Mariposa Lilies

 With the California sun beginning to show its true form, I was thinking that the time was right to expect to see the Mariposa Lilies begin to start showing themselves. They are more of a late season flower, and they seem to love the open grassy meadows and hillsides. Some can be found in the shade, but most prefer the golden sun. If you get some morning fog or clouds, they will very stubborn to open up at all. If the sky is patchy, you might get a glimpse of their true color as a teaser, but their full display is not seen unless you get at least decent sunshine. You won’t find them just anywhere, but there are plenty of places where they can be enjoyed. Some of my favorites include Sierra Azul, Sunol, Almaden Quicksilver, and Rancho San Antonio. The Mariposas will appear in many other locations as well, but my favorite place to see them is in the southern region of Henry W. Coe State Park.

The Phegley Region of the park is an especially good place to look for them because not only is the terrain and climate ideal, but if you cover enough ground there, you can see at least 3 distinctly different color variations of Mariposas on the same hike. Various trails in the region have excellent displays, but the different color variations seem to group together. There are lots of other species that are still around too, and the area is home to lots of different birds and other wildlife. The trick is to get off of the flat areas at the bottom of Hunting Hollow. You will need to put in some uphill to reach the best displays. Very few of the Mariposas will be found at lower elevations, although they will populate the slopes as well as the meadows. The steepest trail in the area is Steer Ridge. Watching my GPS I noticed that the first mile up Steer Ridge was a bit over 1000 feet exactly. That matches the infamous Hobb’s Road “short cut” section for sheer leg burn. Some of the other trails are more gradual, but all of them have potential for nice displays. The slopes will usually have the yellows which will be streaked with dark purple and traces of orange, with a few white ones mixed in, having nice purple and yellow accents that look like air brush work. Along the interior trails you can enjoy more of the white variety, plus many of the rose colored, or pinkish variation, also with nice air brush accents. Another color variation I often see looks like a pale purple with smaller accents and broader pedals.

The route used on this hike begins at Hunting Hollow. We hiked up Steer Ridge to Wilson Peak. We took a little rest there, before heading down Wilson Peak Trail to Grizzly Gulch Trail. From there we hiked on to Wagon Road and along the road to Wilson Camp, and back down to the flats by way of Lyman Wilson Ridge Trail. This is just one example on which we saw quite a few Mariposas. There are lots of route variations to be used though. Just make sure you pick a mostly sunny day. We had almost picked a bad day, but the sun finally came through. There was a 10K run at Hunting Hollow that day, but the racers were sticking to the flat section. The trail in the flats is also popular with cyclists and horse riders. Up on the higher trails though, it’s a different world.

Click here to see my 2011 photos on flickr

Click here to see my 2010 photos on flickr

Click here to see my 2011 track log on EveryTrail

Woods Trail

View to Mt Umunhum from trail

Some of the highest peaks in the South Bay are located within Sierra Azul open space preserve. Unfortunately, the highest of them, Mount Umunhum, being the site of the former Almaden Air Force Station, and its toxic material residue, remains closed to the public. The huge, cube shaped, concrete dish pedestal that remains there can be seen from more than 50 miles away. The site was part of the old cold war era NORAD radar network designed to keep watch on the air space of the west coast. With a commanding vantage point at 3486 feet, one can only imagine what the vistas would be like from the summit. MidPen has a project underway to get the site cleaned up, but for the foreseeable future, it remains off limits. Mt Thayer at 3483 feet, about a half a mile to the west, is similarly closed and off limits to the public.

Iris blooming along the Woods Trail

If Mt Thayer is the sister, then Mt El Sombroso at 2999 feet, less than a mile away as the crow files, is the uncelebrated ‘ugly cousin’ of Umunhum. El Sombroso is the highest of the legally hike-able peaks within the Sierra Azul. Its summit being a tangle of overgrowth does not provide even the slightest glimpse of the views to the bay that you know is possible having hiked up the trail. The only clear ground being the trail itself and the cut swath that provides maintenance access to the power trusses that string high voltage across the preserve and up the peninsula. The higher peaks to the south, which do have clear sightlines to the ocean, block that view from El Sombroso. Whether you hiked up from the Lexington side, the Quicksilver side, or Kennedy Road in Los Gatos, you have some great view opportunities from sections of all three routes that have clear sightlines, but the peak itself looms like more of an obstacle than a destination. Hikers may find this a little anticlimactic, but even still, I love hiking these trails. The views that do present themselves are amazing if you get a clear day, and I enjoy a challenging hike. But there is an even better reason to hike up from the Quicksilver side during spring. The wild flowers displays are enough to keep an admirer interested all day.

