A Floral Delight at the Sacramento River Bend

Date: April 26, 2014
Place: Sacramento River Bend BLM, Red Bluff, California
Coordinates of the Yana Trail parking lot: 40.271865, -122.196482
Length: about 2 miles
Difficulty: easy

Part Yana Trail and part independent, no-name trail we wandered on. Labeled yellow on the Bend USGS map. 

It is always exciting to discover new places to hike. It is even more so to find a beautiful trail in a place we've driven by so many times and never realized was hiding such a sweet gem of Nature. This is the Sacramento River Bend (SRB).
I-5 is the main route to northern California and for the most part, until about Redding, it stretches through the Central Valley, with very little to look at save for endless fields and orchards.
The are, of course, the National Wildlife Refuges along the Sacramento River, such as Colusa NWR that we discovered by a lucky chance.
This was that last day of our spring break road trip and I have learned about the Sacramento River Bend just the day before. I had gone into the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office to inquire about hiking trails around Susanville, and learned that there is really only one worth recommending - the famous Bizz Johnson Trail. But the nice lady who helped me there has a daughter in Redding and was very familiar with the outdoors recreational possibilities in that area. When I told her we were heading that direction she handed me a brochure. Go there, she said.

Flower (mostly Goldfield) mats all over. Spring at the SRB 

So we did. After our hike to Whiskeytown Falls we were homeward bound, but not quite ready to reach there yet. Thinking of a short, easy hike to finish our spring break with, we left I-5 and parked at the Yana Trail parking lot, where, almost immediately, Papa Quail spotted a bird that was new to him:

Ash-throated Flycatcher

In April, the entire area was green and lush. And following the week's rains, it was flooded as well.

Yes, that's Lassen Volcanic NP in the background. The peak itself is barely visible in the clouds. 

We walked slowly along the pond. Papa quail was looking for birds.

Canada Geese by the water

Of which there were plenty.

Red-wing Blackbird

And I was looking for flowers.
My first sighting was very conspicuous, but not very exciting: mats of hairy vicia, a very invasive weed.

Hairy Vicia (Vicia villosa) non-native

Looking further, though, I soon saw other colors as well. Countless of ltitle white flowers were embedded in the green grass like little stars.

There where many white species in bloom there at the time. Most prominent were popcorn flowers and plantains, but some stood out in the crowd.

Valley Tassels (Castilleja attenuata)

The yellow goldfield was prominent everywhere, spotting the location of the vernal pools that had dried up.

Yellow: Vernal Pool Goldfield (Lasthenia fremontii) White: Popcorn Flower (Plagiobothrys sp.)

There was more than one yellow species, of course.

Common Stickyseed (Blennosperma nahum)

Pink was another common color there. Not as dominant as the whites and yellows, the pink flowers certainly stood out in the green background.

Dwarf Brodiaea (Brodiaea minor)

There were many of these small, delicate lilies there. Each was small, but patched together they made lovely pink floral mats.

Harvest Brodiaea (Brodiaea elegans) 

The rains of the past week flooded the fields near the trail. Small dark figures flew over the water at astonishing speed and agility. Barn swallows.

It is very, very difficult to catch a swallow in mid-air. It takes good equipment and a lot of patience, and also some luck.

Cliff Swallow, photo taken by Papa Quail. 

In the water - waders. Several stilt, named after their disproportionally long legs, were searching the flooded field for morsels.

Black-necked Stilt

We passed the pond and the flooded field and crossed the canal. There we turned left only a narrow foot trail which we mistook for the official Yana Trail. The trail we took stretched into the grass fields that was patched and dotted with multitudes of wildflowers.

Some flowers were considerate enough to grow above the grass.

Wilding Ping (Petrorhagia dubia) non-native, invasive.

Some even announced themselves blatantly:

Royal Larkspur (Delphinium variegatum)

But for most, I had to kneel down.

Johnnytuck (Triphysaria eriantha)

Really down ...

Whitehead Navarretia (Navarretia leucocephala)

For some, I needed to almost lie down on my belly, just like a true passionate botanist.

Pygmyweed (Crassula sp.)

I was compelled to drop down more than once :-)

Sierra Mock Stonecrop (Sedella pumila)

At some point I detected a blue dot by the trail. I stepped off and knelt down. When I got up again, the rest of my family were far, far away ...

Doublehorn Calicoflower (Downingia bicornuta)

That day was my first time of seeing the delicate Downingia in bloom. Not far from that spot was another species of Downingia, also small and very delicate.

