Ironman 70.3 in Indian Wells - Part 1

We spent a weekend away from the farm to hang out with Chris and Meryl at the Ironman 70.3 held in Indian Wells, near Palm Springs. They both signed up to do this event long ago but what with a move to Idaho and Life Complications they deferred to this year. Meryl is injured and didn’t compete but we all went to support Chris. Meryl flew to Palm Springs on Saturday morning and we picked her up before heading to the Ironman venue.

This is a view of the entry to the Ironman Village. This staging area was at a huge tennis pavillion and is the location of the bike/run transition and the finish. The planning and infrastructure that is part of the Ironman event is astounding. As you look through these photos imagine all the work that happens behind the scenes prior to this event and all of the equipment needed to set up the venues. I wrote about the Sacramento Ironman in October here and mentioned some of the issues. They have held this event at Indian Wells for a few years now and they have eliminated all the pitfalls.

Chris picked up the transition bags and a page of stickers with his number. The order of events is always Swim, Bike, Run. and the athletes try to get through the transitions as smoothly and quickly as they can—it’s all part of the accumulated time. In the Swim/Bike transition they have to strip off the wetsuit and pick up the helmet and cycling shoes and any other clothing or gear needed for the bike. They may change into other shorts or wear what they were wearing under the wetsuit, but maybe add sleeves or legs for cold weather. There are gear bags to hold the next outfit and to stash what is being left behind. Chris has experience with this so has it pretty well planned out, but it is important to get everything right. Each bag has the athlete number. There were over 1800 participants—that’s a lot of bags if they get mixed up.

An unusual addition for this event was the decontamination of the wetsuits. This was to prevent introduction of the quagga mussel into the lake.

Wetsuits were held in chlorinated water for 15 seconds and then hung to dry. Each athlete was given a tag to attach to the wetsuit to show it had been dunked. On race-day morning no one without that tag was to be allowed in the water.

The next step was to leave the bike and gear bag, all properly numbered, at the racks set up in the swim-bike transition area.

Before we left the lake for the day I noticed this sign.

We went back to the hotel and, wanting to give Meryl and Chris a chance to relax (and me not wanting to watch football for 4 hours), Dan and I went off in search of something to explore.

We drove not far out of town to the Visitor Center for the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. This bighorn ram stands guard outside. The visitor center and the gates were closing in about 20 minutes so we did a brief walk along a nature trail nearby and then drove to a parking area where we could access another trail.

The main road was far off but I was able to zoom in on this sign.

We stopped at a 2.5 mile trail that makes a loop through the desert terrain.

Starting out on the trail.

This is looking back towards the Visitor Center and the San Jacinto Mountains.

There are several varieties of cactus out here.

It was getting to be dusk by the time we were ending the hike.

We were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the distant mountains.

Hiking Close to Home

My brother called me last week and said he was hiking just north of Fairfield. He asked if I wanted to go hiking the next day. These are some photos from that morning.

The hike is through the hills now covered with dry grass. Part of the landscape is oak woodland.

A dirt road traverses the property. There is plenty of signs that cattle graze this area for part of the year. We didn’t see any livestock now.

This is a view looking south. You can barely make out the wind turbines on the horizon.

We spent a lot of time near this tree trying to get photos of the ruby-crowned kinglet that was flitting around the branches.

It is a bird that doesn’t stay in any one spot long enough for a decent photo. My bird book says “Kinglets are active, nervous birds, constantly flicking their wings rapidly.” So it’s not just me and my photography skills.

I took more than a dozen photos of this one bird and ended up with these.

I don’t know how he did it, but my brother got this one.

That’s Mt. Diablo in the background and the Suisun Marsh in the middle. You can barely make out three dark shapes at the edge of the water just below the far-away hill on the far right of the photo.

This is a close-up view. The three dark shapes are large ships, part of the “mothball fleet”. in the Suisun Bay. Those are old ships that are no longer needed but were kept in reserve for years. This link discusses some of the environmental issues that resulted from letting these old ships deteriorate in place for so many years.

Another view from the hills. That’s Ginny and Dave’s dog, Daisy.

Looking southwest.

Everything is so dry now it was good to have a water tank that the dogs could reach.