This hike begins at the trail head just off of Hicks Road. The Woods Trail provides a gradual, winding, 6 mile assent to the summit that is dotted with an impressive variety of wild flower species. If you go to the trouble of setting up a car shuttle, you can also hike through from Los Gatos by way of Lexington Reservoir, or Kennedy Road. The best diversity of wild flowers are here though, making the Woods Trail a sweet little out-n-back within close proximity of the city. The upper section of trail is mostly exposed, and can be hot and dry, but most of the lower trail is shaded. A great way to get some exercise in while enjoying the mix. Someday the higher summits will be open making Sierra Azul even better, but for now the Woods trail is about the best you can do in spring.

Click here to see my 2011 photos on flickr

Click here to see the track log on EveryTrail

Click here to see my 2010 photos in flickr

Spring Strangeness

 

View to town and the ocean

Well, now that it is just about summer, it looks like we nature cravers in the bay area can now look forward to a few real California spring days before the season evaporates, and sales of sunscreen and electrolyte solution begin to pick up. The weather was so awful last weekend that I decided to take my chances on a Sunday urban bike ride instead of going on a hike. I’m getting a little tired of wet hikes. Especially considering that this should be prime time for wild flowers. But I’ve been on a couple of decent hikes lately in spite of all the strangeness in the climate. I’ll post a few as time permits. I’m just glad I didn’t have plans for the high country any time soon. I have a feeling the mosquitoes are going to be just about unbearable this summer with so much standing water after the melt. Not that any time is really bad in Yosemite. But don't get me dreaming this close to our vacation.

View to the clubhouse from the Spring Trail

Casual hiking at Pogonip is pleasurable any time, but during the spring it was positively a joy. It would be amazing to have the Santa Cruz greenbelt close at hand, but a drive over the hill is more than worth it when you want to get outside and enjoy yourself without any major challenges. Then, when you are through with the hike, you’re still fresh enough (…not too stinky), to spend some time shopping for great prices on local fresh produce; or go enjoy some suds and a meal at one of the quaint little restaurants in town. The park is located just on the edge of the southern urban area and is adjacent to UCSC. The versatile trail system provides many different smaller loops, which can be combined for a longer meandering route that will bring you through thickly shaded groves of trees, pretty riparian routes, and open grassy meadows, all within a relatively small area. Pogonip’s trails also link up with the Cowell-Wilder Regional Trail for an even longer ramble that will keep your feet moving all day. Head into the redwoods of Henry Cowell State Park, or out to the coast. The place has a rich history which includes native artifacts, some of Henry Cowell’s old lime works, and a defunct 30s era polo club among the curious relics.

Chinquipin Road

The trailhead on Golf Course Drive, right off of highway 9 has very limited parking, so getting there early is recommended. There are other ways into the park though. The Harvey West Park entrance just a couple of blocks south would be a good alternative. The trailhead is at virtual sea level, while the highest point in the park is along the Spring Trail which tops out at about 1131 feet. The center section is open and sunny, but the ocean breezes tend to mitigate somewhat. The surrounding higher areas are mostly wooded with plenty of shade, and you will get some views. The trail system is mostly well marked, and many wild flowers can be seen if you keep your eyes open. We combined our interior route with an out-n-back up the U-Con Trail, and Fuel Break Road, into UCSC, and along Chinquipin Road to Empire Grade. I have enjoyed this section of trail many years past for its wild flowers. Lot’s of Blow tube Iris and violets, plus many other common species abound as cyclists blow past them hardly noticing. This regional trail route is a popular multi-use route, so expect to have plenty of 2 wheeled company outside of Pogonip or Henry Cowell. Chinquipin Road and the nearby UCSC trail system is mostly flat, so it makes a nice casual bicycling route, in a pastoral setting, with natural terrain. The U-con Trail passes through a nice redwood grove with white Two Eyed Violets peeking out at you with their little purplish eyes the whole way, joined by yellow Wood Violets, and lots of Hedge Nettle.

