The last Monday hike of April gave us a glorious day with Spring in the air and on the trail. We chose to do the Lower Layton Mine Ditch Trail above Williams in Josephine County. We did part 2 of a 3-part trail network, which is 21 miles long in total.

We had an enthusiastic group ready to hike with two new Monday hikers and a special guest from Williams, Eva was joining the Monday group after her recent retirement from the VA in White City, and Chip became the newest AHG member after moving to Ashland from San Francisco. Our special guest was Cheryl, who heads up the Williams Community Forest Project, a volunteer group that maintains the Layton Trails.

The TH off Panther Gulch Road heads south into the forest with the mostly level trail running along the old mining ditch. Blooming wildflowers were immediately seen on both sides of the trail. There was much floral color captured in our flower postings. The Mariposa Lilies or Cat's Ear ran from the TH to the top of Medicine Mountain, where we had our lunch.