Record Snowfall at Crater Lake

Winter was a harsh one at Crater Lake National Park with more than 56 feet of snowfall. The rim drive is not fully open and the popular boat trip to Wizard Island only opens at the end of July. When we drove to the park on July 18 and arrived at an overlook at 8,000' the temperature was 39oF. Wooly caps and gloves were very welcome! Record snow assures that the lake will be at a good capacity this year.

Yosemite is Gushing

Father's Day was not the best time to visit Yosemite, but we were in Fresno and made a day trip to view the splendor of the falls. Yes, the crowds were bad in the valley, but Glacier Point provided a magnificent vantage point without being too crowded.

Down in the valley we tried to walk to Bridal Veil Falls, but got drenched on the way to its base so were content to admire it from afar. At Lower Yosemite Falls we got pretty wet crossing the bridge, but it was a warm day and kind of fun to get a shower from the terrific volume of water coming down. Looks like this year there will be falls well into autumn as there is still significant snow pack in the Sierras. Don't miss this marvelous spectacle!

Rattlesnake Dines in Montana de Oro State Park

Earlier this month Virginia Jensen and I took a morning hike along Rerservoir Flats Trail in Montana de Oro State Park. Fortunately Virginia had her camera with her as suddenly we came upon a rattlesnake very preoccupied with devouring a baby rabbit. We watched for 10-15 minutes and the snake didn't even blink, much less move a muscle. The bunny also was not moving. We lost patience and moved on so we can't even guess how long it took the snake to savor the entire bunny. An adventure with nature indeed!

Henry Coe State Park Splendid in Spring

April in Henry Coe State Park shows a stunning display of wildflowers. With four companion backpackers we counted about 80 flowering plants on a 6-day trip from the Coe headquarters to Coit Lake, Missippi Lake and back to the park entrance. This was new territory for me, but the 87,000 acres park provided a variety of ecosystems from grasslands, oak woodland, chapparal and many acres recovering from the 2007 Lick fire. Visibility was good enough to afford a distant view of the snow-capped Sierras. Pachecho Falls was stunning with multi-level cascades of water dropping into round emerald pools. Cougar prints in dried mud teased us, but wildlife viewing was restricted to an angry rattlesnake, rabbits, turkeys and a variety of song birds. Until our last night camping at Poverty Flats we saw very few people, even though this park is little more than an hour from San Jose. (photos by Bob Early)

Pinnacles National Monument Abloom

A mid-week trip to the Pinnacles was the highlight of spring blooms so far this year. While the Shooting Stars are virtually finished the Virgin's Bower was in its glory along with lots of belly flowers and the Indian Paint Brush was ablaze. An early Bitterroot is pictured. I have never seen it so green in the 12 years I have made my annual spring trek to this amazing park. Three condors were sighted (one adult and two juvenile) while hiking up Condor Gulch--how appropriate!

Anza Borrego Desert State Park in Bloom

I visited Anza Borrego for two days this past week and although the wildflowers were only rated a 4 out of 10 on the wildflower website, I thought it was splendid. I counted 30 flower species in bloom on a 3-hour hike to Maidenhair Falls. The treasure at the end was a display of stream orchids--who would have expected this in the desert! Spotted in bloom along Hellhole Canyon: Canterbury Bells, Bigelow's Monkey Flower, Fiesta Flower, Desert Lavender, Fiddleneck, Chuparosa, Ocotillo, Rock Daisy, Indigo Bush, Desert Dandelion, Sugar Bush, Wild Almond, Bladder pod, Apricot Mallow, Chia, Cheesebush, Brown-eyed Primrose, etc.,etc. This State Park is awesome.

Sierra Backpack over Franklin/Shotgun/Farewell Gap

August 6-9 six intrepid backpacks under the leadership of Jim Warner headed out of Mineral King and over Franklin Pass (11,000'+); then down the slippery slope toward no-name lake and up and over Shotgun Pass (11,000'+) the next day. Trails in the Golden Trout Wilderness left something to be desired so we happily returned to Sequoia National Park at the top of Farewell Gap. However, we did experience a bit of WEATHER the night before....first rain, then hailstones the size of garbanzo beans for about 30 minutes. Fortunately we had just finished setting up camp so huddled inside tents and sleeping bags until the storm was over. The next day out dawned bright and sunny. More than 100 wildflowers were noted during the trip. Alpine flowers were at their peak. Thanks for Jim and Sequoia Natural History Association for making the trip possible.