TN-NC Adventure--Day 2

Here is Day 1 of this adventure. At this rate I won’t finish for months. I’d better speed up—there is lots more going on here to share. We had all of Thursday to spend at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We chose to explore Cades Cove and hike a trail to a waterfall in that area. We tried to get an early start because we saw from the previous day how crowded the roads and parking areas could get as more visitors showed up.

We started the the Cades Cove loop drive. Our first stop was not a marked one, but we were on a one-way loop road with no traffic and there was a horse at the fence!

I like to follow a map as we explore and I learned new terminology. I was not familiar with points on the map called Bald or Gap or Cove. In the west I think Gregory Bald, Andrews Bald, Silers Bald would be called Mountain. Newfound Gap, Deals Gap, and Black Camp Gap would be called Pass. And a Cove might be called Valley. Maybe it all has to do with scale of the geographical features or it’s just something particular to this region.

We picked up the auto tour booklet for Cades Cove, and followed along while we drove, getting out of the car at the points of interest. According to the booklet the area was probably originally inhabited by Cherokee people, but “various conflicts, epidemics, and treaties made it difficult…to remain in Tennessee lands”. In the early 1800’s white families settled. They cleared land and built log homes. Corn was a major crop. The cove is encircled by an 11-mile one-way road. On Wednesdays this road is closed to vehicles and open only for bicycles and pedestrians—that’s a great idea! Fortunately we were there on Thursday.

John Oliver Place is one of 80 historic buildings in the park. We were interested in the construction of the various buildings. The materials range from round logs with notched corners to later frame buildings that use sawed wood. Katie, still trying to design a barn on her rocky Texas property, kept pointing out the “foundation”—piles of rocks that held up many of the structures.

I thought that I would remember everything I photographed, but of course I don’t, especially since it has now been a busy three weeks since this trip. I think I have everything identified correctly with the help of the tour booklet I kept. The booklet tells that a Methodist Church was built of logs in the 1820s and then replaced by this one in 1902. It pointed out the two front doors, indicated a custom of men and women sitting on different sides. However this church didn’t follow that custom, but used the building plans of a congregation that did.

Inside the Methodist Church.

We drove to the half way point on the loop road and parked at the beginning of the Abrams Falls Trail. The trail to the falls is about 2-1/2 miles through the woods.

The map indicates “moderate” difficulty. It is a well-maintained trail with a fair amount of uphill.

This bridge is over a creek that flows into Abrams Creek.

People were spread out on the trail and it didn’t seem too crowded, but there was a crowd at the falls.

It looks as though Kirby is about to dive, but she just enjoyed climbing on the rocks in the middle of the water. No diving.

Katie is photographing Kirby with a butterfly on her knee.

I often like to identify plants in my photos, but I it was a strange feeling here because I didn’t recognize anything…

…even the trees and shrubs. It is all so different than what I am used to. It would sure be interesting to see in the fall and spring.

After the hike we continued the Cades Cove loop drive. There are several buildings at the Cable Mill Historic area. This is a blacksmith shop.

I took photos of several interesting details of construction, but they aren’t all included here. I admire this horseshoe hinge.

Cantilever barn.

There is a long ditch and then earthen flume from a mill-pond to the wheel of the grist mill. It is still operating for demonstrations.

Inside the mill building is a grist mill where corn is ground.

Another large barn.

I think this is the Henry Whitehead Place. According to the tour brochure, the small building in the back was built with logs when a cabin was needed quickly. The larger house was built of square sawn logs and the two buildings are a contrast in construction types in the Smokies.

Another cantilever barn, a replica of an earlier one that was here. Hay could be stored above and fed to animals in the stalls below.

I think this is the Carter Shields cabin, build in the early 1900s.

We spent a full day exploring all the things to see on the Cades Cove loop and hiking to Abrams Falls. One of the most exciting things was on the drive at the end of the day when we spotted this black bear!

Above the Fog

Last Tuesday I met up with a cousin for a hike. We chose a place about half way between us—Jack London State Historic Park. Its only about an hour from here but I had never been there. What a great day! It had been foggy in the valley for days—that thick drippy fog that lasts all day. We found the sun!

