A solo hiker makes his way up the White Rabbit Trail.

It was the White Rabbit in “Alice in Wonderland” who observed, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

I really didn’t know where I was going and, once on the trail, I wasn’t sure which one of the many routes would take me there, or even where “there” was.

I had arrived in Ashland earlier than expected. Plans to take a morning hike on one of the many trails in the mountains off Highway 66 collapsed because they’re still blanketed under layers of snow. It was still a few hours before the play would begin, so the thought of trying something new was appealing. Peering through William Sullivan’s “100 Hikes in Southern Oregon & Northern California,” the Uhtoff & White Rabbit Trails hike hopped out. It looked perfect — just outside downtown, four miles long and rated as moderate. A new trail to explore before the show.

It’s only about a 10-minute drive south of the Ashland Plaza to Park Street, where a right turn leads steeply uphill. There was a parking spot just before a “Dead End” sign and, because of the steep grade, I turned my car’s wheels and set the parking brake.

It’s a steep uphill for nearly a quarter-mile when the paved road turned to gravel as it curled around a closed gate.

In another quarter-mile, the real trail — or trails — begins at a signboard showing different alternatives, including the multi-use White Rabbit Trail that’s open to mountain bikers and equestrians along with pedestrians and aims directly uphill. Beginning behind the board is the unsigned, hiker-recommended Mike Uhtoff Trail, a zig-zag trail that wriggles back and forth, sometimes crossing the White Rabbit, sometimes encountering lesser-used, unsigned paths.

Sometimes I followed the Uhtoff, sometimes I hopped over to the White Rabbit, and, because I didn’t know exactly where I was going, sometimes it was the no-name trails.

No matter which way I wandered, the path was up-and-up steep but always delightfully scenic. As Alice’s White Rabbit observed, “Not all who wander are lost.”

My wanderings switch-backed through forests of madrone, oak and ponderosa pine along with still-ripening Oregon grape. Not seen, happily, was poison oak. Occasional forest openings provided expansive views of the white-topped Siskiyou Mountains and Ashland.

Others were on the trails — runners, couples and individuals on a morning hike. Although the trail is rated as moderate, in two miles it gains 1,000 feet to a junction with yet another “Alice”-inspired trail, the Queen of Hearts. Hiking poles, especially if taking the steep, sometimes rollercoaster-like White Rabbit downhill, are helpful.

Wanting to continue Alice’s Wonderland theme, my no-idea-exactly-where-I’m-going return loop included a detour along the Cheshire Cat Trail. After all, it was the Cheshire Cat who cooly observed, “I am not crazy. My reality is just different than yours.” And because of the advice he offered when Alice asked the witty kitty, “Where should I go?”, he sagely replied, “That depends on where you want to end up.”

A short while later, I ended up at the Cabaret Theatre, where the excellent musical, “Five on Fire,” proved the Cheshire’s adage: “Everything is funny, if you can laugh at it,” to again be true.