Go take a hike!

[caliboy1994]

I'm not sure if any of you love to hike, but I sure do! So I thought I would start a thread for posting pictures of our hiking experiences.

Today's hike at Almaden Quicksilver County Park near San Jose, CA:





A few native plants I saw on the hike:

Fritillaria sp.


Castilleja affinis


Wild iris


California poppy


A pair of monkeyflowers


Castilleja sp.?


Salvia mellifera


Acmispon glaber


Castilleja sp. growing in a disturbed area on the edge of a parking lot


California has such a wonderful native plant community and so many great places to hike.

[Illia]

Wow, nice diversity! I hike often but it's sure interesting seeing the contrast between my backyard and most others on here. It's pretty much nothing but deep forests of conifers, a few maple and alder, and sadly I almost never find new species of flora. (other than what one sees everyday out here) There's an old logging road I found this spring with some peculiar yellow colored flowers that looked like mini violets, but, that's it. A particular species of diurnal moth sure loved 'em!

[caliboy1994]

If you come down to California, you'll notice that there are different types of vegetation the closer you get to the ocean, and different types of vegetation on north facing, west facing, and south facing slopes. The vegetation change with elevation is also quite profound, especially on the eastern side of the mountains where there is desert. This all has to do with temperature, sunlight, elevation, and water availability. Areas near the coast are cooler and a bit more humid, so plants that love cooler temperatures and ocean influence, like sages, are found often there. Further inland, things become hotter, so plants better adapted to hot conditions thrive there.

The slope effect has the most profound and easily observable effect on California's vegetation. North-facing slopes receive the least sunlight, and consequently they are cooler and more moist. As a result, forest-type vegetation consisting of both evergreen and deciduous trees dominates:



South-facing slopes and open areas receive the most sunlight, and are consequently the driest. In Northern California, they are often grassland with the occasional oak tree, and in Southern California they are oftentimes dominated by low-growing shrubs (the rocks you see in that picture are tailings from old mining operations):




West-facing slops are sort of an intermediate between north and south facing slopes. They are often dominated by shrubs such as coyote brush and manzanita:



As you get higher up into the mountains, things get more moist, and a community of shrubs called chapparal dominates. As you get even higher, pine trees begin to emerge out of the shrubland, and eventually you have a forest of tall pine trees:



As you go down the other side of the mountain towards the east, things get increasingly dry. Due to the rain shadow effect, there is very little rainfall on the other side of the mountains. The result is scorching hot desert with much less vegetation than on the coastal side:



Generally, water is the key determining factor of what vegetation grows where in California. Even in the deserts there are lush riparian forests growing next to streams.

I'd love to check out Washington sometime too. I love the forest just like I love California's Mediterranean climate. It would be interesting to see what kinds of smaller plants are growing in the little nooks and crannies there. You guys also aren't short of water like we are.

[pmurphy]

After seeing the pictures of the hikes around California I just had to share the photos of our hike around my Mother's property in the interior of the province, about a 6 1/2 hour drive up country. She has 10 acres in the middle of no-where but close to Well's Gray Provincial Park. Things are starting to bud out, but unfortunately the real color is in the summer and fall months.....


wild tiger lilies


dogwood - the provincial tree of BC


But its not just the plants that are starting to appear.....




look but don't touch.....

Happy hiking

[Worm_Farmer]

A moose? Awesome Photos!

[pmurphy]

The fauna pics are:
1) most likely a mule deer fawn - hard to tell at this age and angle, and mother was staying "invisible"
2) cow (female) moose - no antler buds
3) tiger swallowtail butterflies
4) male (most likely) grizzly bear as there was no sign of cubs.....thankfully

[robguz24]

The sulfur banks at Volcanoes National Park. Been to the park many times but had never done this easy hike.

[pmurphy]

Originally Posted by robguz24

The sulfur banks at Volcanoes National Park. Been to the park many times but had never done this easy hike.

I found the park amazing when we visited in 2010!
We had not planned on doing anything special except view Kilauea, the sulfur banks and then drive to the end of the road but on the way down saw a parking lot with a look out and thought we would stop to see. Then we noticed a trail and thought we would take a little walk because the sign said only .5M (or something like that). What we did not realize until we had passed several signposts is that they were stating the distance between signposts, and without a map (which we bought on the way out of the park) we really did not know where we were going until we finally saw the bottom of the crater. From there we ended up hiking back across the Kilauea Iki crater. The whole trek took us about an hour or so - and we were lucky enough that the sky stayed clear during the entire unplanned hike....when we drove past on the way out of the park later that day, the crater was socked in with clouds.

[caliboy1994]

Hiked Mission Point today in the northern San Fernando Valley. I'm located in the foothills of this mountain, and it towers above my house. I encountered many cool plants and some awesome views.

Habitat types included rangeland



to montane chaparral, which occurred at higher elevations.



The views were quite nice, and was well worth it despite how tough the hike was in some spots.

I can see my house from here!



The Slope Effect in action.



A really nice view near the top. Too bad it was hazy.



The infamous three trees. If you want to know their secret, do the hike yourself!



Plants I encountered:

Lupine (Lupinus sp.)



Monardella sp.



California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). This one is really common around here.



Sugar bush (Rhus ovata). Edible berries that taste like lemons. You can make a drink with them similar to lemonade.



Sacred datura (Datura wrightii). A native hallucinogenic plant! I hear the trips aren't very pleasant though, and neither are the side effects. I'd rather not try it.





Bush mallow (Malacothamnus sp.).



A sunflower of some sort. They grow like weeds here. Not sure if they are native.



California black walnut (Juglans californica). Listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Yet they grow profusely here.





Native false bindweed (I think it's Calystegia occidentalis).



Wasn't able to identify this one, but the berries look delicious!



Chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei). These are really common in SoCal. This one is due to flower in a couple of years. They're quite spectacular when they're in bloom. Behind it is California sagebrush (Artemisia californica). It smells delicious, like rosemary.



Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia). Another common chaparral plant. This time of year it's in flower. In the winter it will be loaded with berries.



If only I had come a few months earlier! Then I would have been able to witness all of the wildflowers in bloom. Still an awesome hike though, and definitely a do-over.

[randove]

wonderful diversity you got there;you effort should be rewarded with a marketing job at the park.I do not like heights but i`m beginning to consider the temptation from your pics

[sunfish]

Heteromeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Toyon bush >?

[Abnshrek]

Should take a picture of a short pier.. lol :^)

[caliboy1994]

Originally Posted by sunfish

Heteromeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Toyon bush >?

I did come across Toyon bush, but that's not what the unidentified one is. Toyon is blooming at this time of year, and shouldn't be loaded with berries until December.

[sunfish]

Originally Posted by caliboy1994

I did come across Toyon bush, but that's not what the unidentified one is. Toyon is blooming at this time of year, and shouldn't be loaded with berries until December.

Yes I read that. Oh well I tried

[caliboy1994]

I was thinking hollyleaf cherry but the leaves aren't erect like that, and the fruit is usually darker and bigger and has a bigger stem. It could be a variant of California coffeeberry.