There are 29 miles of trails in the park and we kept checking the map as we ran into intersections. This trail is part of the 400 mile trail system designated Bay Area Ridge Trail. That makes me think I have a lot more exploring to do in my own backyard.

The mist is a sign that there is still a lot of moisture in the air and on the ground.

We were impressed with the size and color of these leaves.

There are several ecosystems here—including grassy meadows, oak woodland, redwoods, and streams.

The fog was still there in places but here we were above it.

There are seeds sprouting in this dry thistle. I’ve never seen that but maybe it’s because I’m usually hiking in the spring, before seeds are even formed, and summer when it is dry and nothing is going to sprout.

It reminded me of a chia pet or a container of sprouts.

I didn’t take my usual number of photos and I didn’t get one of Carol and me. I slipped in one place and twisted my already injured knee. So I was paying such close attention to footing and getting back when we needed to that my photo mojo was left behind.

But this was a great place for a hike and a great time with my cousin whom I hadn’t seen in years. I definitely want to do it again!

Idaho Trip - Day 2

After driving to Weiser Idaho to drop off sheepskins (last post) we drove onto McCall and stayed at the Rustic Inn. We met Chris for breakfast at his favorite diner in McCall.

6 Three 4 is an old gas station that has been repurposed as a cafe. Notice the counter top added onto the old truck and the roll-up garage door.

Additional seating.

Some old Hardy Boys books leveled our table.

After breakfast we drove east out of town to go hiking in the Payette National Forest.

Chris had heard of an unmarked trail to a lake a couple of miles up this main trail.

The fall colors were gorgeous...

…accented by a beautiful blue sky.

Chris found the unmarked trail…

…and we followed him down the other side of the mountain we had just hiked up…

…to Crystal Lake.

A panoramic view of the lake.

I keep looking at this photo and find it hard to acknowledge that the lower half of the rock is a reflection—it is so vivid.

The sky was gorgeous.

The fall colors were stunning.

It was a lovely day in the Salmon River Mountains and great to spend it with Chris.

More Wildflowers at Table Mountain

About a week ago I shared photos from our first visit to North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve. We returned earlier this week and explored part of the Reserve that we had not seen last time.

This view isn’t far from the parking lot. We followed the trail that heads to South Mesa.

That trail heads through more of the oak woodland before breaking out onto the mesa.

On the mesa we had a view of the Sacramento Valley and the Sutter Buttes. We wanted to follow the trail marked on our map as the Many Waterfalls loop, but maybe the key word in the description of this route was “cross-country”. There doesn’t seem to be a very defined trail that isn’t just another cow trail. But we knew we wanted to head to the rim of the mesa and follow that rim to see the marked waterfalls.

We saw expanses of yellow on the mesa.

This flower is Dwarf Stonecrop.

It is a relatively small flower but en masse it is quite impressive. It is the dominant species in the bright yellow strips. Goldfields makes up the more orange parts.

Goldfields interspersed with Tidy Tips and lupines.

This is the Tidy Tips up close.

Another view of the valley and the Sutter Buttes. We’re getting closer to the edge of the mesa and Table Mountain.

This is a panorama view of the same location.

We came across useful signs occasionally but it would have been good if we had an app to show us exactly where the GPS coordinates were. We’ll have to figure that out for next time. We missed some of the trails that we had planned to take because in some places it was hard to know where there was actually a trail. We ended up hiking about 8-1/2 miles instead of the 11 miles marked on the map.

The sign above is describing this formation, appropriately called Crevice Falls. Surprisingly there was still some water in some of these. There must be water flowing from springs that run through the basalt layer.

I realized that Ladder Falls was not named for the creek bed of the waterfall but because there is this old pipe ladder to enable people to access the trail.

This trail took us back through more oak woodland grazing area. There are some very large old oaks throughout this part of the reserve.

After our last visit I bought a book that describes the flowers and ecology of North Table Mountain. That was helpful in identifying some of the photos I took. This is a poppy species called Frying Pans.

Kellogg’s Clarkia.

White-headed Navarretia.

I knew I had to find this flower when I saw it in the book. It’s called Cowbag Clover and if the photo was better you could see that, yes, it looks like an upside down cow udder.

