Mid-Peninsula Ridge Trail

We finally got some radiant sunshine over the last couple of weeks, and it appears that those species of wild flowers that thrive while bathing in the warm glow are finally responding. Until now, most of the best displays I’ve seen so far in the Bay Area have been of those species which seem to prefer at least partial cover. I decided the time was right to take a look at the open grasslands of Russian Ridge. Situated west of Palo Alto, CA in the Santa Cruz Mountains, this preserve is usually a good place to find lots of variety, and this fact is no secret. This place is very popular with the general public. This tract has sun exposed rolling grassy hills, along with some interesting woodland trails, located right off of highway 35. A typical spring day there will find the parking lot full of cars, and groups of people hiking, and biking, the preserve’s multi-use trails. It isn’t necessary to embark on a particularly lengthy or challenging hike to enjoy the offerings. The primary wild flower areas can be reached in less than a mile from the parking area, with minimal elevation gain. On a clear day the parks featured peak, called Borel Hill, provides sweeping views of the bay, the surrounding hills, and even the Pacific Ocean. It’s common to see families with young children enjoying an outing at Russian Ridge, and that’s great to see. As for myself, I love to visit this place, but I never actually begin a hike there. Russian Ridge is just one part of the greenbelt system of open space preserves managed by Mid Peninsula Open Space District. Many of these preserves are interconnected by a system of trails including the BART, which make it possible to plan hikes that traverse multiple properties and easements. I think it’s important to note that land management systems like Mid-Pen and other park districts around the bay area are an invaluable asset to the local communities. They provide a great many benefits that enhance our quality of life, which go far beyond mere recreational opportunities; however I will not digress into all that right now. I will suffice to assert that what we’re doing here really should be a model for the rest of the country to follow. So-called “green tech” is one thing, but livable space, and preservation should fit in with our vision of a better world.

Now that I am off of my soapbox, I can describe my hike. I started along Highway 35 at the gate marked LR01 on the South Skyline Region map(available at trailheads). Its located note quite 2 miles north of the Highway 9 junction. There is also a trail head into Upper Steven’s Creek County Park directly across the highway. The terrain varies in character along this route and I have seen different displays of wild flowers along the different sections. Most of Long Ridge has open rolling grasslands that provide grazing lands for the coastal black tail deer. I usually always spot groups of them early mornings, along with other common wildlife species found in this area. Nice long range views out to the west along here too. Hiking north following the BART route leads you to the Peter’s Creek Trail which is thickly wooded, and shaded. After descending some switchbacks, a footbridge crosses a little creek, and the trail leads along an earthen dam shoring up an interesting old pond covered in green algae and mosses like a swamp. The ducks seem to love it. More dense woodland on the other side is dotted with Two Eyed Violets and Woodland Stars. The trail leads though a pretty little murmiring creek under thick tree cover, and then through some sections of old apple orchards blossoming in pink and white with a really nice fragrence. Further on you hike through more rolling grassland, an active chestnut orchard, and a Christmas tree farm, encountering mild elevation changes. Paying attention along the way you can spot Trilliums in the woods, and a lot of yellowish Iris, some of which have striking purple veins contrasting with the delicate coloration of the pedals. This year the pale yellowish Iris is in much more abundance than I can remember. Identifying Iris species can be confusing for a novice like me, but from my analysis for this location, they must be Hartwig’s Iris (Iris hartwegii). After the Christmas tree farm, the ridge trail descends to Horseshoe Lake, which is really a historical cattle pond with the typical earthen dam. Lots of waterfowl can be seen here. I spotted a Snowy Egret grooming itself on the bank and got some photos of this handsome creature. Continuing north, Skyline Ridge preserve has a really nice ridge trail with awesome westerly views and it’s usually peppered with common wild flower species and fragrent ceanothus. On the other side is the David C. Daniel’s Nature Center with Alpine Pond. A cool little interpretive center with some gentle trails great for families. Hiking through a tunnel under Alpine Road you now pass into Russian Ridge. Hiking up to Borel Hill you are treated to displays of Common Madia, Tidy Tips, and scores of Miniature Lupine, Yellow Violets, Blue Eyed Grass, Checker Bloom, and a host of other common meadow type wild flower species. Things are just getting good right about now. Continuing around to Ancient Oaks Trail will lead you past more Trilliums, Winter Vetch, Poppies, and more. Sometimes I do this hike as a loop hike by continuing across the highway into Coal Creek, Monte Bello, Rancho San Antonio, and Upper Steven’s Creek preserves. That is a much longer and more challenging hike. Today decided I retraced my footsteps back along the ridge trail to savor it again in the reverse direction. I always have a great time hiking different variations of this same hike. Combining other trails can give you a completely different hike. It's all good.

