Ashland Plaza to the Water Treatment Plant 4-3-23

Photos by Kay, Patricia and Randy

Track download from Randy: Ashland Watershed 4-3-23.gpx

After a week of rain and snow that flooded the trail on Upper Table Rock, I decided to change the hike to Lithia Park, a reliable fallback.

We met near the bandshell parking at 9:30 to avoid some early snow flurries that covered some greenery in white.

As we were doing our pre-hike greetings, my wife Linda and neighbor Carol came by walking our dog, Coco. After introducing our group of 10, we headed out to see what Lithia had to offer this day.

Most obvious was Ashland Creek, roaring with high water from all the winter rain and snow. The rapids cascaded over green moss covered boulders. And the snow on fallen logs and overhanging branches made for unique winter scenes in April.

The Trail and walkways were mostly clear, but we had to be careful crossing several bridges due to snow and ice.

A special sighting was a large Rhododendron shrub full of pink blooming flowers now covered with a dusting of frost and snow.
The ponds and reservoir were not frozen, so we enjoyed watching the water fowl, especially the Wood Ducks with their great detailing.

We hiked up to the Fairy Ponds and on the way I showed the group a granite boulder with commemorative engravings from the Daughters of the Revolution honoring the Golden Jubilee of the planting of a memorial forest by the Civilians Conservation Corp back in April 1940.

As we started back, the group was still keen for more exploring, so I took them up the quarter mile road next to the creek that stops at the entrance to the water treatment plant downstream from Reeder Reservoir.

On the way down to lunch on the plaza, we stopped in at the new Japanese Garden, which is always special to visit.

Skouts again was the popular choice for lunch with good pub food and refreshments.

On the day, we covered 5.6 miles with 500' of gain. It was an enjoyable fallback hike.

happy trails,
Rich