Posts Tagged: hiking

Sudden oak death continues to spread in California

Sudden oak death is creeping into Carmel Valley, and scientists have found infected trees in Gilroy and Prunedale, reported the Salinas Californian.

Warm weather seems to be keeping SOD out of the Salinas Valley, but it is having a deadly effect on the surrounding forests.

“The organism has a really significant impact on our forests,” said Matteo Garbelotto, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley. He said that adult tanoaks – an evergreen species closely related to oaks – are almost entirely wiped out in some areas.

To help prevent the spread of sudden oak death, people visiting invested areas should not remove leaves or branches and should clean dirt from their shoes before leaving.

Native Plants of Catalina Island

I had the opportunity to go hiking on Catalina Island in April and I saw an amazing display of California native plants. The Hermit Gulch trail is approximately a 4-mile looped trail. We started at the Hermit Gulch Campgrounds, hiked up to the summit, then back down towards the Wrigley Botanical Gardens.  It is moderate hike, along well marked trails, that took us about 2.5 hours.  It was an overcast day, so when we reached the Garden to Sky Summit, we couldn’t see both sides of the island, as promised, but the wildflowers were so beautiful and definitely made the hike worth the effort.

I saw many plants I recognized, including the purple Lupinus succulentus, Arroyo lupine or Succulent lupine, and the Scrophulariaceae, creek monkey flower, the bright red Castilleja affinis, or Indian paintbrush. And even saw a few flowers that I’d never seen before. I looked them up on the Catalina Island Conservancy’s website.  One was a beautiful white flower with purple spots, the Catalina Mariposa Lily, and a small clover like flower called the Crab Lotus or Small Flowering Lotus. One flower looks like a sage, but I haven’t identified it yet.

If you’d like to hike in Catalina, next time you go to Catalina Island, you must get a hiking pass from the Catalina Island Conservancy.  The pass is free. Stop at the nature center on the way to the campground, to fill in the forms, or you can sign up online by going to their website:  http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php .  Happy Trails ~

Map of the hike. (photos by Esther Blanco)

Lupinus succulentus

Castilleja affinis ssp. affinis - Indian Paint Brush

Calochortus catalinae - Catalina mariposa lily

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