Click here to view my photos on flickr

Can’t Get Enough of Coe

With summer rapidly approaching, I always feel like I am really missing something if I have not spent enough time at Henry Coe. The place is so vast it’s actually not possible to day hike all of it. While most parks can be fairly well documented on a small, pamphlet sized piece of paper; the official map of Coe is so humongous, it has to be printed of both sides of a large, reinforced, folded map that’s too big for a pocket. If it was waterproof you could probably make an emergency shelter out of it. The park is divided into regions, almost like there were separate, but contiguous, smaller parks that exist within the boundaries of the one enormous tract of land. Many areas are so remote you simply cannot expect to hike there, and get back out on the same day. One of these days when I finally have more time on my hands, I plan to do a lot of backpack trips here, but for now I am content to stick to the areas that I can day hike. This time of year, Coe’s punishing terrain is a lot more manageable than it will be when the glowing California sun starts coming in buckets. In spring, the hillsides are green and moist, and there is a lot of natural fresh running water around that is filterable. If you get a clear day you get treated to nice mild sunshine, cool breezes, and beautiful views. But maybe best of all are the springtime displays of wild flowers, billowing white clouds, and butterflies. With our proximity to the south end of the Santa Clara valley it’s a fairly easy drive for me (us) to get to Henry Coe, which is where I’ve been for the last two Saturdays, and likely will go back several more times before the season evaporates into the heat of summer.

On 4/24 I went hiking by myself out of Coyote Creek around the Mahoney and Grizzly Gulch regions of the park. The Mahoney region has quite a few seldom used trails that are a bit more obscure than the more popular trails and old ranch roads. They are especially nice to hike if you enjoy not seeing other people all day, and don’t mind if the trail markers are not quite as good as other places. In areas of high grasses, the narrow single tracks can be a good place to pick up ticks if you are not careful, and there are rattlesnakes moving around. I had one fairly large rattler cross the Grapevine Trail right in front of me. I spotted its back and stopped in mid stride. It calmly disappeared into the grass and I think it never even knew I was there. I didn’t get a photo, but I wasn’t about to go looking for it. Past visits have taught me that the wild flower displays are always changing. The types of species you are likely to see are not always as expected making each year’s hiking a different experience. My favorites this time were the Chinese Houses, some pure white ones, and some with the traditional purple and white whorls. Owl’s Clover in 2 different varieties, along with Tomcat Clover seems to be unusually abundant at Coe this year. I also enjoyed hillsides covered in Goldfields and Johnnytuck, clear blue skies, and lots of birds and butterflies.

On 5/1 Sue and I decided to hike Blue Ridge. I would have been content to hike the flatter trails around the headquarters area just to scope out the flowers, but Sue must have been feeling some cabin fever. She wanted a workout so we did the Mt Sizer loop. We did the short sidetrack onto the Ponderosa Loop Trail. I really enjoy the sounds of the sighing breeze high in the tall pines on this section of Pine Ridge. With the pine scented air it reminds me of being in the Sierra. Coyote Creek is still running strong and clear. Perfect for using a filter for a quick refill on refreshingly chilled water before hiking up the Hobb’s Road “short cut” section to the top of Blue Ridge. From the high points near Mt Sizer we had views to the east all the way to the Sierra snowcaps. This was the first time this year I have been able to see the Sierras without being in them. We’ve had a lot of murky skies this season, but we’re finally getting some clearing. Damage from the Lick fire is still very much in evidence up here, but at least the views have opened up. Before the fire the views to the east from this ridge were mostly obstructed by overgrown mixed vegetation. Now the views are excellent in all directions. Further down the trail we were both amazed to watch the soaring pass of a bald eagle gliding along the valley between Blue and Middle ridges. I was not fast enough to get any photos, and it was quickly gone as it banked off to the south. I’ve never seen a baldy out here before, and it was quite a surprise, but it was unmistakable. That’s the second eagle we’ve seen this year in the Diablo Range. We hiked past masses of Purple Owl’s Clover, lots of Lupine, and Ground Iris is in much greater presence than I can remember. Even the scorched Jackass Trail, which had been a virtual black moonscape, has lots of Iris showing. We ran into the Sierra Club Day Hikers along Poverty Flat as they were headed up to Manzanita Point for a barbeque. They invited us to join them, but we had to get back home, so as they were turning up the Cougar Trail, we headed for the dreaded 1000+ foot return climb up Poverty Flat Road to regain Pine Ridge. This climb always seems worse than it really is at the end of a fatiguing hike. This is a really great classic hike which we usually do at least twice a year. Not a casual hike, this is one for the ramblers.