This flower is known as Butter-and-Eggs. That is one I already knew from having seen it in other areas.

We spent a beautiful day hiking here and I look forward to returning next winter and spring.

Wildflowers in Northern California

Last week we explored a place that was new to us. Dan had ridden his bike through this area in the Wildflower Century in past years, but had seen it only from the road. This is North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, 3300 acres owned by the state, 3 miles north of Oroville. The state purchased the land to preserve the unique Northern Basalt Flow Vernal Pools and the rare species of plants that grow here.

There is a parking area but people were already parking along the road because the lot was full. We parked along the road and walked to the Reserve. This was our first view of the spectacular wildflower display and this wasn’t even part of the Reserve.

I am so used to visiting National or State Parks that have complete visitor centers and well-defined trails that I was surprised to discover that there are lands accessible to us that are not part of the park systems. There were a few signs that indicated the direction and distance to a few waterfalls (surprising to me in this area) but no other interpretive signs.

I read later that this area has been grazed by cattle for at least 45 years and that grazing is part of the current management strategy to help control non-native species and maintain the ecology of the area.

This is one of two panoramic shots I created.

There were great swathes of purple and yellow and orange. These are lupines and I’m not sure which yellow flower this is—Great Valley Buttercup or Goldfields? I’ll need to pay better attention next time I’m there instead of assuming that I’ll remember each flower in my photos.

Lupines and I think poppies and popcorn flower.

Purple Owl’s Clover.

Poppies, but I can’t tell you which poppy—there is more than one on the list of wildflower species that occur here.

Sierra Mock Stone Crop. This flower seemed to be growing right out of the rocks—certainly with minimal soil to sustain it.

This one is called Dark-stained Prettyface.

Purple owl’s clover and poppies

The flowers are beautiful individually and close-up, but what looks at what you see at a distance:

It was a suprise to me that there are several waterfalls here, short-lived as they are in this climate, especially with the minimal amount of rainfall that we’ve had this year. I don’t suppose the will last long this year.

We plan to return here before the flowers disappear this spring.

Horsetail Falls

Last Friday was National Hat Day according to my special calendar. My kids had written in “while wearing a warm hat go to M&K’s for a hike”. We met them and my brother, Dave, in Pollock Pines. We had intended to go snowshoeing but found the intended destination to be up a slippery icy road and we changed plans.

If you have driven west on Hwy. 50 from South Lake Tahoe then you might know the big waterfall that you see north of the highway as you go down the big switchbacks before the highway heads due west. That is Horsetail Falls. We weren’t far from there and decided to hike that trail.

This is a close-up of the warning in the middle of that map. For us the biggest difficulty was the icy granite.

We brought the snowshoes thinking that we might use them, but it didn’t take long before we realized they weren’t necessary and Matt stashed them off the trail.

Dave helping with trail maintenance (picked up the sign that had tipped over).

This is the view looking south and west. The highway is in the canyon below the trees. You can see snow on the northeast facing slopes…

…but when you look north you see how little snow there is on the south and west facing slopes. This is January and it’s scary to see what how dry it is.

It was also unseasonably warm. I was wearing a base layer of wool on top and bottom plus a wool sweater. I was overdressed.

This is Pyramid Creek that drains from the Pyramid Peak area which is beyond the falls.

Matt doing his part to keep the trail clear of boulders.

Dave tried to venture closer to the falls. We decided to not go further. There isn’t much of a trail—instead it is a lock of climbing over rocks and even though the weather was warm there were a lot of icy spots on the granite. It felt a little treacherous at times.

The water in the deeper pools of the creek looked incredibly green.

The description of emerald comes to mind.

On the way back down. This is almost the same view as one of the first photos, but you can see the highway where it switchbacks up the mountain.

We took a little time for artistic license. Kaleena filmed Matt “rock climbing” and it looks incredibly real when you see her video—that is until Kirin (dog) walks into the scene.

Dave’s artistic idea was to have everyone pose as the hiker in the sign on the tree.

We’ll see what he comes up with when he finishes his video.

Usually I take lots of photos of plants and other components of the overall scene. Not so much this time because I felt encumbered with gloves, trekking poles, and not slipping on the ice. But this brilliant red cedar caught my eye.

