Coming Full Circle: Around Lake Chabot

Date: April 30, 2013
Place: Lake Chabot-Anthony Chabot Regional Park, Castro Valley, California
Coordinates: 37.71757, -122.10469
Length: 9 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous

I opened this blog on April 2012 and my first entry was about a hike in Anthony Chabot Regional Park. I had planned to go around the lake but was redirected to the lovely Goldenrod-Cascade loop instead.
Last April I finally got to do what I originally had planned: to hike around Lake Chabot. 

I started my hike at the Lake Chabot Marina, walking counter clockwise on the East Shore Trail. Right at the beginning I saw this pretty spotted towhee, singing on a small pine tree:

Spotted Towhee singing in a pine tree

I go often on the East Shore Trail for exercise walks. For 1.7 miles it is a wide paved road that any time of day is shared by other walkers, joggers, bikers, parents with strollers, and anglers carrying their catch. I usually walk to the end of the pavement and back to the Marina.
Nearly always I regret not having taken the camera with me. This hike I compensated for it big time.

Lake Chabot, a view to the north

And the island in the middle - a bird sanctuary. The perfect nesting place for the Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron

Although late in April, the Buckeye tree is just preparing to bloom. The inflorescence looks like candles just before burning. All poised.

California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)

And nearby - an Elderberry tree. I used to notice it just for the distinguishable bunches of blue berries. Now I learned it has a lovely blossom too. The Elderberry was used by the Native Americans for treating respiratory illnesses. It is still used for this purpose today - its extract incorporated in over the counter pills.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea)

And from medicinal to poison: the very common Poison Oak. Ouchy, yet beautiful.

Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)

While annual bloom was on the decline, the shrubs and geophytes were going on strong. The hill sides were orange for Monkeyflower bushes in bloom. I chose to post a close up:

Sticky Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus)

And this White Globe Lily, the common relative of the endemic Mt. Diablo Globe Tulip. There were many of these pretty flowers all along the trail.

White Globe Lily (Calichortus albus)

Small creeks run down hillsides and into the lake. This one I often see running during winter. This past winter I even saw it gashing. At the end of April there was barely moisture in the dirt.

Approaching the end of the pavement of the East Shore Trail one can see large and perfectly round islands of tule. I suspect each started with a single plant which spread equally in all directions to form a perfect circle. These tule islands are perfect hiding places for nesting coots and other water fowl. Kayaking in this water is a good way to approach the bird in an easy, relaxed manner for close observation. This, though, I save for another day.

Himalayan Blackberry is plenty on the slopes by the trail, and in between other wildflowers can be seen.

Fiestaflower (Pholistoma aunitum)

It is nice to see that there is much native vegetation still growing in the park. I am slowly getting to know the local plant species and their origins. The diversity of plants in the Bay Area is just staggering!

Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus)

Just past the pavement there is a little box where anglers can get their fishing permits. A pair of Bewick's Wren fancied that box and I sat and watched them for some time as they flew in and out, carrying twigs to build their nest. I informed the park authorities about the bird's activity, hoping they'll put a sign to redirect the anglers to another location for their permits. Wouldn't it be nice if the pair would get to raise their young there? I really aught to go back and find out!

Bewick's Wren in a permit box

The East Shore Trail curves sharply to the left and follows the lake's contours. A narrow bridge is hang there over the creek but the trail widens once more after crossing it. On that side of the lake the area is drier and sunnier. The flowers I see are, in turn, different.

California Wild Rose (Rosa californica) entertaining a visitor.

At this time of year, practically everything in bloom is perennial.

Wooly Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja foliolosa)

Not long enough into the dry season. The greenery is just amazing.  The hills display 50 shades of green. This number is just for the pun of course. In reality, there are at least a 100 shades of green if not more!

50 shades of green

The vegetation on the lake shore thinned enough to see this heron. It looked back at me with some concern but didn't fly away. 

