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Credit: Siskiyou National Forest by Laurie Borman/Rand McNally.com |
Siskiyou National Forest, Ore. — Get up early for a cool hike through the conifer forest. The bugs aren’t swarming yet, snails are still slithering along, and best of all, no one else is on the trail. I took the “avid hikers” route up to see the biggest tree in the Siskiyou National Forest, a monster of a Douglas fir that’s 40 feet in diameter. Seems appropriate to trod along a narrow path surrounded by Douglas firs, the Oregon state tree. Many have suffered from root rot in recent years, but there were plenty standing on my morning hustle up the mountain. It’s a two-hour hike from the Oregon Caves Chateau, the lodge for the park. If you get there early enough, start with breakfast for $9 in the Caves Cafe, a ’30s-style diner. — Laurie Borman