More Birds and New Site to Visit

I find myself exploring local sites that are new to me, some of which were featured in blog posts. If you scroll backwards through December and into November you’ll find Birdwatching in Fairfield, and hiking at Berryessa-Snow Mountain National Monument, Bassi Falls in the El Dorado National Forest, and Mt. Diablo State Park.

Even closer to home than any of these is the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, on the western edge of the UC Davis campus. I met a friend there for an outdoor socially distanced visit. It may not be the normal time of year to visit this site because most of the plants are dormant. I can picture how this will be in the spring through fall with new growth, flowers, and BEES!

From the website: “The Haven is a unique outdoor museum that provides resources for local bee pollinators, inspires and educates visitors to create pollinator habitat gardens, and provides a site for the observation and study of bees and the plants that support them.”

We didn’t spend any time in the garden at first but used this as a starting point for a brisk 5-mile walk.

The roads took us to Putah Creek and we walked along the trails there for awhile.

We saw several ruby-crowned kinglets. These are cute little birds with a greenish tinge that flit from branch to branch.

Ruby crowned ? I identified this bird based on the white circle around the eye. The bird book says that it “takes a quick eye to see the ruby crown”, but I did see a flash of red at one point on one of the birds.

Do you see the two rope swings in this photo?

A couple of people helped me out with these—Common Mergansers, female on the left and male on the right..

Back at the bee garden, we wandered through the grounds.

I learned a new word: gnomon, “the projecting piece on a sundial that shows the time by the position of its shadow”.

There was no sun today to try it out, but I will be back.

Birdwatching in Fairfield

One of these days I’ll write a blog post about one of the Christmas gifts from my family—a calendar with 365 days of “National (fill in the blank) Day”. Then they filled in chosen days to do something with me. For instance my son and DIL came over to watch a movie for National Science Fiction Day. Tuesday was, according to this calendar, National Bird Day. My brother got a new lens for his camera so he could get a better view of his local birds and he has been photographing and identifying birds in his neighborhood. I have been very impressed with his photos because I don’t feel as though I have been very successful at bird photos. He invited me to go on a birdwatching walk with him.

I know…this isn’t a bird. But it was the first wildlife I saw when we walked out the gate of Dave’s backyard. Dave’s house and yard back up to a seasonal creek and there are paths along both sides. At times there have been families of beavers living in the creek and he sees a lot of birds there.

I hate to admit how poor my bird ID skills are, but this jaunt made me decide I can do better. I think when I’m out walking here with my dogs I haven’t been focused well enough to pay attention to the differences in all the little birds that live in the area. And many times it’s easier to ID the bird by looking at photos that I can enlarge on my computer than be trying to see the detail in real life.

I do know that this is a dove—a mourning dove I think.

This one is easy—red-winged blackbird.

We started out in the neighborhood but eventually followed the creek out of town.

These oak galls caught my eye. Stationary objects are easier to photograph than moving birds.

Woodpecker. Hairy or Downy? Dave told me which one, but now I don’t remember.

I noticed several small painted wood blocks in random places. Dave said that he doesn’t know who puts them up but they are changed occasionally.

More interesting and easy-to-photograph objects.

At the edge of town.

I just looked up the history of the area known as Cement Hill. According to an article in the local newspaper:

“The Pacific Portland Cement Co. from 1902 to 1927 quarried the rock and made cement…The castle-like remains in the hills served as the foundation of the rock crusher, with the wooden building and metal equipment now long gone. A rail system transported the rock. At one point, more than 500 workers earned their living in these hills.”

Western meadowlark.

There isn’t much blooming right now, but I love how this Lesser Goldfinch (I think) matches the plants where he is perched.

White-crowned sparrow.

We got to the edge of town and then took a path up into the hills. They are finally getting green after our meager amount of late rainfall. However, these hills burned in October and it is sad to see how little soil cover there is. Lots of bare ground between the little bit of grass sprouting.

Dave’s dog, Daisy was a well-behaved companion on this trek.

We had a great view of Lagoon Valley to the east…

…and Fairfield and the hills to the west and north.

