The day started in Ashland with freezing fog and 30 degrees at 8:30. But as we drove up Highway 62, we were hoping to put the fog behind us and, by EaglePoint we had bright sun and clear skies.

With the fog in the rearview mirror, we were looking forward to a sunny hike down the Upper Rogue to the scenic Takelma Gorge. We enjoyed our sunny drive up to the trailhead at Woodruff Bridge and when we arrived we were greeted by five more familiar hikers and 26-degree temperatures at 10 AM.

The below-freezing temps and shade from the big trees were ideal conditions for preserving snow from weeks past.

The "crunch, crunch, crunch" of frozen snow on the trail would be the familiar refrain for the first part of the hike as the morning sun began to rise in the sky.

Before noon we reached the awesome views and sounds of Takelma Gorge in winter; with roaring white rapids and giant ice cycles clinging to the canyon cliffs across the river from the trail, and the sun's warmth causing steam to rise from the cliff tops.

While at the sharp turn of the rushing Rogue at Takelma Gorge, I pointed out the cross on the cliff high over the river with the name Brayden Biggs and retold the story of the five-year-old boy who was ejected from the family raft by rapids and drowned at that location about ten years past.

We continued another mile past the gorge to find a warm sandy lunch spot by the now-calm river.

On this Monday, we hiked 5.8 miles RT with only 150' of gain. When we returned to the TH the temperature had risen to 45 degrees at 2 pm.