Toothed Calicoflower (Downingia cuspidata)

When I eventually caught up with my family, they were all excited by something that the chikas caught on the trail - a tiny tree frog.

California Tree frog

I took a quick photo and had the chikas release the frog in the grass. As the relieved critter hopped away we continued along the trail, which brought us near a dry canal that was lined with trees. While Papa Quail kept looking for birds in the trees, I spotted a tall, yellow flower far in the grass field. A Mariposa Lily!

Yellow Mariposa Lily (Calochortus luteus) 

Not stopping to consider the possibility of rattlesnakes I waded through the tall grass for a closer view. As we continued on, though, we saw quite a few of them. At the point where we realized that we were nowhere near our planned route we were looking at an entire field of lilies, a few of which were white.

Yellow Mariposa (Calochortus superbus)

The area is nearly flat, making it difficult to navigate by landmarks. We knew the direction of the Sacramento River where we were supposed to be by then, and we knew we were not anywhere near it. We had the dry canal on one side and a field of green grass strewn with volcanic rocks and dotted with countless mariposa lilies and ookows and the trail we were on was curving eastward.

A field of volcanic rocks at our turning point

We backtracked to the last intersection we had passed. There was an information kiosk there and after some deliberations, we thought we had identified our position.

Ookow (Dichelostemma congestum)

A dirt road stretched from that trail intersection to Bend Ferry Road. That was the way we would take back to the parking lot. It was getting late, however, and the clouds started gathering again. More urgently - the chikas started complaining. They were hungry.

A patch of Sky Lupine (Lupinus nanus) near the dirt road

So Papa Quail took off, jogging down the road. It was getting too cold to just sit and wait so I encouraged the chikas and together we walked along the road as well.

Oaks near the road

Papa Quail carried off his big zoom camera when he went so I didn't get good shots of the gold finches and the woodpeckers I saw along the way. The flowers, though, were a different matter.

Nightblooming false Bindweed (Calystegia atriplicifolia)

It was back to the whites on the way to the car.

White Brodiaea (Triteleia hyacinthina)

The wind picked up and the cloud gathered above. It looked as if it would rain. The chikas complained they were cold and tired so we sat down by the roadside and I hugged them so we all would keep warm.
Papa Quail was greeted with wide smiles of relief when he arrived shortly after with the car.
Thus ended our last hike of our 2014 spring break, which started with flowers and ended with flowers, as spring should. We were on our way home and back to school.

Oaks in a See of Grass

Sacramento River Bend BLM is a new discovery for us. We only touched a bit of what it has to offer. We've seen bird species we haven't seen before, and wildflower richness and diversity that made my head spin. I will gladly go back there for more exploration.


Many thanks to members of the California Native Plants Society for their help in identifying plants!

Second Time the Charm: Whiskeytown Falls

Date: April 26, 2014
Place: Whiskeytown Falls, Redding, California
Trailhead Coordinates: 40.638238, -122.676109
Length: 3 miles
Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous
Trail usage requires fee

After our wintery spring visit to Manzanita Lake we headed down to Redding for the night. The rain has stopped and the sky was clearing up. By morning there was no sign for yesterday's rain, except that the air was much cleaner. So right after breakfast we set out east on CA-299 to Whiskeytown Falls.
We wanted to go there last year but ended up being rained on and hiking Crystal Falls instead. Now we were having another opportunity.

The parking lot is small, but we arrived early enough to find a parking spot. Just ahead of us there was a happy group of girl scouts from Redding and we trailed after them. They were singing quite loudly and cheerfully. While us adult quails were a bit worried that the loud singing will scare away all the wildlife, the elder chika joined them in happy sing-song.

Bicolor Lupine (Lupinus bicolor) near the trailhead

The beginning of the trail is dry and exposed to the sun. The sandstone had swallowed all of yesterday's rain and appeared as patched as ever. The plants, though, appeared lush enough, even those more adept to dryness.

Red isn't just a fall color. Live Oak's new spring growth. 

The open patches provide opportunity for little, herbaceous plants to thrive in the sunlight. And it was springtime for those!

Kellogg's Monkeyflower (Mimulus kellogii)

The girl scout had a break and with some effort we managed to convince the elder chika to separate from her new friends and go on.

Sticky Cinquefoil (Drymocallis glandulosa)

 Yet, every time I stopped to photograph a flower, the cheery girl scouts passed my with song.

Woodland Star (Trientalis latifolia)

For the first part, the trail is almost level. Then crosses Crystal Creek. That point is definitely not dry and exposed.

Crystal Creek crossing

In fact, that area is quite rich with lovely dogwood that were blooming nicely at the time we were there.

Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii). 

After the creek crossing the trail starts ascending. We traded places with the girl scout group a few times but eventually we were ahead, and alone. Not that it helped us seeing any wildlife ...
But flowers were plenty.

Snowy Phlox (Phlox speciosa)

The trail went in and out of the woods but for the most, it was exposed. Almost all the way to the waterfall.

Heartleaf Milkweed (Asclepias cordifolia), budding.

And it got much steeper, too. We started encountering people who entered the trail before us and were now descending. They kept encouraging us, saying: "You're almost there". I always wondered how could that be encouraging to anyone that's huffing and puffing upward. To me it sounded rather annoying (and that didn't stop me from saying the same things to ascending hikers we were passing on our way down).
And then ...

Whiskeytown Falls, lower portion

We were there!

In 2003, after decades of rumors of a large waterfall hidden in the forest, a Whiskeytown National Recreation Area ranger finally located Whiskeytown Falls. In 2005, after the trail has been constructed, this magnificent waterfall was opened to the public. It isn't a true waterfall, but a cascade. An impressive one, to be sure. at 122 meters length and a curve, it is nearly impossible to get it all in one shot.

Whiskeytown Falls

There's a metal staircase that goes along the waterfall almost to the top. The metal rail was icy cold and the water spray rendered the stairs very slippery indeed. We made it slowly to the top and revered.

Darmera peltata, above Whiskeytown Falls

The damp vicinity of the waterfall as covered in greenery of all kinds, and some of it was dotted with colored flowers.

Indian Warrior (Pedicularis densiflora)

The canyon walls all around the waterfall were dripping with water, and a lush, green rock garden flourished all over.

Broadleaf Sronecrop (Sedum spathulifolium)

Some of the flowers were to high up for a close up so I had to point Papa Quail and his mighty zoom lens to a tiny white spot way up above:

California Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum occidentale)

The girl scouts eventually caught up with us and were waiting patiently for us to descend the narrow and slippery staircase. After a short rest at the bottom of the waterfall we got up to go back. Just then, a park ranger came up the trail and engaged us in conversation.

Crystal Creek below the waterfall

He wanted to know if we were enjoying the trail (of course we were!), I asked about the local plants, and the elder chika gave him an unsolicited lecture about all the birds we've seen on our trip and made Papa Quail show some photos on the camera screen.
The ranger also suggested we did some more hiking near the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area headquarters. There was an active osprey's nest there, he said. Eventually we said goodby (not before I asked what were those trees with the delicate leaf-vein pattern), and headed down the trail.

Miners Dogwood (Cornus sessilis) 

We left the girl scouts at the waterfall, and there was no more singing. But still, we didn't see any wildlife that day. Just a couple of all-too-quick lizards. There were many bird songs, though. Some very intense singing came from one particular pine. We spent much time staring at the canopy but never saw the singer.
I did photograph the tree, though. Just in case.

The way down was much faster. The downgrade, and also that I already photographed all the flowers on the way up.

Feathery Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum racemosum)

And not just flowers. This one was sighted and pointed out to me by the elder chika:

Amanita lanei

I have recently learned that this particular mushroom is edible. But even if I had known that at the time of our hike, I wouldn't dare. There are poisonous mushrooms that look very similar and a mistake in identification could prove deadly. And even if I was sure, I wouldn't harvest anything in a protected nature area.

Small Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophilla heterophylla)

We got back to the parking lot to find it full and overflowing. I guess we did pass quite a few other hikers that morning but had only paid attention to the lovely Redding girl scouts :-)

We did it quite quickly. All and all, the trail took us about three hours, including the lengthy conversation we had with the ranger by the waterfall. We almost took his advice to look for the osprey's nest but the chikas started complaining they were hungry so we drove back to town for lunch. I did make Papa Quail pull over for a patch of iris I detected by the roadside.

Slender Iris (Iris tenuissima) by the roadside

That was out last day of our spring break road trip and soom after lunch were were going home.
But ... we still had time for one more hike. A very surprising hike, at the Sacramento River Bend.



Many thanks to members of the California Native Plants Society for their help in identifying plants and the fungus!