Click here to view my photos from 4/24
Click here to view my photos from 5/1

The Nest; Our 2nd Visit

We were so pleased with our last visit; we decided to make a second trip to see the condor nest at Pinnacles. Over the years I have kept a keen eye on the various California condor recovery programs. Sometimes I feel as though there is an undiscovered wildlife biologist somewhere inside of me. Wildlife issues have always been a point of passion for me, but I find the whole condor story to be an especially interesting and compelling one. It speaks to me more about the state of contemporary humankind than of the condors themselves. It is important to understand that the condors are not being coddled away from so called “natural selection” like some flying dinosaur unable to cope with change. The truth is; every one of the challenges they face are man-made. This is why human intervention was necessary for the condors to have a chance. It is my opinion that our successful efforts in helping them regain their rightful place in the ecosystem, and to protect the wild spaces in which they live, represent the best examples of why humankind itself will ultimately overcome our own challenges, and thrive into the future.

We decided to park at the Chaparral parking lot on the west side and hike the Balconies section, Cliffs Trail, before heading up to the view point. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we were not about to waste it. We were treated to an outstanding display of wild flowers while hiking around amongst the rocks and along the Chalone creek. Based on what we know about this condor family, we tried to time our arrival up at the viewpoint at about the time we expected at least 1 of the 2 parent condors would likely be leaving to search, or returning with food. There were 4 people at the viewpoint when we got there. Jess, the biologist we met last visit, was there with a young intern from the program named Laura, a volunteer ranger named Joe, and another volunteer who had climbed up onto some rocks, and was tracking the birds with a little receiver. I didn't ever get his name. We found out that the mother had already been on the wing that day earlier, and her signal was to the south. Some other hikers had also spotted condors on the wing earlier while on the High Peaks Trail. We spent some time talking to the Jess, Joe, and Laura while park visitors who happened to hike by were invited to look into one of two spotting scopes they had set up. We could see the little grey chick moving inside the nest while the father remained crouched close by. About an hour later, the mother returned to the nest by some route that was out of our vision. Using the spotting scopes, we watched and could see her feeding the chick, its little grey wings flapping away. We were then able to watch what appears to be the parent’s daily bonding ritual. The parent birds took to flight and soared in unison high above the nest, mimicking each others flight paths and movements like stunt planes in formation. They glided around banking into swooping arcs and lazy figure eights. They are a marvel to watch because they move their wings so little. Their wings are kept straight and level and they use the thermals and air currents for lift. Their wings have large flight feathers which they use to generate lift just like the flaps on an airplane. They are very good at saving energy during extended flight. Their instinctive skills would easily put a human hang glider to shame, and those guys can stay up for hours. This was all occurring at fairly great distance. We were using binoculars to follow them. When they finished their aerial bonding the father returned to the nest to watch the chick while the mother soared very high above as she glided off to the south, probably to search for more food. She flew right over our location maybe 200 feet above us, and I could read her tags with my binoculars. She did not come close like last time, but with binoculars it was still another awesome demonstration of flying skills. Later on we began hiking back to the Chaparral parking lot while enjoying some great wild flower displays on that side. Pinnacles really has an amazing diversity of wild flowers which changes throughout the season, and right now is really a great time. It was another great day.

Click here to see the pictures from this visit

SBM trip 2

Thanks to some help from some of my flickr contacts I finally did identify all of the flower pictures from our last hike at San Bruno Mountain. Sometimes I’m amazed by the depth of knowledge that can exist in a simple photo sharing group. So, having accomplished that, we decided we would go back for another look as we had vowed to do. We came away from our last visit thinking we were too early for the best displays, and we really wanted to see more. We had also run out of time and only hiked a short section of the Ridge Trail, and I wanted to take a look out there on that rolling ridgetop. We were hoping for a nice day with enough sunshine to bring out the bloom’ age, but weather in this area can be unpredictable. Lest we forget Candlestick Park with all of its weather lore is closeby, right across the causeway. It’s good to be prepared and we were geared up for possible unsettled conditions. What we got was windy and chilly conditions all day, and we were pelted with light rain a few times which came in at a about a 45 degree angle. The sun was out only briefly for about 10 minutes in the afternoon, and the visibility was poor, but the hike was plenty worthwhile anyway. Even these conditions couldn’t spoil our fun, and the flowers also seemed to brave the elements, displaying themselves for some seasonal frolicking. The views weren’t very good, but at least it didn’t rain enough to get the trails muddy. We hiked the summit loop in the opposite direction from the way we had gone a couple of weeks ago. Lots of species were out and overall this was a better trip than a couple of weeks ago, but I was especially impressed with the scattered displays of Iris on the lower summit loop, and by the varieties of Paintbrush showing in shades from yellow, to orangey, to deep red. And even some which seemed to have an identity crisis showing in multiple hues. I got some really interesting input on my pictures of paintbrush from our last trip. Out on the Ridge Trail I most enjoyed the nice clusters of Hummingbird Sage and Franciscan Wallflower, and the smell of all the blue colored Ceanothus was wafting everywhere. Even the blustery Candlestick wind could not dispatch the fragrance from the nostrils of ramblers. The delicate yellow Wallflower also has a really great smell if you get close to it. The Franciscan variety is classified as rare and endangered, but it seems to thrive here. I still think we haven’t seen the best yet, but considering the conditions, I was surprised we got the robust displays we saw on this trip. We might even come back again.