Black-crowned Night Heron

At some point the trail leaves the lake shore and climbs up the hill. I was getting very hot and trying to find the origin of the calls from above the hillside provided a good enough excuse to stop and look around. With some effort I finally detected the caller: a papa quail in the chaparral! 

California Quail, male

I told him I was already spoken for and moved on. The main trail continues toward Honker Bay and that is the biker 12 miles loop. I turned left onto Columbine Trail, which continues along the lake shore, high above it.
The Columbine trail goes below the campgrounds and is basically all in Eucalyptus-dom. There isn't much undergrowth in that forest, save for the ever-present poison oak and a few weeds, mainly thistle. I had planned to have a rest stop at the half way point but the trail there is very narrow and outside of it there was too much hostile vegetation.
After about 6 miles the trail goes town towards the lake and the eucalyptus is replaced by native oaks and laurels. On my way down I was met with loud screams from above: an angry pair of chickadees were shouting at me.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee, shouting with a full beak.

No wonder. They had a nest in a tree hole nearby. I looked inside and saw a few yellow beaks in the darkness. It was too dark to photograph though. I wished success to the parents and moved on, descending toward Bass Cove and the meeting point with Bass Cove Trail. 
The trail leaves the forest on the descend and the birds' shouts were replaced by very different calls: the loud, high-pitch shrieks of the Cicada. It took some effort but eventually I spotted one of the singers:

A singer on a hot green leaf

Amazing how such a small bug can make such a big voice!  
The Columbine Trail meets the Bass Cove Trail at the crossing of the Grass Valley Creek and continues north to become the Cascade Trail. I turned left onto Bass Cove Trail and continued along the lake.
It was like seeing snow in the middle of summer. Very odd.

Not snow, of course. Seeds. Gazillions of seeds. All from this, not very large, tree:

Goodding's Black Willow (Salix gooddingii)

Very pretty when trapped in a spider web. I'm not sure the spider was happy about it, though.

Bass Cove Trail brings me back to the water front and under the trees. The tree cover isn't complete, though. Patches of sunlight filtering through the canopy brings out the beauty of the ferns ... wait. It is the penetrating sunlight that enables this lovely fern undergrowth to begin with!

Bracken fern

In places, there is a clear view of Bass Cove. There I saw these affectionate mother and child:

Pied-billed Grebe

A small group of huge fish that troubled the waters with their spring activities:

Possibly catfish?

And a tired-looking Turkey Vulture, quenching its thirst with lake water:

Turkey Vulture

The Bass Cove Trail follows the lake all the way to the dam. At some point the Goldenrod Trail joins it. I did describe this part of the trail before, but this time I got to see (and photograph) the butterflies!

Common Buckeye Butterfly

This one kept fluttering about. Eventually I did get a clear snapshot:

Variable Checkerspot

Here's the dam that keeps Lake Chabot in place, built in 1874-1875 by Chinese laborers. The lake provided water for residents of San Leandro and the area. It is still held as an emergency water source and swimming in it is prohibited.

Lake Chabot Dam

I crossed the dam and got onto the West Shore Trail, wide and paved as well. There are interesting information panels along the dam and the north part of the West Shore Trail, telling the story of building the dam, treating the water, and the nature of the lake and area. There is also information about Anthony Chabot, the man responsible for many of the East Bay lakes and after whom the lake and park are named.
At that point of my hike I started to hurry. It was almost time to pick up the chikas from school. I did stop to appreciate the trail side flowers, however:

Sitka Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)

I was excited at first to see this one:

Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber)

It colonizes the disturbed areas of the hillside that were exposed by rock slides and gives much color to the bare patches. I did learn later that this species is non native and likely have propagated from city gardens where is is quite popular.

