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Go Outside and Play Summer Edition, 2010
As we mentioned at the beginning of the year, we want to give you inspiration for going outside to play and experience wild places and native plants in their natural habitat. Here are four of our picks from this summer. (Images are from Mike from Laura, read more to see their other great images!).
Patty Says:
The San Joaquin Wildlife Preserve, Irvine – This is a great place to bring children while staying close to home. Very accessible from all parts of Orange County, just off of the 405 at Campus Drive, it is a hidden gem with lots of vegetation and birdwatching opportunities. The Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society meets here so, check it out before a meeting! Flat trails and lots of birds makes this the easy choice. Click on the link for directions and information.
Debbie Says:
Big Laguna Trail, San Diego – An easy and relaxing drive from San Diego to a pleasant flat trail around Big Laguna Lake in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. Take the 8 Freeway East to the Sunrise Highway (County Road S-1). At around mile 23, stop at the quaint visitor center/general store and pick up a map for $2.00. Be sure to stop at least once along the highway to take in one of the vistas over the desert. At Penny Pines Trailhead (just past mile 27), park and follow signs for the trail and then take the southward turnoff for Big Laguna Trail. Its a nice wide loop amidst the pines around the lake which still had plenty of water this year. Pack a lunch and enjoy on the trail. Drive back to SD through Julian and stop for pie. Easy drive, easy hike, fun day. Lots of flowers, even on July 5, when we went – don’t forget your camera like I did!
Laura Says:
Los Pinos Trail to Los Pinos Peak, Cleveland National Forest – Hike to the 4th highest point in Orange County, and it’s pretty easy. Gorgeous chaparral views, and on a clear day you can see the ocean. We went on August 29th and there was a fresh cool breeze. Botanical highlights – Chamise (Adenostema fasciculatum) and Eastwood Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. glandulosa) dominate the landscape, in beautiful patchwork quilts of bright rusty red and cool green-blue. Parish’s Goldenbush (Ericameria parishii var. parishii) spot the landscape in full glorious bright yellow/gold bloom, buzzing with bees, wasps and flies. Rare (in OC) Ceanothus papillosus var. roweanus was spotted just below the peak. The common name Wartleaf California Lilac does this shrub a total injustice, because the plant has beautiful narrow dark green leaves, a lovely form, and vivid blue flowers in spring, and is a parent of many common garden hybrids including ‘Dark Star’, and ‘Julia Phelps’. Terrific diversity made us all want to come back in spring to see more flowers.
Laura’s Photo Album of this Hike.
Directions (credit “Day Hikes Around Orange County” by Robert Stone): 5 Freeway, Ortega Highway exit, 23 miles east to North Main Divide Road, turn left and drive 4.2 miles on paved road to wide pullout on the right. At the south end of the pullout is the continuation of North Main Divide Road, now a dirt road. Hike the road until you reach a large flat area with a metal railing and a trail split. Turn right onto Trabuco Canyon Trail, then take an immediate left to the Los Pinos Trail (look for the post marker). Follow that trail to the top. This hike is a 4.8 miles round trip and took us 3.5 hours. For a considerably shorter hike, drive all the way to the trail split at Trabuco Canyon/Los Pinos Trail, leave your car, and start your hike at Los Pinos Trail. A Forest Adventure pass is required, and you might want a hiking pole for a few steep areas. Don’t forget the camera!
Mike Says:
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, San Diego. See the dry season effects on unique coastal bluffs, minutes from the I-5 and San Diego’s urban hustle-bustle. Pick any trail and you will be delighted. For a great introduction to the park, pick the one that receives surprisingly little use, the Guy Fleming Trail. A relatively level .7 mile loop will take you through a lovely grove of tall Torrey pines, a windswept stand of the same species hugging the ocean-view terrain, a slope covered with characteristic coastal sage scrub (CSS), a nice stand of Shaw’s agave (Agave shawii), and a canyon with mixed vegetation and picturesque ghost trees – skeletons of old, dead, windswept pines.
Throughout the park you might also find coast barrel cactus, (Ferocactus viridescens), and you can let your imagination run wild. Try to picture a coastal southern California before any heavy impact by humans. You will see (in your mind) this barrel cactus popping up out of classic CSS all the way north to what we now call Oceanside? San Clemente? Newport Beach? Palos Verdes? See how interesting an imaginary ecosystem can be?
Try the Guy Fleming Trail for a close encounter with an actual ecosystem. It is short and easy, but take your time. You will find wide spots and benches along the way where you can stop and take it all in. Remember your binoculars, camera, sketch book, or journal and spend a few quiet moments with the birds, the wind, and the beach far below on one of the last coastal wild places, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.
