Purchase photos from the hike!
On Saturday morning, a dozen University students gathered three miles south of campus at the Avalon Lodge in South Eugene for the Outdoor Program’s inaugural “Yoga Hike.” Led by Oregon instructor Laurie Geiger, the diverse group of participants warmed up with light yoga in the heated lodge before departing for a challenging three-mile hike around Ridgeline Trail. Geiger teaches the University’s “Vinyasa Flow” class at the SRC, and also instructs at Eugene Yoga. She led the Outdoor Program’s previous destination yoga expedition with the coastal yoga hike at Hobbit Beach, which similarly drew a dozen students.
Laurie Geiger leads the group through a variation of the Chair Pose along a small footbridge in Ridgeline Trail. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)
A pair of hikers pass through a remote section of Ridgeline Trail. The miles of footpaths and divergent trails offer hikers a solitude and beauty that is unmatched in the Eugene area. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)
French exchange student Nadia Haile extends her arms into the warm embrace of the morning sun as the group makes their way towards the head of Spencer’s Butte, where Ridgeline Trail turns. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)
Korean exchange student Hyun Jin’s muddied sneakers illustrated the wet conditions to be found along parts of Ridgeline Trail in February. It was the senior student’s first time practicing yoga. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)
After gathering in a circle outside of the Avalon Lodge in South Eugene, Laurie Geiger leads the group in a tree pose on the back lawns. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)
Early morning cloud cover and light rains made way to brilliant rays of sun that broke through the thick foliage of the trails. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)
Nadia Haile quietly laughs to herself as the group made it’s way along a pre-designated “meditation” section of the Ridgeline Trail hike, where participants were encouraged to remain silent and absorb the sounds of the forest. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)
Students make their way along Ridgeline Trail, shielded from the light rain by the lush canopy cover that the forest provides. (Michael Arellano/Emerald)