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

Pacheco Falls

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been back to Pacheco Falls. My last visit was when my wife and I did a hike there only months after the Lick fire, which swept through the area along Live Oak Spring Trail close to the falls. During that hike we were encouraged by the extent of recovery that we saw, but were also bummed out by the sight of numerous burned out skeletons of trees that would take years to rot out and fall. Even the trees that were showing signs of recovery bore the ugly scars, which looked likely to remain noticeable for decades. Another discomforting sight was the amount of silt and soil present in the darkened, turbid, waters of the falls, indicative of the extent of erosion damage resulting from the effects of the blaze. I was curious to find out how much difference a couple of years would make. Pacheco Falls is very seasonal, so the best time for this hike is late winter or early spring when the flows are the best. But hiking in this season also means that the trails will be wet, a little muddy, and in some places, downright swampy. The ticks are out in force right now too. I remember doing this very hike one year when there were many down trees along Live Oak Spring Trail, and getting around them, or through them, gave the little buggers perfect opportunity to hitch a ride on pack and clothing. I must have picked at least 6 of them off of myself during that hike, prompting me to strip down on the trail to thoroughly check out my clothes for any remaining blood sucking insects. It would have been better to have a companion for that, but when you’re alone, you have to make do however you can. Fine outdoor fun that was!

You can skip this paragraph if you’d rather not read a lengthy trail route description, as I was not using GPS. My route for this hike begins at the Coyote Creek entrance at the end of Gilroy Hot Springs Road. The road is narrow, and there’s very little parking down there, so being early is recommended. You cannot park on the road, but that is really just common sense. In past years, they would let you slide without paying day use fees for this entrance, but that has changed. In order to hike in from there, you first must stop in at Hunting Hollow along the way and use the pre-pay envelope system to deposit your exact change of $6, an increase of only a buck. You have to begin on Coit Road, but my preference is to find the junctions to bring me to Grizzly Gulch Trail, all the way to the Dexter Trail, to Wasno Road. This way it’s about 3.1 miles to the Kelly Lake Trail junction @ about 2400 feet, but there are some really steep sections, especially the Dexter Trail. This is the shortest, roughest, and steepest route. A good alternative route from Coyote to the same junction would be to hike an extra 0.9 miles down Coit Road to the Anza Trail, and use Jackson Road to take you all the way to Wasno Road. This route is easier, but will be about 4.9 miles to the junction. From there you descend all the way to Kelly Lake @ about 1600 feet and choose which way to climb back up to Wagon Road at about 2250 feet. You can use Kelly Lake Trail or Coit Road. Live Oak Spring Trail will take you down to the falls trail finally descending to about 1250 feet at the base of the falls. Round trip distance is about 16.4 miles by the short route, with somewhere over 4000 feet of total elevation gain for the round trip. This is not a casual hike, but not quite into the “butt kicker” category.

The weather alternated from slightly cloudy and cool, to brief periods of sunshine and subtle warmth beaming through the parting clouds. The sprinkling of sunshine brought out some fledgling early displays of a few wild flower species, but the best is still to come. The most interesting displays were some Giant Trilliums near Coyote Creek; first ones I’ve seen this year, and two of the four different species of Goosberry known to bloom at Coe (Credit to Lee Dittmann for posting the link to the Bay Area Hiker discussion forum). The views along Live Oak Spring Trail were as expected. There was much regeneration, but still quite a bit of fire-scarred, standing, dead wood, with new growth rising up around. The far away views were as brilliant green as any views you may have ever seen of the British Isles. In all of my previous visits to this interesting little series of falls, I (we) have been completely alone to ponder the remoteness of this place, and hear the unhindered sounds of the breeze and cascading water. But on this hike I was surprised to encounter people. There was a group of people camped out at Kelly Lake, who later hiked to the falls and arrived just as I was about to leave. I had seen two other smaller groups in the area too. Look for the stone duck to lead you over to the jagged cliff overlook area to get the only safe views of the upper sections of the fall. You would have to be a bird to get a better view. North Fork Pacheco Creel cascades down into a series of rock pools like some kind of secret grotto inside the rocky chasm below, and the waters are flowing clear and clean. At the lower viewpoint further down the trail, the lower cascade plunges into a fairly large pool that would be great to swim in if it were warm enough. It’s a really unique area, secluded and usually sparsely visited. Perfect for a moderately challenging early spring ramble.

Click here to see my pictures
Click the play button for a breif video of the upper falls

Video of lower fall

Conway Trails

On Sunday morning, the last day or our winter trip, the morning broke clear and cold. The previous night had brought snow, but the storms had drifted away, and colder air moved it and deposited hard crystallized ice and snow everywhere. I went outside to run an errand for Sue, and happened to glance up at upper Yosemite fall and was immediately stuck by the sight. Overnight, the shifting wind currents had been blowing the falling water and vaporous sheets of mist to and fro in the chilled air, and had formed a massive inverted funnel of icey snow on the cliffs behind the fall. I looked around at the intricately jagged cliffs of the north rim and could see there was a gleaming, shimmering, coating of ice and hardened snow that had been fast-frozen around the rocks. This presented a textured effect to the eye, as the darkened areas in the cracks and crevasses contrasted with the soft white shapes. In rather childlike fashion, I hurried back to the room and excitedly told Sue that I was going out to get some pictures before the sun came out and started melting the frosty ice. We had been packing to check out and leave, but were planning to get another hike in before departing. Sue had wanted to do some meditations, but changed her mind and now wanted to go strolling with me. So we quickly finished our packing, grabbed some snacks, bundled up, and rushed out for another morning walk around the lodge and village area. Somehow the sights in the valley never loose their magical appeal. I could spend the whole day just walking around there any time except for the summer crowds, but when the weather conditions add their special seasonal variation to the canvas, and the air is quiet and absolutely fresh and stimulating, it really is possible to loose all your cares for that fleeting interlude of time that you have to really savor it. It’s not a conscious thing. It happens naturally if your heart is in the right place. Somehow the universe just seems happy, and I feel welcomed by it.

It was hard to get good pictures in such low light, but soon the sun rose just enough to provide some decent shots. Out in the meadows the cool mist buoyed by the breaking sunlight drifted around amongst the trees and rose in columns while the pitter-patter of melting ice crystals fell from the evergreens and leafless branch structures. The morning light began splashing color around and even created a slight misty rainbow at the lower fall. The sunbeams streamed in through the trees and the brought out the seasonal brilliance. It didn’t take long before the warmth began to melt the winter display back to a more normal appearance. The display lasted only until about 9:00 am. After that it was blue sky, and sunny, like a spring day. We went back and packed up the car, checked out, and went hiking on the old Conway trails on the valley floor. John Conway built many of the most famous trails in Yosemite back in the 1800s, including the 4 mile, Yosemite Falls, and the original trail to Little Yosemite. He also built some walking trails that wind along the valley floor which combine to form a long loop, and they provide some great views of the many valley features from different perspectives than are offered by the usual roadside tourist photo-op spots. These old trails are still there, if not really maintained very well. But you can still hike them, and it’s a great time. The day had warmed up so much it had become a nice shirt sleeve day. We walked down to El Capitan meadow and back along the river enjoying the sights before getting in the car to head home. We didn’t get back until Sunday evening, and Monday morning rang in like a plague. Ouch! Reality.

Click here to see the photos in flickr