Category Archives: nature|wildflowers

nature, nature|wildflowers, photography, photography|landscape, photography|wildflowers, trails, trails|smmc open space

Upper Las Virgenes Canyon – Cheeseboro Ridge Loop

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This weekend I decided to give my legs a break and instead of 9 pounds per foot of ski, binding, boot and climbing skin, treated them each to 13 ounces  of running shoe. I was thinking about it the other day — skiing up San Jacinto with my tele gear is a little like strapping two 5 lb. bags of sugar to each foot, going up to (on average) 9,500 feet, and then climbing 4,000 or so stairs. I either need to get lighter gear, or go back to using my Europa 77s!

Today’s run was an elongated loop through one of the more isolated and rustic areas of upper Las Virgenes Canyon. From the Las Virgenes trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve the 14.5 mile route followed upper Las Virgenes Canyon and Bell Canyon roads to the overgrown (and easy-to-miss) single track that leads to the west and connects to the Edison powerline service road. This Park Service PDF includes a map of the area, and this interactive Cesium browser View shows a trace of my route.

After climbing up and over a rocky ridge and down to the junction with the Sheep Corral Trail, the service road continues south along Cheeseboro Ridge all the way back to the Las Virgenes Canyon trailhead. With all the rain, and recent warm weather, Spring was happening in a big way in the chaparral. Over the course of the run I photographed nearly 40 species of plants that were in bloom. Here are a few of the wildflowers:





Chia




California Buckwheat




Chinese Houses
               
Paintbrush




Deerweed




Yerba Santa


Related post: Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Backcountry

nature, nature|wildflowers, photography, photography|quirky

Lost World

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Chalk liveforever (Dudleya pulverulenta)

It was eerily quiet high on the mountain. No birds chattered in the chaparral, and it was so still the mountain seemed to be holding its breath. Sometimes in cloud and sometimes in sun I made my way along the rocky ridge. Was I on the correct route? In the thick brush and towering rocks it was hard to tell.

Descending along a narrow, rubble strewn path, I stopped at the base of a rocky outcrop. An odd plant was growing on the steeply inclined face, and I climbed up to take a closer look.

The plant looked as if it belonged in the Triassic. Long tentacle-like stalks radiated menacingly from a central spiral of pointed, wedge shaped leaves. The outer leaves of the rosette were wilted and rusty, and the entire plant had the chalky appearance of something that was part alive, and part dead.



I couldn’t quite see the structure of the flowers and leaned closer to take a photo. Suddenly…

This is the point in the story where the plant should grab me, or release a puff of toxic dust from its flowers, or do something equally malevolent. Not this time. But I can’t think of a more bizarre looking plant than a chalk liveforever on a rocky outcrop in full bloom.

From Sunday’s Clouds & Crags trail run.

Some related posts: Chalk Liveforever, Canyon Liveforever

nature, nature|wildflowers, photography, photography|wildflowers

Clarkia Along the Garapito Trail

published
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Speckled Clarkia (Clarkia cylindrica ssp. cylindrica) along the Garapito Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains, near Los Angeles.

Because they tend to bloom in late Spring and early Summer, this species of Clarkia and several others are sometimes referred to as Farewell to Spring.

From last Sunday’s out and back run to Saddle Peak.

Related post: Elegant Clarkia