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Jacksonville hike planned JACKSONVILLE -- Both Earth Day and the completion of the new Jackson Forks Bridge and trail will be celebrated Saturday at a Hike-A-Thon March for Parks. Registration for the hike begins at 9:30 a.m. The dedication of the new bridge and trail is at 10 a.m., followed by a 2.5-mile hike through Jackson Forks Canyon, up Rich Gulch and ending at Doc Griffin Park downtown. Food and entertainment will greet returning hikers at 11:30 a.m. The event is sponsored by the Jacksonville Woodlands Association and the National Parks Conservation Association. Participants are urged to park at one of the Britt parking lots behind the post office and either hike one mile to the trailhead, across from MaryAnn Drive on Highway 238, or wait at the Jackson Creek Junction bus stop for a shuttle ride to the bridge. The bridge was built by a Real Corps/Americorps crew from Southern Oregon University. It makes a connection between the Sarah Zigler Interpretive Trail, the new Jackson Forks Canyon Trail and Rich Gulch. A Jacksonville Woodlands T-shirt and lunch will be provided to those who raised at least $30 in pledges over the past few weeks, or those who pay the $15 registration fee to hike. All contributions will go to making the final $25,000 payment on Rich Gulch, the site of the gold strike that led to the founding of Jacksonville in 1852. Grants have brought in about $65,000 toward purchase of the property. For more information, call Larry Smith, 899-7402. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA