The Gorgeous Gorge of Arroyo Seco

Date: May 18, 2016
Place: Ventana Wilderness, Los Padres National Forest
Coordinates: 36.234113, -121.487442
Length: 6 miles
Level: moderate

My friend was going to defend her research proposal on mid May. She wanted to go on a long wilderness trek after that. As usually happens with plans that depend on schoolwork, our time was filled up with other pressing business and so our plan was altered and our trip had shrunk into a night and a day.
I took the opportunity and selected a destination that was completely new to me in an unfamiliar area:  the Ventana Wilderness. A quick scan of the options got me focused on the Arroyo Seco region.
My friend had no idea where I was taking her, but when she realized we are going south on 101 to the vicinity of Soledad she suggested going to the Pinnacles National Park instead - she had never been there before. I, on the other hand, had been there many times, including quite recently and I preferred exploring a new place. Anyway, it was already late and after a little discussion my friend agreed to continue along my original plan.
It was 11 at night when we arrived at the arroyo Seco campground. As we were pitching the tent I noticed something bustling through the shrub not bothering to keep quiet. It was a skunk. After a few moments it went away and I let out a sigh of relief and continued setting camp. Within a short time we were tucked in and sleeping.

I had planned to hit the trail shortly after first light. We woke up early enough, but it took us quite a while to find were the trailhead was. I wanted to go down the Santa Lucia Trail but we didn't find the actual trailhead and so we went on the Arroyo Seco Road, a wide dirt road that leads down along the river.
It was well after sunrise when we actually started our hike.
Almost immediately I had stopped: an intense sweet fragrance filled the air and my nostrils. Ceanothus! I was excited and beckoned my friend to get closer and inhale.
As it turned out, that bush wasn't ceanothus and the close-up sniff made me sneeze. I'd do it again, though :-)

Oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor var. discolor)

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining brilliantly and I was amazed by the abundance of bloom so late in spring. It was clearly the last wave - the perennial shrubs and bushes. 

Bush Beardtongue (Keckiella breviflora) 

We were walking down a well packed dirt road. According to the map there should have been a narrow foot path parallel to the road but we didn't find it so we went on with the road.

Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja affinis) and Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum)

Someone called me from the roadside - a male California Quail standing atop a bush, heralding the new day.

California Quail

By the trailside I saw a small penstemon shrub. It was a penstemon species I haven't seen before so i approached for a closer inspection of the plant. It looked strange - unlike any other penstemon I've seen before, this one had its flowers plugged with something striped yellow and black.
I took a closer look and gaped. These plugs were insect behinds. Almost inside every flower rested a bee-looking insect. They were very quiet and my friend suggested they might be dead. I couldn't think of any cause that would have dead bees stuck inside penstemon flowers. I assumed they were asleep (I did hear before of instances where insects sleep inside flowers to keep warm).
I touched a plugged flower and out crowded ... a wasp!
I jumped backward. Bees are one thing but wasps scare me. The wasp, however, was very slow and appeared dazed. I apologized profusely to the wasp for waking it up and hurried down the trail, my friend following closely.

Foothill Penstemon, (Penstemon heterophyllus) with night guests. 

Soon the wasps flew out of my mind. We were walking now on a north-facing slope and the vegetation was thick and lush. Buckeye trees were blooming like precious chandeliers and underneath them celebrated the herbaceous wildflowers, including the rich, velvety purple of the hummingbird sage.

Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)

My friend directed my attention to a large, white, candle-like thing on the opposite slope across the creek. I identified it immediately: a chaparral yucca. Soon we saw more of them, some were quite close to us. Tall and erect, they carry their bright bloom like a massive, impressive torch.

Chaparral Yucca in the sunlight. 

We were walking up high along the Santa Lucia Creek. We could hear the water flow and often see it too. It looked very inviting and we were looking for an opportunity to go down to the water.

Orange threads covered some of the shrubs on the slope.  There wasn't as much of it as I've seen last year at similar places but it was still very prevalent - the parasitic dodder plant. 

Dodder (Cuscuta sp.)

My friend was very impressed by the yucca plants and soon we found one close enough to the trail so she could pose for a photograph underneath it. My friend is reasonably tall, but the high plant dwarfed her as it would any other human standing below it.

The trail led us down in a steady mild slope. The day grew warmer and warmer and soon we begun to feel the heat in ernest, and it was early still.
The wildflowers seemed to glow even brighter under the strong sunlight.

Purple Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla)

Before long the hills shade subsided and we were walking in direct and very hot sunlight.

We were getting closer to the creek now. On our way down we run into a couple that had stayed the night down by the creek and were now hiking back up. They strained under the weight of their packs and were eager to be done but they did stop and exchanged a few words with us, informing us where we could get down to the river.

Deerweed (Acmispon glaber)

And soon we saw it too - the gorge.

We continued on our way. The thought of getting to the cool water was an enticing one. Still, there was much to see along the trail, too.

California Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum)

And not all of it were flowers - a little ground squirrel darted from our path, running to hide away in the bushes.

We spotted the river access and made our way over there, ready for a break.
A bright clarkia patch welcomed us at little trail down to the water.

Clarkia (Clarkia sp.)

The water was cold. We didn't go inside but sat down in a shady spot and enjoyed the relative coolness of the creek and the shaded white rocks at its bank.

After a long and refreshing break by the water we climbed back up to the Arroyo Seco trail and made the right turn to continue on the Indians Road, leading to the Last Chance Falls. The sun was really beating down on us now.
But I found a blooming snapdragon. Life is good.

Chaparral Snapdragon (Antirrhinum multiflorum)

The trail narrowed and lead us down to an area of oak savannah. The grass was completely dry but the majestic oaks were green and lush. I glimpsed a  sole chaparral yucca between the trees.

We came upon the old adobe where the old park's ranger station used to be. Behind it was the creek and we crossed it, hopping on the makeshift stones bridge laid across.

We continued just a bit further down the trail before finally giving in and giving up. There was no chance we would make it all the way down to the Last Chance Falls that day. Not when the heat was in the triple digits.

Whiskerbrush (Leptosiphon ciliatus) 

So we sat by the water and had out lunch. Then we crossed it again and lingered just so much as to enjoy the butterflies that were fluttering near the water.

The heat was perfect for the butterflies, who were very active that day. I was lucky enough that some of them stood still for a second or two, enough time for a photoshoot.

After giving up on finding the shortcut trail we started back on the same trail we had arrived on - but them we found the original trail we were looking for - the Santa Lucia Trail, so we went on that heading toward the trailhead and parking area.
Soon we found ourselves plowing through tall, dry grass that also included many thorny thistles. The trail wasn't walked on much and at some points it was difficult to make where it continued. We pulled in the general direction we needed to go and eventually picked it up again, right by that same sole yucca we'd seen from below.

Chaparral Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei)

The Arroyo Seco trail goes high above, and mostly parallel to the Santa Lucia Road we had walked on when going down along the river. I was glad we took the higher trail now because it felt like we were hiking a loop trail rather than going in and out on the same one.
And a different trail, even though in close proximity to the other, still features different sights. In this case - the fragrant coyote mint.

Coyote Mint (Monardella villosa ssp. villosa) 

We took a while going back. The heat was intense and we had stopped several times to rest and rehydrate. Eventually we came upon a beautiful sight - the river bend where the water strip widened into what was labeled in the map as 'The Lakes'.
Apparently we were arriving at the parking lot from behind.

to and tired, we made it back to the car. There at the parking lot we saw a fellow getting ready of a hike. He was going down to the gorge to rock dive, he told us. Taking a dip in the river sounded very good right then, and the guy invited us to join him. But we were too hot to go down to the gorge all over again. Besides, my friend was set on seeing the pinnacles, so we wished the fellow a good hike and drove off.
But the river was beckoning ...
Just before leaving Arroyo Seco we found the day use area and took some time to enjoy the river. The water was very cold, which was exactly what we needed after our lovely and very hot hike.

A Living Ghost Town: Bodie, CA

Not a Buster Keaton film set. Bodie, CA

 Date: May 29, 2016
Place: Bodie State Historical Park, California
Coordinates:   38.216271, -119.004687
Length: as many rounds as desired.
Level: easy

Bodie has been on my wish list ever since my friend had been there with her family and returned with interesting story and photos. Still, it took me over six years to get there. Even when I finally did, I cannot say that the town of Bodie has been on top of my interest list: the main reason Bodie made it into our trip's agenda was the chance of seeing sage grouse.

Bodie is an interesting place, no doubt. The largest and most famous of California's mining ghost towns that sprung to life at 1875 when gold and silver were found at Bodie Hills, and died when the ore run out and hard living combined with calamities such as fire had finally driven all its human residents away.
Bodie became a California State Park on 1962 and has been a draw for fascinated tourists ever since.
Lat week we finally got to visit Bodie. We were camping with friends at the Crags Campground near Bridgeport for the weekend and it was a perfect opportunity to explore this park.

Bodie: a view to the south.

Bodie is now a ghost town. Good thing I'm not into ghosts. I don't like to dwell on the dead past, I'd much rather focus on today's living. That, it turns out, Bodie has plenty of.

A local Resident

The decomposing houses that once housed humans have now completely different residents, who make a great use of the rotting structures.

Local residents: Cliff Swallow

People had abandoned Bodie in a hurry, like fleeing a disaster. They had left much of their belongings in the houses and they're still there today, a silent testament to the 'golden' olden days.

Drop everything and go!  A kitchen in Bodie through a window glass.

Park personnel must do some maintenance and window cleaning so that the town can now funcion as a museum of California's past. 

Soon I got tired of looking through windows, but Papa Quail, always into birds, had directed my attention to an interesting furniture design.

Inspiration

After the obligatory visit to the visitor center I decided it was time for a hike. A century ago my hike would have been considered a city street stroll but today going uphill through Bodie's deteriorating streets is something else altogether.

Our friends decided to stay downtown. 

Shortly after we started uphill Papa Quail and elder chika found other reasons to stay behind: there were birds on the roof tops. 

Violet-green Swallow

I continued uphill with my younger chika. A bit further uptown I spotted some yellow off trail and immediately forgot all about the structures and their associated history. There were flowers about!

Clumping Buckwheat (Eriogonum caespitosum)

And then the dam broke open. I mean, there were wildflowers everywhere! Under and between the grayish appearance of the sagebrush scrub there was plenty of color. 

Purse Milkvetch (Astragalus purshii)

All ranged from small to tiny. I spent a lot of time on my hiny, trying to get the best shots I could of these miniatures, many of which were completely new to me.  

Brewer's Navarretia (Navarretia breweri)

I was happy whenever I recognized the genera of these flowers. Or at least the family. 

Humboldt River Milkvetch (Astragalus iodanthus)

Actually, I was plain happy about everything I've seen there. This was shaping up to be a very gratifying tour. 

Matted Lupine (Lupinus breweri)

I made my way slowly uphill with my young chika who was very helpful pointing out to me everything interesting. then she asked about those piles of soil over at the next hill and had me clamber dizzily to me feet and look yonder.
I remembered where I was. Mining rubble, still waiting for the vegetation to rehabilitate the earth.

Mining rubble at Bodie

I returned to appreciate the flowers, not caring about the sun that was getting higher and that the day was getting significantly warmer. It was hard to imagine that only the night before the earth frosted over.
Looking at the sun above there were little suns below.

Dwarf Goldenweed (Stenotus acaulis)

Little cushions of cushion phlox hid underneath the greenish-gray bushes like shy little starts. Me and my chika were alone at the end of the street, the only ones there to appreciate their beauty.

Cushion Phlox (Phlox hoodii)

We continued slowly uphill until we came upon a fence and a sign announcing danger beyond, so we didn't make it all the way to the ridge. I turned around and looked down at Bodie. From the distance it didn't appear to be in ruins, I could almost imagine it was living town still. Almost. The lack of bustling, busy people (although it was full of tourists) and the silence of no motors gave away the towns sorry state. And there was the greenery. The sagebrush scrub that grows between the structures.  Nature is taking over and in time the remains will be covered and turned over to wilderness again.

Bodie

It was time to head back down. I led my chika to a narrow path connecting to a parallel street and immediately stopped: a new wildflower was there, blooming underneath the sagebrush. 

That was the first time I've ever seen the sagebrush bluebells in bloom. I was so excited I gave this little plant a long attention time. Later on, of course, I so many other bluebells down the street. And I was no less excited. 

Sagebrush Bluebells (Mertensia oblongifolia)

A less colorful flower, but one that stands out - the rock cress. There are several species of rock cress in the area, some are pretty rare. Unfortunately I don't have yet the knowledge to tell them apart.

Rock Cress (Boechera sp.)

Me and my chika were making our way slowly back to downtown. I guess that strolling through Bodie isn't a 'hike' as usually defined, but one can certainly walk around the park and explore all day long, and most of it is, in fact, Nature.

Fleabane (Erigeron sp.)

Coming back to town, I made one more window peep - into the schoolhouse. Fascinating how everything was left as is - a math lesson frozen in time. 

School's Out Forever!

We rejoined Papa Quail and elder chika. Then we saw another current resident of the town, and it was a squirrel of a species new to us.

Belding's Ground Squirrel

Our friends were nowhere to be seen. I assumed they went back to the car so we started too in that direction. At that time we were all ready to leave. Even I had had enough of wondering between ruins.
But then again, even on the way back I saw another spring bloom: low cinquefoil flowers that were hidden in the grass.

Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.)

We walked around the toppling structures on the east side of the park on our way to the overflow parking area. I guess we were walking through the red lights district of this town.

I don't think I should buy a house in this street.

Our friends were coming down from the west side of town. We got into our cars and drove away without seeing any sage grouse, but with a life list of California wildflowers that had increased significantly and a satisfied check on a long-time sight-seeing destination.

On the following day we would be back in the area of Bodie Hills, this time for a real hike and another shot at seeing the sage grouse.