In My Footsteps — Jane's Blog


August 18, 2010: Mud Lake, Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Jane
It's not on the park map anymore, but I still like to visit Mud Lake several times a year. It used to be a pond of several acres frequented by frogs and egrets; now it's completely filled with cattails. Change happens, it is the natural process—just as Mirror Lake in Yosemite Valley is no longer a lake, but a wet meadow.
 
Mud Lake lies under the flight path into SFO, and every ten minutes or so a 747 sails along overhead. I have a little dream, which I have no hope of ever fulfilling, of being in a place, even for a very short time, where there is no trace of humans—no trash, no power lines, no airplanes droning above. 
 
The drive out to Pt. Reyes is especially wonderful at this time of year. Pale lavender pennyroyal crowds the roadside and in the town of Olema the naked ladies are out in full pink glory—Amaryllis belladonna, that is. The hike up Stewart Trail is, as always, quiet and serene. Dust settling on everything, leaves turning yellow and brown, seed heads drooping—all these make the forest look just a little dilapidated, the end of summer. A few flowers remain: monkey flower, dandelion, elk clover. White morning glories are the most abundant, climbing over shrubs and trees.
 
I meet more than the usual number of hikers and horseback riders out enjoying the first sunny morning we have had all summer. Ridge Trail is extremely muddy and torn up by horses. I have to walk at the very edges of the path and keep bumping into stinging nettle, which is still tingling on my arm as I type this hours later.
 
For more complete details of this hike, see Mud Lake under Hiking Descriptions.
 
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In My Footsteps — Jane's Blog


July 26 & 27, 2010: Carson Pass

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Jane
My favorite habitat—at or above the tree line, in northern California about 10,000 feet above sea level. Every year I make a pilgrimage in midsummer, at the height of wildflower season, to this magical place. I couldn't live there year-round, but I must get my alpine fix every twelve-month. Odd years I seek out the many spectacular hiking trails along the Highway 395 corridor from Mono Lake to Mount Whitney. Even years, like this one, I spend a few days at Carson Pass on Highway 88.
 
This year because of the late snows, late snow melt, and late rains, the wildflower show is mind-blowing. It's always wonderful on the trail to Frog Lake and Lake Winnemucca (six-mile round trip along the Pacific Crest Trail) and this year the flowers are in super abundance. The low, spreading phlox, from white to pink to lavender, is not past its prime, as it usually is in July, and the white heather is still to be found.  Even the polemonium, Jacob's ladder, is covered with tiny blue flowers. My rarest find is Mimulus torreyi, a wee red monkeyflower that I have seen only at the eastern end of Frog Lake. I find three species of lupine, of which Lupinus breweri is the smallest and most elegant. Among the lupine grow three species of Castilleja, C. applegatei, C. miniata, and C. nana. For the yellows we have mule ears in their legions and tall golden groundsels. For purple we have meadow penstemons and Copeland's owl's clover. Many more species, at least sixty-five that I can name, crowd along the easy hike to Lake Winnemucca. The sky is full of big billowy clouds, some very black and threatening-looking, but no thunderstorm develops. The day stays cool, just perfect for hiking.
 
The next day I go across the highway and take the trail up over Meiss Saddle to Round Lake, about a ten-mile round trip, which follows the PCT and the Tahoe Rim Trail. I see many of the same species I saw yesterday, plus thousands of dusky horkelia and nude buckwheat. Mule ears are abundant here too. I find a whole meadow full of white bistort. Unexpectedly, I come across several red snow plants down near the lake.
 
Many flowers; few people; tall, silent trees. Mmmmm.
 
 
To view my Picasa album of this trip, paste this link into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jwmerryman/CarsonPassJuly2010#
 
 
For more about alpine habitat, read Where the Wind Lives under Mini Book Reviews.

In My Footsteps — Jane's Blog


July 13, 2010: Annadel State Park

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Jane
Annadel State Park—5,000 acres of quintessential California landscape of oak woodland and meadow on the eastern edge of the city of Santa Rosa. It's the height of summer and many California natives have gone dormant—they prefer to sit out the rainless months. The legions of spring wildflowers have vanished. Oh, yes, here's a blue brodiaea, there a yellow hypericum, over there a few white yampah. But, wait, gathered among the golden grasses edging the trail are thousands of tiny pink centauries, European immigrants that lend beauty to the park in their modest, six-inch-tall way. It's easy to miss them. All the blossoms are tightly closed on this overcast morning, but around noon the sun bursts forth and each centaury opens its five pointed petals into a pink star.
 
I go up Canyon Trail, where I meet joggers and bikers enjoying the cool morning. I turn onto Marsh Trail and head toward Buick Meadow, passing through a damp, dim redwood grove where I find a several stalks of the little orchid, Habenaria elegans. A doe and two fawns stare at me from the dappled woods, not afraid, just curious; later I come across two stags grazing on an open hillside. Groups of wild turkeys pick their way through the trees; I see two females with two babies each. These ungainly birds have also lost their fear of humans and no longer scurry to hide in the woods. At the top of Canyon Trail, all is silent except for a chorus of crickets. I cover ten miles and meet four hikers.