Lovely day out on the trails. Still plenty of water in the creeks and waterfalls, and the wildflowers are really starting to pop. Feeling very grateful to live in these beautiful mountains.
Backbone #10
Tag: hiking
Nicholas Flat
Vic’s sister and brother-in-law are visiting from Australia, so we took a leisurely hike to introduce them to the SM Mountains. It was lovely to meet them; I hope that we can meet up again next time I’m Downunder.
creek/paddle
There’s so much water flowing in our mountains at the moment. It’s such a joy to poke around in it and get a little (or a lot!) wet.
stolon
Annette noticed that these two cliff-aster-y looking plants were joined by a runner, the way strawberry or spider plants propagate. (A bit of googling led me to the botanical name for this joining structure: it’s called a stolon). I’ve seen a lot of cliff asters and other related Asteraceae but have never observed this growth habit. I don’t have a positive ID on the plant, but I’ll certainly be looking for other examples while I’m out on the trails.
Backbone #7
Section 7 is in the books. Most of this trail was new to us, and we enjoyed it a lot. The steep uphill sections and exposed ridge might not be fun on a hot summer today, but right now they’re just lovely.
boot care
I’ve been hiking in these boots for at least 25 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever conditioned them. But this winter, my socks have been getting soaked, so it was time to apply some waterproofing. I found an ancient can of Nikwax under the bathroom sink; it had separated into a sticky thick orange wax, and a light creamy grease. Hopefully the grease will do the trick, because that’s what I rubbed into the leather. 🥾
Backbone #6
Easy section this time, in one of my favourite parts of Malibu Creek State Park. It was fun to see thousands of acorns sprouting on the forest floor, even knowing that only the slimmest fraction of them will grow into trees.
Backbone #5
The Backbone adventure proceeds apace. Five sections down, eight to go. This section is particularly enjoyable, with spectacular rock formations and awesome views. And, at this time of year, lots of fungi!
Paeonia californica
Easy part of the Backbone Trail. Glad to see the native peonies emerging!
Paeonia californica, a perennial herbaceous plant reaching a height of 35–70 cm, undergoes subterranean retreat during the summer and reemerges with the onset of winter rains. Its flowering period primarily spans from January to March, followed by the development of two to five fruits per flower.
Indigenous to southwestern California and northern Baja California, California peonies thrive in dry hillsides within the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities. Frequently found as understory plants, they grow up to an elevation of 1500 m.
backbone #1
Over the next few months, I’ll be hiking the 67-mile/108-km Backbone Trail in easy chunks. Annette and I started with section one on New Years Day, Will Rogers to Trippet Ranch. It was a gorgeous day, and we were tired and happy at the end. A great way to start the year!
hashiworks 