Up behind the old lime kilns, you can enjoy some strangeness that people with too much time on their hands have created with rocks. It looks like some kind of rock garden maze with weird cultic overtones. I keep expecting to see the Blair Witch pop out from behind the bushes up there on the Kiln Trail. I want to be the first to get a photo. Down in the flats, the old clubhouse is worth some checking out. There was supposed to be a restoration carried out, but I don’t see any progress being made. There are some nice bee hives up in the rafters though. If the creeks are running, don’t miss the Pogonip Creek Nature Loop. Keep your eyes open for wildlife too.

Click here to see a track log and photos from this hike on Everytrail

Coyote Creek

 

Grassy gully near Grizzly Gulch

Never one to waste a good spring day off, I set out for another of my long time favorite seasonal hikes. The Coyote Creek trail head at Henry Coe State Park provides a really good starting point for hiking the central zones of the park. With Coe’s status again in peril from the incompetence and political malaise infesting Sacramento, now is an excellent time to get a hike in somewhere at Coe. It’s going to be a disgrace of monumental proportions if the State government actually goes ahead with the most recent proposed closure list. Henry Coe has been on the closure list for years, and while closing any of those parks would be a short sighted and ineffective move, closing this one would amount to betrayal of public trust. Many of California’s state parks only exist because of the land being donated or otherwise deeded over to the state primarily for protection. These tracks of land do not belong to the politicians, or any sitting regime, but to the tax paying public of the state. But, let’s not give up hope just yet. Go on a hike and enjoy it while the park is still officially open. If you do enough hiking there no one will have to ask you to write a letter to the governor’s office to express your grave concerns about closing it.

Chinese Houses populate the base of a tree

The trails in and around the Grizzly Gulch zone of the park typically have nice displays of wild flowers. The rugged hills infused with serpentine, and dotted with oaks and shrubbery are alive with activity this time of year. Bumble bees and butterflies are buzzing around, and everything is still mostly green. Many of the trails are a mixture of open areas which support many common species, along with scattered, lightly shaded, grassy hillsides, intermittently blooming with Chinese Houses, Ground Iris, and Coast Larkspur. The houses can range in colors from all white, to a pinkish shade, to the classic purple and white whorls, some of which can have 4 or 5 layers. You never know exactly where you will find them, and sometimes they will be mostly off trail in areas where you really cannot get close enough to for taking decent pictures. Along the way you can enjoy some gentle sunshine, cool breezes, and nice views from the high points along the Jackson, Wasno, and Steer Ridges.

Lupine along Wasno Road

My route for this hike began at the gate to Coit Road, hiking .9 miles to the Anza Trail. I hiked up the switchbacks of the Anza Trail to the junction with Jackson Trail, topping out at about 2621 feet. From there turned onto the Elderberry Trail, to Spring Trail, and back to Jackson Road. Heading east on Jackson through to Wasno Road, I thought about heading down to Kelly Lake, but decided instead to hike up to Wilson Peak. I hiked through to the Tule Pond Tail, and down to and Grizzly Gulch Trail giving back some altitude to about 1800 feet. I headed up Wilson Peak Trail back up to about 2612 feet, and along Steer Ridge. I finally headed back toward the trail head descending down the Spike Jones Trail. The numbers for this route were 12.5 miles with 3261 feet of total elevation gain.