But the best treat of this hike I got just as I was closing the circle, on my last steps before reaching the Lake Chabot Marina. There in the woods I saw an orchid! A Spotted Coralroot that was just beginning to flower:

Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata)

The short way around the lake is 9 miles of beauty. I walked it in a leisurely pace and completed the circle at exactly 5 hours. Should have done it for the one-year anniversary of this blog maybe, but I never was good about remembering dates :-)


As I was writing this post I got the urge to go and get another look at the orchids and the wrens, so I went this morning to the park with my camera.
Almost four weeks after my April hike - nearly all the orchids in that patch were done, except one that was still in bloom. Waiting for me, I suppose :-) This time I climbed up the slope of poison oak to get a close up:

Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata)

 After visiting the orchid I went to check on the couple of wrens in the fishing permit box.
On my way I saw the Buckeye candles alight with bloom:

California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)

And I was tempted to take a close-up of that too:

California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)

When I got to the box I saw no activity there and no sign that it was ever used for anything but getting the permits. A stack of new little envelopes was in the place where last month I've seen the wrens. Four weeks after - they could have finished their parenting and flown away. More likely that they had had to relocate. Probably better for them anyway.

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

From High Disappointment to Low Elation: Finally, Sheep!

Date: December 30, 2012
Place: Dead Indian Canyon, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountain National Monument, Palm Desert, California
Coordinates: 33.66804, -116.40830
Difficulty: moderate to strenuous. Involves considerable rock scrambling in the narrow part of the canyon.

Our day started with much excitement and anticipation. This day would be the height of our winter vacation: hiking in San Jacinto State Park.
At last we unpacked the special bag where we kept our snow gear and dressed for real winter. We made it to the tram early enough and managed to take the third one up. The tram ride is not cheap but is definitely spectacular. For residents of the area it is a short-cut to snow and fun winter activities.
Indeed, this was the scenery that awaited us at the top:

Fresh snow on San Jacinto

The temperature was in the low 20's. Me and the chikas go every year to experience the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains so we are quite accustomed to winter conditions. And at first, the chikas were excited to play in the snow.
They were much less excited to go hiking in the snow and started complaining almost immediately. The walk was not easy and the chikas kept dragging behind. I tried all kinds of prompts and even cookie bribery but to no avail. We planned a 4-miles loom. I don't think we made it far beyond even 1 mile before their complaints killed all of my excitement. Also, the weather took a turn for the worse. Clouds came in and it started snowing. The temperature dropped and despite the snow boots and the double wool socks our toes begun to freeze.

Winter in action on Mount San Jacinto

We turned back. My hopes for an exciting adventurous hike were crushed. The chikas were miserable and I was in a very foul mood, and all of the morning's good spirit was gone. We took the tram down, having spent less than 3 hours in the heights of the mountain.

A Steller's Jay braving the weather

It was Papa Quail who saved the day. After preparing a glum lunch at the hotel room he suggested we go back to Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument and hike the Dead Indian Canyon, were other hikers have seen the Bighorn sheep the day before.
I wasn't very hopeful regarding the sheep, but hiking was a far better idea than to sit in the hotel and mop for the rest of the day. So there we went, back to Palm Desert.

We checked in briefly at the visitor center and heard that there were no new reports of Bighorn Sheep that morning. Regardless, we proceeded to the trailhead and started walking. The first part of the trail is where the old Art Smith trail used to be before the Carrizo Canyon Ecological Preserve was closed off for 9 months of the year. The Art Smith Trail begins now in the north side of the canyon. We walked along the south side.

The entrance to Dead Indian Canyon. The green bushes are Tamarisk.

At first we walked easily on soft sand. A large sandbar stretches along the current water track. It is interesting to see the hard-packed sand: that's sandstone in process. I made a mental note to return there in a million years and see it rock :-) 

Packed sandbar

The easy walk was soon over. Dry waterfalls and large boulders comprised the rest of our ascend. The chikas loved it. Fun rock climbing was everything they needed to forget their morning blues. I needed a bit more still and was walking steadily onward, rarely stopping to take photos. A hiker we met that was just leaving the canyon told us he saw some sheep by the oasis. This was enough to light a fire under my feet. I hurried my family and rushed forward. I could see the oasis ahead - the very same palms we saw from the Randall Henderson Trail on the day before.

