Last Saturday I joined my daughter’s family for a hike on a nearby complex of trails in Jacksonville, Oregon. Today this small town of about 3,000 residents boasts a collection of boutiques, restaurants and small shops and hosts the summertime Britt Festival, a concert series, but in its early days it was a bustling gold mining town, the county seat and the largest settlement in Oregon. It boomed after gold was discovered in 1851 at Rich Gulch, but after the gold ran out and the railroad passed it by in 1884, it quietly settled down as an agricultural town, and the world mostly passed it by.

That turned out to be a good thing, as in 1966 the town was named a National Historic District, recognized for its large number of surviving unaltered commercial and residential buildings. The town even provided the set for the 1972 bank robbery film, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid. Aside from covering the main thoroughfare with dirt, the filmmakers didn’t need to alter much to present an authentic 1880’s town.

The wood frame and brick storefronts, the grand old courthouse, lovely little churches and numerous Victorian homes scattered over several blocks provide plenty to enjoy on a nice urban stroll, but the complex of trails scattered through the adjoining Jacksonville Woodlands offers a quick dip into nature. We arrived at the gravel parking lot on a chilly, slightly foggy morning without much of a plan as to which direction to go.  This complex of trails provides the perfect intro to hiking for young children, as there are several relatively flat, fairly short (a mile or so in length) interconnecting loops and spurs. At the trailhead there is a port-a-potty, a map and signage describing each route, and some leaflets identifying the wildflowers to be found in the spring and summer. Some of the trails lead to the original gold mining sites   and include interpretive signs along the way, but we decided to leave that exploration for another day.

Instead, we headed into the woods, and as we went we practiced a little tree identification. Here was white oak with its finely textured bark, acorns and distinctive brown leaves scattered on the ground; there stood a tall Ponderosa pine with its orangey, rough bark; all around were madrone trees boasting shiny-smooth green leaves; peely, papery, brick-colored bark, and satiny smooth wood underneath. We admired how some of the branches twisted like enormous boas,   and the boys enjoyed sitting 6 feet up on a large horizontal branch of a particularly old specimen. We meandered around for about an hour, but even though the sun was burning through the fog, everyone was feeling chilly and a bit hungry, so we headed back toward the car. As we paused to get our bearings, we realized four deer were slowly making their way towards us, nonchalantly grazing on lichen and grass and leaves. At first we were careful to be very quiet, but it quickly became apparent that they were aware of our presence and completely unconcerned about it. In fact, they continued to slowly move closer to us, much to the boys’ delight.   We watched for a while longer, but then rumbling tummies and cold fingers led us back to the car, some snacks and warm blankets.

I’m looking forward to more hikes on the trails in our area, thankful that I don’t have to go far from home to enjoy some time immersed in the natural world.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor