Saturday, May 10, found 66 brave human-shaped goats toeing the line on Medford’s Roxy Ann Peak.  Slight overcast and 52 F promised fast times on the toughest mountain trail run in these parts. Jack rabbits, deer, gray and ground squirrels, and California fence lizards dogged their steps as the intrepid adventurers tackled the slopes.  The trailside honeybee hive buzzed contentedly, unperturbed by quickstepping feet.  And for an added bonus, two Pileated Woodpeckers soared from oak to oak, dwarfing the smaller acorn woodpeckers.
            Once again, the flowers put on their finest.  From the yellow blooming bitterbrush in the lower elevations, up through the paintbruss, balsamroot, camas and buckbrush, the runners crested the peak at 3578’ where spring was just beginning with lambs’ tongue and shooting stars.
            And finally, the one-hour threshold was broken; shattered in fact, by Erik Skaggs.  A job well done by all, and my thanks to my volunteers: Chuck ‘Broken Toe’ Whiteley, Ladd ‘ZPrime’ Zastoupil, Doug “Skin Doc’ Naversen, and Kyle ‘Ga-let’-ee’ Gillette.  Betty ‘Betty Boop’ Gillette sat in the finish area along with my wife, Connie, to cheer on the runners.  It was her first trip to the peak in many years, and she thoroughly enjoyed the outing.

Respectfully, Clayton ‘Mountain Man’ Gillette