We could see Mt. Diablo, where we hiked last month, to the southwest although I had to tweak this photo to get it to stand out behind the clouds.

Another view east.

Cedar waxwing.

You may have to look closely but there are two Anna’s hummingbirds in this photo. It was one of the few shrubs with flowers (a few flowers) and one of the hummingbirds made repeated dive-bombing approaches, with a call I can only describe as a screech that I never expected to hear from a hummingbird. He’d drop down and then rise straight up as if he was a drone. Very cool to watch and a nice bird to end the day.

Dave kept track of the number of species we saw and he counted 25!

Exploring Berryessa-Snow Mountain National Monument

Long-time followers of this blog know that we love visiting our National Parks and National Monuments. There is one in our own backyard that we have hardly seen. Berryessa-Snow Mountain NM was created in 2015 and encompasses 330,780 acres. The website states: “Public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service in the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument are some of the most scenic and biologically diverse landscapes in northern California. They range from rolling, oak-studded hillsides to steep creek canyons and ridgelines with expansive views.”

My wool was ready at Mendocino Wool and Fiber in Ukiah and we decided to pick it up rather than have it shipped and then have an afternoon of hiking on the way back. I researched (googled) where to hike and found some trails that were in the southern part of the Monument.

We decided to try the Judge Davis Trail in the Cache Creek area. According to the AllTrails that would be a 5 mile out and back trail for a total of 10 miles.

There were some signs in place, but it wasn’t until I started sorting these photos that I finally realized that we weren’t on the trail we thought we were. The very limited map I had printed from a computer screenshot was from the non-paid for access to AllTrails that showed Cache Creek Ridge and Judge Davis trails. It turns out that they were two separate trails and we didn’t even see the start of the Judge Davis trail from where we parked. No big deal—I just like to be accurate.

I’d read reviews of the trails in this area that warned about ticks (especially if you are hiking with dogs) and lack of shade and water. At this time of year we certainly didn’t need to worry about shade, but I can see how that would be a huge concern in the summer. This is a hot, rugged landscape.

Another sign—we were entering an area designated wilderness. I found it interesting that hang gliding is on the list of unacceptable activities in this area.

According to an app on my phone I think we’d gone about 2.5 miles be the time we saw this sign that pointed to the Judge Davis Trailhead (ahead of us on the trail).

There was a trail that took off to the left and this was the sign, burned in one of the previous years’ fires. We could barely make out that it says Cache Creek 4 miles. Acccording to the map I had we didn’t think the Judge Davis Trail made a loop so we continued down this Cache Creek trail.

The view to the northeast. The only other people we saw were on a trail near the ridge in this photo.

Along the trail in some areas I saw small bits of fluff caught on the brush. It was the most dramatic here and I wondered which animals were the right height to be rubbing and lose some undercoat. My guess is that it is the elk that had bedded down nearby.

View northwest. I’d like to know what mountain that is. We thought that Cache Creek is over a few ridges to the left of where we were standing. It was getting later in the day and we decided that we should probably turn back since we had to follow this same trail back and with all the uphill it would take awhile. The phone app said that we’d gone about 3.5 miles.

View south.

On the earlier part of the trail there was a lot of manzanita that glowed red in the sun.

Back at the parking lot I took a photo of this sign and we saw the beginning (and end) of the Judge Davis Trail, a short distance from the trail that we had taken. . I finally matched up the trails with our printed map. The trail we took is the one on the right side of that blue square and I think the signs we saw were at the junction where you can continue south or go northwest to the Judge Davis trail. We went south but not all the way. Now we’ll have to go back and try again. I’m sure the wildflowers will be fantastic in a few months.

Hiking at Bassi Falls

Monday we drove to Pollock Pines where we met up with our personal tour guides of the El Dorado National Forest, our son and DIL, who have both worked there for years. My brother and his wife (our recent Mt. Diablo hiking companions) met us there too.

I have always loved the way the creeks run in this granite landscape. When we have been here in the spring and summer Big Silver Creek runs with a lot more water.

The theme today seemed to be ice. The day was relatively warm but the amount of ice on the still pools and in the shade indicated that it’s been cold at night.

Some of the ice was reminiscent of sparkly diamonds.