Click here to see my pictures on flickr

Click here to view my track log and elevation profile on Every Trail

Back to Santa Teresa

Coyote Peak

I didn’t want to let too much of the spring season roll by with making a return visit to Santa Teresa County Park. Our last trip here was a wet hike, that we went on just to cure a case of cabin fever. We hiked around most of the day in the rain and mud, and actually had a pretty good time. I had noticed that even though this park is at a low elevation, the view opportunities actually looked pretty good. The weather was too murky to really see anything very far away, but knowing the area, I could easily imagine what the vistas would look like. I was also remembering how many of the wild flowers had responded despite the wet conditions, so I was anxious to get back there on a clear and sunny day to see what we’ve been missing.

Most Beautiful Jewel Flower

In the southwest corner of the park is the Style trailhead, which is much quieter than the main entrance over at Bernal Road. We often drive right past here on our way to Rancho Cañada del Oro. I enjoy Rancho Cañada for its more remote and quieter setting, but this would make a nice change. The Style Ranch Trail immediately begins climbing up some rocky switchbacks up to about 700 feet. The shrubbery on this section works as a natural attractant for humming birds, and we ran across a man with a gigantic lens on a tripod that looked like it belonged in an observatory, who was trying to get pictures of them. Evidently some of the humming bird species that frequent this park are quite rare. I don’t know if I would have the patience to sit there all morning shooting birds. After we had reached the ridge top, I began to notice the Jewel flower that was in bloom along this route. I had not seen this variety before in a pinkish color, called Most Beautiful Jewel Flower (Streptanthus albidus ssp. Peramoenus). The Jewel Flower I see most often is dark purple. Finding what was for me a new flower was good payoff after only the first mile or so.

We hiked about a 10 mile loop utilizing the Mine Trail, Ohlone, Ridge, and Hidden Spring Trails, then up to Coyote Peak at 1155 feet. This little peak offers some fantastic long range viewing for so little climbing. We could see all 3 major bay area cities (SF, San Jose, and Oakland), several bridges, and Mt Tamalpias looming in the distant haze. Normally you would need much more altitude for that. Turning to the south you can also see Morgan Hill, El Toro Peak, and can spot Pine Ridge in Henry Coe. Just west is Mt Loma Prieta, and to the east, Mt Hamilton. We didn’t stay all that long because the wind was blowing so hard it was like a freakin' gale or something. Being exposed to the channel of the bay, the wind has a straight shot straight up there which can make it like a wind tunnel. We also had made a couple of diversions that you can see on the track log. The first one was a walk up an old road which we had mistaken for the Ohlone Trail. The other was a trail shown on the map called the Laurel Canyon Nature Trail. Who knew Santa Teresa had a waterfall? I didn’t, but there is was. It’s Small and vey seasonal, but worth seeing. I couldn’t get a very good picture because of the lighting conditions.We should have come here during our wet visit.

Serpentine rock along Rocky Ridge Trail

We headed back toward Style using the Rocky Ridge Trail (aptly named). The serpentine rock along here is perfect habitat for rattlesnakes, and we crossed paths with a couple of them. The first one was moving across the trail, and looked to be avoiding us. Later, I had found some nice Cream Cups on the trail, and was kneeling down trying to get some photos in the wind while Sue hiked on a bit. A few moments later, I barely heard a strange little shriek as Sue had stumbled across another rattlesnake coiled up hidden in the grass not 1 foot off the trail. Unlike the first one, this bad boy wasn’t going anywhere. We finally hiked off trail to make a wide enough birth around it, and were on our way. But It did get a photo. We used the Fortini Trail to make our way back to the trail head. It was a beautiful day, and I’m sure we will make future visits.

Click here to see the photos on flickr
Click here to see my track log on Everytrail

Wild Flowers: Lower Bay Top 5 Most Interesting Sites

 

One of my favorite times of year is during the spring wild flower season. Hiking takes on a whole new meaning for me when I can look forward to all the surprises in store for wanderers during this season. I actually get a little excited when I begin a spring hike, and spot the first blooms of the day. I don’t know why this happens, but somehow nature’s handy work just seems to stimulate glad tidings. Cultivation doesn’t impress me, but a good display of wild flowers is like getting personal greeting card from nature. You just have to learn to understand the language. It would be hard for me to pick “the 5 best” wild flower sites because that seems too subjective. I don’t think of wild flower displays in terms of better or worse, because the land has nothing to prove to anyone. I think more in terms of how interesting they are. Interesting meaning the places I keep coming back to because the experience is rewarding enough to warrant a “can’t miss” status during the time I expect them to be the peak season, which of course can change from year to year. Meaning sites that can have surprises, and keep the experience fresh. Meaning sites that often show you more than just the usual common species, and may even change quite a bit during the season, inviting repeat visits. So here are Randy’s picks for the most interesting, can’t miss, wild flower sites in the lower SF Bay Area.