Dead Indian Canyon Oasis

It was there that I thought I saw something moving on the rocks to the left. I pulled my binoculars up and ...

YES!!!!!!

OH, YES!!!!!

Finally! Our wish to view Bighorn sheep in nature was fulfilled, and the quest that begun a week before in Anza Borrego State Park has succeeded. All of that morning's woes were gone from my mind as well. The day has turned out to be climatic after all :-)
It was a nice herd. We counted two rams and five ewes, one of which wore a numbered collar. Two days later the entire area would be closed to people to allow these magnificent animals to breed unhindered.

I was floating with elation all the way back. The chikas played 'Bighorn sheep', bleating and jumping on the rocks. I finally was able to appreciate the beautiful desert rocks once more.

Before reaching the parking lot I stopped to pay closer attention to the vegetation at the canyon mouth.
What I saw was a large area where trees have been cut down and removed. Normally this kind of sight would have made me sad. However, these trees are Tamarisk - an invasive species in the US and a very aggressive one too. It thrives in arid climates and high salinity soils. The scenery I witnessed was no doubt an effort to remove the Tamarisk for the benefit of the native plants in the area. Tamarisk, however, is very difficult to eradicate and there were quite a few that bounced right back.

This was our last day in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument until next time, which I don't know when it'll be. Soon, I hope! After all, there's that mountain there that I didn't get to hike properly yet :-)

In Quiet Solitude: The Randall Henderson Trail

Date: December 29, 2012
Place: Randall Henderson Nature Trail, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountain National Monument, Palm Desert, California
Coordinates: 33.66986, -116.40726
Length: the entire loop is about 2.5 miles. There are two shorter loop options.
Difficulty: moderate

After the hike of Carrizo Canyon we had a picnic at the visitor center of the Santa Rosa an San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. The visitor center there has a lovely botanical garden where many birds hang out, with or without the encouragement of bird feeders. (Click on the photos for an enlarged view).

Lesser Goldfinch (western, adult male)

Costa's Hummingbird, female

Roadrunner

We had about 2 hours before sunset so we decided to hike some more. The Randall Henderson Nature Trail is right there by the visitor center and seeing that there are convenient turning points along the way, we decided to hike it.

The trail goes up and along a desert wash all the way to the water divide. Clouds were coming in as we walked (later that evening it even rained a bit). In conjunction, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped.


It being December, nothing bloomed anywhere. The shrubs looked as if they'd hardly got any rain that winter.  The cacti, though, are pretty year round.

Branched Pencil Cholla (Cylindropuntia ramosissima)

One of the most common cacti in the southern California desert: the jumping cholla, named so for its tendency to leave its detachable and very prickly segments on passer-bys, unfortunate enough to have brushed against it. We were already familiar with this trait,

Cylindropuntia fulgida

It was getting late and cold, and the chickas were getting very tired. We did, however, manage to complete the longest loop without many complaints on their side. We did have to resort to cookie bribery though.


While the ascent was fairly mild, we did end up quite high above the valley and had a very nice view from there. We even managed to see the oasis of the Dead Indian Canyon. The dusk lighting was very poor so I adjusted the contrast of this photo to bring out those inviting palms:

Oasis of Dead Indian Canyon

We didn't see any Bighorn sheep on this trail either. But we did see a bird we've never seen before - a (very beautiful) Cactus Wren. It was my older chika who spotted it first and she was really jazzed for the remainder of the hike :-)

Cactus Wren

It was almost dark when we finished our hike and the visitor center was already closed. It was time for dinner and bed. Our winter vacation was coming rapidly to a close. We had planned one day more to this area. Tomorrow would be dedicated to what we had expected to be the cherry of this trip: to the heights of Mount San Jacinto.