That prompted Matt to get down on one knee.

I can remember when water almost filled this area.

Matt brought his drone and took overhead videos.

Ginny is not a big fan of the drone. She barks at it and tries to chase it down.

Kaleena and Kirin in matching scarves.

Usually I take photos of flowers when we’re hiking, but it’s too late in the year now.

Like I said before, there were plenty of interesting ice shapes.

Why Matt thought it would be a good idea to get in the icy water, I have no idea.

I don’t know if invigorating is the right word for this ice bath.

Chasing Kaleena with icy hands.

After hiking further up the creek and hanging out on the granite it was time to head back. It was a lovely day in the forest.

On the way down the mountain we took a detour off of Ice House Road up to Big Hill, the lookout and helispot where Matt used to work. This photo was taken from Big Hill and is the view back to where we had been hiking. Bassi Falls is slightly above center and to the left, below that granite mound.

This is the view southwest. You can just make out the peak in the background, rising above the smog layer. That is Mt. Diablo, 150 miles away.

Looking northwest we could see the Coast Range in the background with the Sutter Buttes, about 130 miles away in the valley.

This is the same view looking east toward Bassi Falls, but is a panorama from stitching together three photos.

Hiking at Mt. Diablo State Park

I have lived in California for all my life except for four years in the late 70’s/early 80s and all that time in the Bay Area Counties. I have been at the edge of the Central Valley in Solano County for 35 years. From this area when you have a clear view looking south (away from hills and trees) you can see a large mountain. Mt. Diablo is 50 miles away and rises 3,849’ in elevation. The State Park now encompasses about 20,000 acres.

We met my brother and sister-in-law at the Mitchel Canyon Visitor Center (closed for now) and chose a trail.

There are always plenty of warning signs at park trailheads…

…but this was a new one for me. No, we did not see any tarantulas.

We picked up the last map in the box at the start of the trail. Even with the map and plenty of signs it seemed to take a committee to figure out which way to go.

We started on a dirt road but soon turned off the road on the Mitchell Canyon Trail (or was it the Black Creek Trail or ?) Whichever it was, it seems as though they all went UP.

My brother, Dave, recently got a new lens and has become a photography buff. That is good because then I wasn’t the only one stopping to take photos of random things along the way.

This is not the season for the spectacular wildflowers that I’m sure will be here in the spring, but neverhtless there is a lot to catch one’s attention. Seed pods alone are interesting from the Clematis below left to California Buckeye above, the colorful Juniper berries, and the unknown (below right).

I saw only one plant blooming and you have to give the California Fuschia a lot of credit for blooming at this time of year.

Did I say that the trail went UP?

And UP? A lot of it was through the canyon filled with chaparral. With all the fires that burned through California this year it seems amazing that this landscape was spared.

We got to a top. Not THE top, but a top.

Once we got above the brush the view was incredible. Those white towers are the windmills near Birds Landing and Rio Vista.

As we continued we saw more views. This is a panorama stitched together by Lightroom after getting home.

We had been heading south but now the trail turned north. This view shows that the Park and adjacent county or state preserves are an oasis of nature in the middle of the surrounding urban centers.

The view to the south. I think that is the Mt. Diablo peak, although there was another peak to the left of this shot, so I’m not sure which is the real summit.

The view east. Can you see the snow-capped Sierras in the distance?

We knew which peak we were on. This is the view northwest.

We eventually headed downhill.

But there were still more peaks to climb if one desired.

More map consultation too. Is this trail going to take us back to the parking lot or around another mountain?

A few of the last photos show another person with us. That is a young woman who lives in nearby Clayton and was venturing out alone. Way back near the beginning she saw us on the trail and asked directions. We told her that we’d never been here but we had a map, so she came along with us. We wondered later if she would ever choose to go hiking again after teaming up with all of us “old” folks who just kept at it for 7 miles, most of which seemed to be UP.

I was going to write more about some of the last photos but for some reason I can’t add any more text boxes to this post. Is that Squarespace telling me that the post is already long enough?

THE END.

High Mountains and Blue Skies

We celebrated my one year recovery from a serious accident by hiking in the mountains with our private guides (son and daughter-in-law who live near El Dorado National Forest and are both wildland firefighters in various capacities).