1) San Bruno Mountain: This park has really excellent diversity of species, and many species also bloom in very nice quantity. My first visit there had me digging all over cyberspace trying to identify much of what I saw. Without my flickr contacts, and Cal Photos website, I would have been all but lost. This park supports various rare and endangered species, and many other species that just aren’t seen very often, even though they don’t have any official status as rare. I love to savor the history of the place as well. It’s especially great too to know that you are walking a ridge system that was literally saved from destruction to become bay fill. There was an actual plan in place years ago to excavate the entire mountain and toss it into the bay in the interest of wanton expansionism and profiteering. If you ever get the chance to see the public television series called Saving the Bay, then you will understand all about the history of mass destruction that had been planned for the bay. It really made me want to come and hike this park, if for nothing else, just to pay homage to that wild space victory, and to cherish the bay itself. Nice views on a clear day.

2) Henry Willard Coe State Park: Fantastic diversity, and a constantly changing array of species. Coe has the quality of seeming like a different park depending on which of the various regions you happen to be in. The list of wild flowers seems to change for each section of the park. You could hike every day for a week and probably not see everything. Even a section that seems familiar may not show you exactly the same display in subsequent years. You can occasionally spot some rare varieties here too. Coe just always keeps you on your toes, and rarely disappoints. Coe can also have impressive quantities of many species in good years. I always know I’m in for an interesting day when I start seeing a lot of wild flowers while driving along the road before I even arrive. Maybe when I finally kick off, I will want my ashes spread over Coe.

3) Ohlone Wilderness Trail beginning at Del Valle: This challenging section of trail has a wonderful display each year. The best variety of blooms are along the uphill section known as "Big Burn". You can get an excellent training hike in while being entertained by the colorful diversity of wild flowers alongside the trail. Even the sections that are grazed can still produce some really nice specimens. When you get to the ridge top you can also enjoy some spectacular views.

4) Sunol Regional Wilderness: Another of my favorite east bay locations for enjoying wild flowers, which also provides access to the other end of the Ohlone Wilderness Trail. It’s really a bummer that they do so much grazing in Sunol. I often wonder what it would look like if it was left alone more. Yes, manure is a fertilizer, but too much hurts the soil composition. But even despite all the cows trampling around and pooping all over the place, the wild flower displays are stunning. The best places seem to be up at the highest points on ridges and peaks.

5) Sierra Azul: For the most part, Sierra Azul is underutilized by hikers. Kennedy Road gets a lot of bikers, but mostly this preserve is underappreciated. I never hear of anyone talking up Sierra Azul for wild flowers, but I have seen some seriously beautiful displays here. The Lexington side is a completely different display than the Quicksilver side too. You need to hike the whole park to see everything. Even the challenging Priest Rock Trail can be full of surprises. Hiking at Sierra Azul can keep a wild flower admirer busy all day while providing some challenging hiking and great clear weather views.

Photo Sunday

I haven’t had time for any blogging the last couple of weeks. Sometimes there’s a lot going on, and I’m lucky to get out for a hike at all. But I have been out doing some scouting around for wild flowers here and there, so I decided to just share a random selection of recent photos. I’ve had limited success so far in seeking out the most interesting local displays. Special kudos if you can recognize any of these locations. I won’t be back to my computer until Thursday as I am heading out to the DFW area for a few days on business.

 

 

Douglas's Iris

 Iris douglasiana

Fringe Cup

Tellima grandiflora

Mission Bells

Fritillaria affinis

Checker Bloom

Sidalcea malviflora

Anderson's Larkspur

Delphinium andersonii

California Saxifrage

Saxifraga californica