Click here to view the pictures on flickr

Winter’s Last Hurrah

We’re having one of those strange years here in this part of California. Most often, we get an early spring here. Trees often start blossoming in mid-February while basking in sunshine, only to experience the return of winter-like conditions later. Most of our precipitation comes from the tropics, but if a weather system rolls in from the north we get a late season cold snap. Local peaks will get a dusting of snow, and the sierras get good fresh powder in April. Skiers and snowboarders relish this phenomenon, and the resort owners celebrate it as though it was some kind of high country economic stimulus program. But this provides possibilities for hikers too. So just when we were contemplating storing away the winter gear, suddenly there was opportunity for snowshoeing. When we were invited to take a day trip to visit the Eldorado National Forest we jumped at the chance. One last hurrah before winter fades into memory.

Sierra at Tahoe has some dedicated snowshoe trails, but with the new storm depositing plenty of new snow you wouldn’t be restricted to them. Actually the trails were a little hard to discern because most of the markers had not been placed properly. In the national parks, the cross country skiing and snowshoeing trails have markers placed in the trees which stay there all year. But at this privately owned resort, the trail markers are mounted on poles which have to be placed at the right time, set into the snow, and become anchored there. We found several groups of them in piles near the trail which had not been set in place, and with the new snow, had now been anchored where they were as though it were some kind of art sculpture. Without having any GPS tracks, we had found our way along one trail by using the occasional tree mounted markers, but we had been meandering all over the place looking for them. Later on one of the resort employees was using a snow machine to pack the trails with its track. That made things a lot easier. Until then we had been taking turns breaking trail, which blows away any kind of health club equipment for providing a good overall aerobic workout. We hiked a couple of loop trails and got some nice views of the nearby mountains and valleys. I really love the pine scented air, and beautiful stillness of the wintery forest resplendent in pure white.

Click here to see my photos on flickr
Click here to see Dave's photos on pixseal.com

In Search of Condors

If you have followed the story of the California Condors over the last few decades then you know how close this species came to extinction. I couldn’t even begin to tell the whole story here, but I have provided links to some relevant reading material below. In short, it was over twenty years ago when it was realized that only 22 wild condors were known to be living. At that time a handful of scientists had been tracking the condors in an attempt to reverse the trend and discover their secrets. Their conservation efforts had been failing, and America’s largest bird was still diminishing in numbers. To make matters worse, nobody fully understood why the birds were dying. There were some obvious factors contributing to their death toll. The usual suspects in bird species decline such as habitat destruction and pesticides, but there was still more. As the downward spiral continued, the only thing left for the recovery program to do was to capture the remaining condors in order to study them, and to initiate a controversial captive breeding program in order to save the species from total collapse. It was eventually learned that the major cause of death in wild condors was lead poisoning. The slow accumulation of lead building up to toxic levels was causing their digestive systems to shut down, eventually leading to starvation. But where was all that lead coming from? Studies have proven the primary source to be lead bullets! Condors being scavengers are known to feed on carcasses of dead animals. When hunters indiscriminately shoot wild creatures for the sheer sport of it, using lead bullets, and leave the carcasses or entrails lying around, the condors find them. The impact of the rifling bullet causes fragmentation of the projectile and spreads microscopic fragments of lead throughout the body of the prey. The effect of lead contamination on the unique makeup of the condor’s digestive system renders it paralyzed. Condors are especially susceptible too due to their long life, and slow reproductive rate.