I’ve been seeing Instagram posts by my Artery colleague, photographer Jock Hamilton, about his hikes in the Sierras and the fabulous fall colors. I wanted to make sure we got there before the color was gone.

Daughter-in-law Kaleena planned the day. We met at their house outside of Pollock Pines and drove to a campground near Woods Lake not far from Carson Pass. Some of the photos in this post were taken by Matt or Kaleena.

We took the trail to Winnemucca Lake.

There are some impressive trees along this trail. We saw a few junipers that must be several hundred years old.

It wasn’t too long before we got above the tree line and into the Mokelumne Wilderness.

The landscape was very dry even though we are in mid-October. The dogs were grateful that there was a small creek where there was still water.

Matt brought his drone to get some aerial footage of the area. That’s it just above the big rock.

We have lift off!

As she has does when Matt flies the drone here, Ginny went a little nutty chasing and barking at the drone…

…until I called her off. I didn’t like her barking disturbing the peacefulness of the area.

Winnemucca Lake. It was windy enough here that there were white caps on the water.

The trail continued on to other lakes. We were between 8500’ and 9400’ for most of this hike. The “kids” and dogs were ahead of us on this part.

Nothing will make you feel more out of shape than living at sea level and hiking uphill in the high mountains. This is the view back down to Winnemucca Lake.

There was a small amount of snow on the north side of this peak. We were after fall color and found it in the low plants growing along the trail.

If you get up high enough on the rocks near the trail then you can see Lake Tahoe.

Just off to the left in the last photo but too far away to really see there are aspen that have changed color.

The next lake was Round Top Lake surrounded by willows that have turned yellow.

On the way down.

We found the site of the long-closed Lost Cabin Mine. One report says there is an old Model T there. I can’t identify this vehicle but Matt thought he’d try it.

Here is another massive juniper on the trail back to where we parked.

On the drive back to Pollock Pines we stopped at a couple of places to immerse oursevles in the brilliance of the changing aspens.

The glow of the trees in the sunlight is incredible.

Thanks to Matt and Kaleena for a truly great day!

Hiking Again

Normally we would choose to visit Stebbins Canyon in the spring when the temperature is mild, the hills are green, and there are wildlfowers everywhere. But as many of you know we had complications this year. So this is my first hike since last summer (and thinking back that one would have been in September in Colorado.

We usually take the Blue Ridge Trail which is about 5 miles. When you look closely at this map you see that most of it is considered “moderate to difficult” or “difficult to hazardous”. We took our regular route which was to start with the southern part and walk up the trail above the creek which is dry this time of year.

That is the easy part.

Everything is very dry right now but that doesn’t mean that its not interesting.

Pipestem Clematis gone to seed.

What an amazing plant!

The part that is described as “moderate to difficult” is mostly UP. There has been a lot of tail maintenance since I was there last. There was a very destructive fire a few years ago so some of the maintenance has been to replace the steps that were destroyed. There is also a lot of new signage which is appreciated.

Some includes plant ID like this.

There is also plenty of this plant…poison oak.

Speaking of hazards and signs, do you see all the potential hazards in this area? We didn’t see very many people on the trail but I got thinking that right now people (who may carry Covid-19) may be more feared than mountain lions or bears.

After you finish the “moderate to difficult” part of the trail you get up to the ridge and the “difficult to hazardous” part. From this point we still had to get to the top of the part to the left in this photo and the trail continues on to that point in the center of the photo—you can barely see the trail going up the ridge. That is not yet the end of the UP part and there is another smaller rise right after that. Then you descend on the trail that zig zags down the slope just to the right of that point in the photo. The first part of the trail is mostly shaded but there is no shade on this part of the trail along the ridge and then back down.

When you’re on the ridge you can see Lake Berryessa to the north.

This is a better view of the trail that continues up the ridge before you get to the downhill. It doesn’t look particularly hazardous here, but a lot of the trail prior to this involves climbing over rocks and not falling down.

Dan said that if I was getting a grade for my first hike this year he’d give me an A for perseverance and effort and maybe a B for agility and stabliity. We’re going to do it again next week so I can try for straight A’s.