This Sunday March 30, Molly and her family and I went for an adventure up Roxy Ann. Roxy Ann is a 2.5 mile uphill hike in Medford. Molly her Mom and brothers all hiked the trail up the mountain. Keep in mind that Molly is 8 months pregnant! She is crazy. Molly's dad, Dan, and I decided to ride our mountain bikes up it for an extra challenge and some muddy fun. The weather was mostly sunny with snow falling over the valley. It was a great vantage point to see the snow drifting through the valley. When we left my house in Central Point, it was snowing. It is not common to snow in the v
alley in late March.
alley in late March. We arrived at the base of the trail and the sun was shining on us. The hikers began their ascent and Dan and I prepared for the big climb. After we were clothed properly for the ride we set off up the trail. It was a difficult first few hundred yards. I have not done any mountain biking for several years, let alone a significant climb like this one. Dan, on the other hand, rides about 50 miles per week. He is quite studly, for an old dude. As we past the hiking party we were getting into a groove and peddling steadily up the hill. We got about a mile up and I suggested we take a downhill muddy single track back down to the main trail. Then we could climb back up and catch the hikers. The trail we found was steep narrow and muddy. Lots of fun! We made it down with not much trouble. We ended up very muddy and that was fine with us. Our brakes and tires were stuffed with the sticky mess. At least the brakes worked well enough to slow us down on our steep descent. It was a blast. It was my idea to go down the track and then go back up to meet the hiking party. So, I was the only one to blame for the pain I was feeling as we were making the climb back up. It was a lot tougher than I had thought it would be. I was getting a little too cocky thinking I could climb back up as easily as before. It was much tougher the second time around.
I thought we would catch the hikers a lot sooner than we did. When we finally did catch them, we were at a rest stop with a very full port-a-potty. We won't go into that story. Afte
r a short rest for some water and a Gu pack for energy, we were off on our separate ways again. The hikers ran across a big Southern Oregon Blue backed Monkey, very rare at this time of year. The hiking crew went up on a narrow uphill trail to reach the summit and Dan and I took the main trail. We met up with them close to the top where the trails merged back into eachother. I was so proud of Molly for making all the way up. Both groups found some snow on the way up.
There was still some residual snow left over from a previous storm. It was a very beautiful hike/ride to the top. Once we reached the top we got a chance to relax and have some snacks and refuel. The views from the top are spectacular.
r a short rest for some water and a Gu pack for energy, we were off on our separate ways again. The hikers ran across a big Southern Oregon Blue backed Monkey, very rare at this time of year. The hiking crew went up on a narrow uphill trail to reach the summit and Dan and I took the main trail. We met up with them close to the top where the trails merged back into eachother. I was so proud of Molly for making all the way up. Both groups found some snow on the way up. There was still some residual snow left over from a previous storm. It was a very beautiful hike/ride to the top. Once we reached the top we got a chance to relax and have some snacks and refuel. The views from the top are spectacular.
Great views or what? 
The hikers and the bikers. Great fun was had by all. Sadly this is our last weekend of hiking with the Molly Monster. She is now having to rest until "D" day,delivery. So no more hikes for her. But once lil Dominic is here he will be seeing all of the beauty that Southern Oregon has to offer. Thanks family for a great hike and Happy Birthday Dan... my new mountain biking partner...