But there have been some encouraging successes for the recovery program(s) to celebrate. The latest being the first wild condor breeding at Pinnacles National Monument in 100 years. Pinnacles, in central California, has been one of the designated release sites for condors from the captive breeding program. The site has miles of high rocky peaks and ledges perfect for condors to live in. Our group had an opportunity to hike up to a view point where the nest is visible, albeit from great distance. We had the privilege of meeting with a talented lady called Jess, who is a biologist with the Pinnacles Condor Program. Jess is a young veteran of the successful Yellowstone wolf project. She and others from the team have been spending a great many hours using a powerful spotting scope to keep an eye on the parenting couple and their nest. Condors breed for life, and all of the released condors at Pinnacles have tags for identification. We were invited to take turns looking into the scope to see the nest, and in this case, the male, sitting on the baby condor. They take turns approximately every 3 days. I don’t know how they did it, but the team actually removed the real egg from the nest, which was discovered to be dead, and replaced it with a viable captive bred egg. This is an important step in their eventual self reliance as it will allow the parent birds to raise a chick in the wild. Something they must re-learn in order for the species to truely survive.

We waited around and spent some time talking to Jess, and eventually were treated to a great spectacle. First, one condor was spotted on the wing far away above where the nest is. It then landed high on the rocks, but another one was spotted still too far away for identification. Soon another large black shape was spotted soaring down below and eventually flew directly in front of our location at about 50 yards; a large adult condor with all the classic markings. That got us pretty excited, but awhile later, two adult condors were spotted soaring along the rocky ledge to the west. They followed the rocks gliding gracefully, and soon came into view directly above us. Their flight path was solid and true with level wings and the classic long, splayed out, flight feathers. Later on there were a total of 4 condors in the sky around us, 2 adults, and two younger birds. Some of them flew so close we could read their tags with the naked eye. We saw tag (3)17, and tag (4)63 for sure. They circled above us as though they were curious, and the group of hikers around us was spellbound. Jess was a flurry of activity as she scrambled to take notes and spot tags. Sue and I were amazed remembering all the times we hiked here before and had not had any condor sightings, and now we were seeing an awesome flying display. Later on as we hiked on to complete the high peaks loop, we spotted more condors on the wing at distance, and saw one land in a tall pine tree. Sue and I sat observing it across a ravine with binoculars while it sat and watched hikers pass below on the trail unaware of the rare bird that was perched above. It was such a great day for watching condors we were almost forgetting to appreciate the landscape and wildflowers all around. This was an unforgettable day on which we had experienced exactly what we came seeking. We could not have scripted it much better. Other local areas where condors are frequently spotted include the Ventana Wilderness, and the Big Sur coast.

Click here to see my pictures on flickr
Click here to see Dave’s pictures on pixseal.com
Recommended book: Return of the Condor by John Moir
Recommended website: Pinnacles Condor Program
Recommended website: Ventana Wildlife Society
Recovery Program Partners and Collaborators links page (Santa Barbara Zoo)

Edgewood and San Bruno Mountain

We had plans to visit some family up on the northern peninsula last Saturday, but we weren't about to miss out on some hiking miles before making ourselves presentable for visiting; Lest we forget, it is spring in the Bar Area. There simply aren't any better days for enjoying some trail time anywhere. It’s getting to be about that time when we tend to choose hikes based on the potential for early spring blooms of all types. We stopped in at Edgewood and hiked several loops around that semi-urban, yet pleasantly diverse landscape, which seems to be tucked away just out of reach of city bustle. The woods and contours provide enough seclusion to keep the outside world out of mind. We had a nice time there even though it was still too early. We saw pretty good displays of Silver Bush Lupine, and the Indian Warrior is going insane in the shady areas around the bases of the oak groves. Everything else was still sparse.

We decided to move on and check out San Bruno Mountain in the afternoon. We had mild sunlight, but with chilly wind all day. The air was mostly clear with a little bit of haze and high thin clouds. We found a lot more interesting displays here. So much so that I am having a hard time positively identifying most of the species I photo’ed. I labeled my pictures as best I could, but I'm really not an expert. On the website they have a little help, but nothing as extensive as, for example, the wild flower guides for Henry Coe. Some of the wild flower and butterfly species at this site are known to be classified as rare and endangered. We don’t get up here much, but based on this hike, I’d say that has been our own fault for ignoring it. I really enjoyed the sweeping views, and even though it’s close to the city, the air circulation is excellent, making the air quality much better you would ever expect near a major metropolitan area. We hiked the Summit Loop Trail, and part of the Ridge Trail, and wished we had more time. But we vowed to come back for a better look soon, and to identify all the pictures.

Click here to see my pictures on flickr