Applegater Spring 2021
21
Limpy Botanical Trail
BY EVELYN ROETHER
This is an easy, fun trail! Likely named
for the Takelma Chief (Tyee) Limpy,
whose Athapascan-speaking people lived
along the lower Applegate River, the
Limpy Botanical Trail is comprised of
two relatively easy loops. Both offer a
glimpse into several contrasting habitats.
Illustrated interpretive signs inform
hikers about what they are seeing along
the way. This is one of the best trails in
the Siskiyous to see and learn about the
world-renowned botanical diversity of
this region. Over 250 plant species are
found along the trail, including 43 types
of shrubs and trees. The parade of flowers
continues for months, with nearly every
step a delight for the senses. In March and
April, a plethora of purple flowering fawn
lilies in the parking area greets you before
you even start walking. In May, fields of
blue camas and bushes of wild azaleas are
among the more tantalizing flores du jour.
At the trailhead, a detailed three-
paneled interpretive display, illustrated by
local artist Paula Fong, introduces visitors
to many flowering plants seen along the
trail. Both the Upper and Lower Loop
trails begin and end at this kiosk.
Summary
Difficulty: Lower Loop—Easy; Upper
Loop—Moderately easy
Distance: Lower Loop—0.3 miles;
Upper Loop—1.1 miles
Elevation gain: Lower Loop—
minimal; Upper Loop —00 feet
Open: Year-round
Map: Onion Mountain USGS
Directions
From Murphy go west on Southside
Road. Proceed for 4.2 miles, then turn
left at the stop sign onto Fish Hatchery
Road. After 4.6 miles turn right at the ‘T’
intersection towards Redwood Highway.
Take Redwood Highway east towards
Grants Pass for 0.6 mile. Just before
crossing the Applegate River turn left onto
Riverbanks Road. Follow this road for 4.5
miles, and then turn left onto Limpy Creek
Road. Proceed 2.4 miles on this paved
road, the last 0.5 mile of which is single
lane. Shortly before the road heads uphill
there is a road sign: “Commercial Use
Prohibited Without Permit.” The entrance
to the unmarked trailhead parking is just
before this sign on the left. Once you pull
in, you will see a gravel parking area, a
restroom, and a picnic table.
Lower Loop
At the kiosk, go right following the
trail through a forest of bay laurel, incense
cedar, and ponderosa pine. In a short time,
you’ll see a wooden bridge leading to the
first of several scenically placed benches,
this one on the far side of Limpy Creek.
The main trail continues on the left side
of the creek. Just before the second bridge,
at the junction, turn uphill and to the
left. The Lower Loop trail passes through
mixed Douglas fir forest before joining
the Upper Loop trail again at mile 0.2.
Go straight at the fork where the Upper
Loop goes up and pass the “Forest Edge”
interpretive sign. Cross the serpentine
meadow, keeping an eye out for the multi-
flowered stems of blue camas. At the far
edge of the meadow, cross another wooden
bridge and head down the hill for another
few hundred yards back to the trailhead.
Upper Loop
The Lower and Upper loops are one
and the same for the few hundred yards.
After the first wooden bridge on the right,
Internet survey a step
toward better service
BY PRISCILLA WEAVER
Fellow Applegate residents: Are your
children or grandchildren going to school
online? Does your doctor suggest or even
insist on “telemedicine” rather than office
visits? Are you trying to work online from
home? Do you take Rogue Community
College classes remotely? If the answer is
“yes” to any of these or similar situations,
you know how challenging it can be
when your internet connection drops,
the faces and even the voices on your
Zoom or Facetime calls are garbled, or
the feedback delay makes it impossible to
understand what the teacher or meeting
leader is saying.
It is scant consolation to know you
can reliably work online or download
something only if you set the alarm for
3:00 am. If you have experienced a phone
outage recently or are one of the countless
families in our community with either
no cell service or service only through a
feeble internet connection, you know how
frightening it is to realize you cannot reach
help through 911.
That’s the bad news. The good news is
that in typical Applegate can-do fashion, a
group of educators and other professionals,
elected state legislators, and community
members are working on solutions to
mitigate these interlocking challenges.
And now for the sales pitch: This
working group needs your help and
here’s why.
All of us have stories about bad or
non-existent service. But the working
group needs actual data to illustrate
the magnitude and urgency of the
connectivity crisis to service providers,
government personnel, and potential
sources of financial assistance. We need
to demonstrate how many children and
families are being deprived of education,
medical assistance, and the ability to
summon help in emergencies in areas with
unreliable or nonexistent internet and/or
cell service.
To that end, the working group created
a brief survey— only five questions—to
obtain the core data we need to map
the problem. If you have not already
done so, please take a few minutes
to fill out the survey online: forms.
gle/6m7yVCrRa2YNfboH6. If you
are unable to fill it out online or
would prefer not to, hard copies are also
available at the Ruch Library. Please
note that although we need everyone’s
street address in order to map out
the “dead zones,” we are not asking for
phone numbers and we will not share your
email addresses.
You may return your completed survey
by hitting “reply” in your email or by
printing it out and dropping it off at Ruch
Outdoor Community School or the Ruch
Public Library. You also can phone in your
survey answers or ask other questions by
calling me (Priscilla Weaver) at 541-899-
1672. Please respond as soon as possible.
Please ask your neighbors and friends to
fill out surveys as well.
At the trailhead, look for an interpretive display illustrated by local artist Paula Fong.
And watch for several scenically placed benches along the trail.
Map by Ann Gunter.
the main trail continues on the left side of
the creek. Just before the second bridge,
the Lower Loop goes up to the left. The
longer Upper Loop trail continues across
the bridge, under a canopy of yew and
Port Orford cedar. From there the trail
switchbacks upslope into the realm of
Pacific dogwood, tan oak, and canyon
live oak. A little further on, a tucked-
away bench awaits you at the foot of a
magnificent 20-foot waterfall.
After the trail meanders through an
avenue of coffeeberry shrubs, it becomes a
boardwalk through a serpentine meadow.
Here, notice the Jeffrey pine, which
looks much like ponderosa pine but is
more tolerant of the heavy metal-laden
serpentine soils. Continuing through more
flower-strewn open meadows with views
Thanks for your
help and your support
in this important
effort. The more
complete we can
make the map of our
service areas, the more
powerful the case we
can make for obtaining
fiber optic cable, cell
towers, and whatever
other robust and
reliable transmission
solutions may be out
there for all areas of our
community.
We do not know,
of course, what the
ultimate answers are,
but the working group
is committed to finding
them for the good of
everyone. Pandemic
or no pandemic,
online learning and
telemedicine in some
form are both here to
stay, and we owe it to
our children and to
ourselves to be able
to participate fully
in whatever the new
paradigm will be.
Priscilla Weaver
541-899-1672
priscilla@
saltmarshranch.com
The survey that a
working group is
asking Applegate Valley
residents to complete in
hopes of finding ways to
improve internet service.
of the neighborhood, the Upper Loop
reconnects with the Lower Loop at mile
1.0. When you reach the seasonal creek,
cross the footbridge and head downhill
back to the trailhead.
Hiking Trails of the Lower Applegate,
a trail guide describing 20 trails in the
Lower Applegate area, is available at the
Williams General Store and Takubeh
Natural Market in Williams, Provolt
Store and Whistling Duck Farm and
Store in Provolt, Rebel Heart Books in
Jacksonville, Oregon Books and Games
in Grants Pass, and Northwest Nature
Shop and Bloomsbury Books in Ashland.
Trail guides can also be purchased directly
from the author at lowerapplegatetrails@
gmail.com.
Evelyn Roether • evelynkr@gmail.com