Sunset over the Coachella Valley

Once Again on The Chase: Carrizo Canyon at Palm Desert

Date: December 29, 2012
Place: Carrizo Canyon, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountain National Monument, Palm Desert, California
Coordinates: 33.66804, -116.40830
Length: about 3 miles in and out.
Difficulty: moderate. Involves some rock scrambling at the end.

We were nearing the end of our winter vacation when we arrived at Palm Springs. Our day started with attempts to get clear information of Mount San Jacinto, a task that proved to be surprisingly challenging. By the time we finally got it, it was already late to go up there, so we drove a bit south to the town of Palm Desert, to visit the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. There, at the visitor center, we found the most helpful and informative staff in the area, who helped us plan our hikes for the entire time we spent in that region.
The first thing we noticed as we pulled into the visitor center's parking lot was the big statue of a Bighorn ram. 
"Yes, they're up in the hills," we were told.
And so, with new hope we renewed our pursuit of the elusive Bighorn Sheep.
"There are at the Carrizo Reserve," we were told. "On January 2nd that area will be closed off for nine months as to not interfere with their breeding."

Carrizo Canyon Trail is labeled yellow

That was on December 30 so, no time to waste! We headed into the Carrizo Canyon with hopes high.

The wash mouth of Carrizo Canyon.

Facing the parking lot is a wide and dry desert wash. It is the joining point of two tributaries: Carrizo Canyon to the left (south fork) and Dead Indian Canyon to the right (North fork). We turned left, up the Carrizo Canyon.

Mistletoe

For a couple hundren yards the Carrizo wash is wide and its bed is dotted with desert shrubs, many of which were decorated with red mistletoe and guarded by a phainopepla bird. There were other birds too, Small and quick to fly away.

A black-breasted sparrow next to the cactus

After about a mile, the wash narrows and rocky walls shade its interior.

Early afternoon sun peaking over the cliff. 

One of the nice things about the desert scenery is that the bare rocks are naked to the eye with all their beautiful formations and colors.

A white dike through the red layers

Twisted rock layers tell the ancient story of the immense forces that shaped this region millions of years ago, and still do so now.
 

I find it awe inspiring to think of these rocks as something plastic, bending and folding like playdough.
The few plants that decorate these rocks add to their serene beauty.

These amazing cacti make use of the tiny crevices in the rock and are able to establish themselves on what appears to be bare rock!


As the canyon narrows, we reached the first signs of oasis: a lone palm tree at the fork where two tributaries join.






















We continued on to the right fork. The canyon became even narrower and soon we had to scramble up boulders and dry cascades. The chickas enjoyed this part most, and so did their mamma :-)
After a few hundred yards we reached a tall dry waterfall which blocked our progress. There we sat down and had a snack break.

The Carrizo Canyon waterfall.

We could, in fact, climb up the waterfall, and me and Papa Quail actually did climb it in turns. Behind it were a few more palm trees, indicating of underground water running near the surface. 

The oasis behind the fall

The elder chicka probably could have climbed it too, but we weren't sure about the younger one. So we returned to the fork and headed up the left branch, ascending the short trail that leads to an observation point.
Looking to the east we could see across the Coachella Valley, an area that in previous times was flooded with water, the remains of which is now Salton Sea. In the photo, Palm Desert is right below us, green and inviting.Behind it are the mustard-colored hills of the Coachella Valley Preserve. The brown mountains in the background are the western part of Joshua Tree National Park. 

Coachella Valley

After that we came down and returned to the open wash, enjoying the easy walk in the thin gravel and the unique vegetation. This shrub caught my eye, and I thank the members of the California Native Plant Society for their help in identifying it:

Datura (inoxia?)

Altogether, it was a very enjoyable hike. We've seen beautiful rocks, plants and birds. But no Bighorn sheep. They, as we found out when we returned to the visitor center, were seen by some lucky hikers on the other side of the Carrizo Reserve.