the trek uphill to the cars. The tide was out so there was no wildlife to speak of. We just took our time and enjoyed each other’s company. All told, we only hiked about 3-4 miles.
The morning started off foggy in Roseburg, but the forecast said it would lift as the day wore on. I was more interested in the weather near Grants Pass, however, and it pretty much said the same thing. Nice, we should have great views today!
To be honest, I was more concerned about losing hikers on the way to Bolt Mountain trailhead than I was about the weather, as the route there isn’t easy. There are no signs in Grants Pass saying “Bolt Mtn this way”. While it’s paved roads all the way to the trail, if you’re not paying attention to the road signs, you may find yourself in Jacksonville before you know it! To prevent this from happening, I handed out directions to drivers and navigators alike, hoping they’d appreciate the nice little pictures I grabbed from Google Street View, showing what each turn looked like with landmarks, etc.
The good news is I got many accolades for the very kid-friendly directions with pictures. That, and all hikers arrived safely. However, Missy and Michael did admit they took the wrong exit off the freeway, followed by at least one other vehicle who knew better, but decided to follow them anyway, as dutiful hikers will do. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with an impromptu scenic side trip through downtown Grants Pass!
With everyone accounted for, we set out on the trail! I chose to actually lead the first part, as I wanted to get everyone past a few confusing places due to a series of little trails that can be tempting to walk on. These trails stay closer to the river, which I’m sure are lovely to hike on, but we were here to go up! And up we went after a level half-mile had passed underneath our boots.
The climb up Bolt Mountain isn’t the hardest hike around, but it constantly reminds you that you are definitely going up, as the valley floor keeps getting further and further away as you round each corner and look down. Thankfully, the trail builders showed mercy and kept the grade nice and steady, never going too steep. This makes the 1200 foot ascent over the course of 3-plus miles very doable for most hikers.
As we steadily strode up the south side of the mountain, I had hoped the fog would begin to lift. Oh, we had some views of the nearby hills and such, but the views were nothing like when I had hiked this trail back in March. Maybe it would be clearer on the north side, which is closer to the top…
As we basked in the deep fog on the north side, hopes of a clear view from the top had all but faded. Was this the price to be paid in exchange for all hikers making it to the trailhead today without getting lost? Was it too late to make a sacrificial offer to the fog gods (yes, I just made that up) in exchange for clear views from the top? Apparently, the answer was yes.
The top of Bolt Mountain, even on a clear day, doesn’t quite offer 360 degree views, as some of the treetops obscure the views. But, you can see enough that you can consider it a worthy reward for making it to the top. Today, we would not be awarded ANY views, and the treetops would not be to blame. Today, the fog gods would have their way and force us unworthy hikers to eat our lunch under their cold, grey blanket of dreariness. Ok, so it wasn’t that bad, and it wasn’t that cold. But we definitely could NOT see anything around us. I even mentioned to the group that we only had to wait 2, maybe 3 hours for this fog to lift, and then we would get our views…. maybe. Unsurprisingly, my comment was met with an outbreak of laughter, you know, the kind that says ‘good luck with that’!
Saying farewell to the fog gods, we all departed the top of Bolt Mountain and began the descent downward. It was heading down that I began to realize that there were actually better views of the valleys below with each step I took. This was due to the fog not being as thick as it was at the top. I had mentioned to everyone before the hike to take in the views both on the way up and the way down, as the views on top may not live up to their expectations. Boy, was I ever right about that!
Upon reaching the parking lot, I mentioned that we will need to get this one back on the schedule again and hope for a clearer day, perhaps in the spring. I will have my trusty kid-friendly directions with pictures ready so no one gets lost on the way here.
Oh, and on our way back through Grants Pass, I got a bit turned around and we ended up taking an impromptu scenic side trip through downtown Grants Pass. But hey, I’ve heard there’s nothing wrong with that…
