The BLT Guidebook

Last Sunday, we headed southwest towards the Applegate Valley, about forty minutes from where we live. It’s home to the Applegate River and roughly 19 wineries. The weather was perfect as we passed through Jacksonville and followed the highway flanked by valleys and mountains. We’ve lived in southern Oregon for almost three years now, and I think we’ve only ventured passed the town of Jacksonville three or four times.

We stopped in Ruch for a quick supply of firewood and lunch. On the map, there was this place called Sweets-N-Eats that said they had a deli. The inside of this place gave me the vibe of a downtown antique store. We didn’t know what to expect, but they were busy. We opted to stay and eat and were given two very delicious sandwiches. I definitely would go back again. I love places that just give you a feeling of nostalgia.

We kept on with our afternoon and 20 minutes later, we arrived at Applegate Lake. Out of all of the spots in the Rogue Valley, this was one lake I hadn’t kayaked yet, so we got out at the Da-Ku-Be-Te-De-Swayne Viewpoint and walked our kayak down to the water. I paddled around, surprised at how clear the lake water was. There was no one else out there, but we were only on one small portion of the lake.

At a short paddle and some photos, we continued on to our destination- Acron Woman Lakes (formerly Squaw Lakes). This was another 30 minutes away- partially because the road turns into gravel until the destination. We parked at the gate when we got there, gathered our backpacks, and took the trail a quarter mile to reach the lake. It was beautiful and pristine as expected. Our campsite was pretty secluded among the trail that looped around the lake and right on the water’s edge- giving us access to fishing, swimming, and water for cooking. Since this was a walk-in campground, we left the kayak in truck and focused on what we came there for: getting out in nature, relaxing, and reading.

At sunset, the sun was disappearing over the lake and so were the day-trippers. We think we were the only ones camping, which is a rare occurrence in such beautiful weather. At nightfall, the constellations were clear in the night sky, we could see bats fly among the water, and the only noises were coming from our camp neighbor, the frog.

The next morning, the sun was baring down on us as we boiled water for breakfast and began packing up camp. We walked back out and headed back toward Jacksonville, where we stopped at the Good Bean for some coffee and people watching.

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