Henninger Flats to Idlehour

Seeing that campsite sign was a wonderful relief! We checked on the water situation (thankfully there was water despite this horrendous drought) then quickly made camp, and after filtering a couple liters of stream water to drink, we made a nice hot cup of tea to sip by the pool. And it was a healthy pool indeed, full of coastal newt (Taricha tarosa), giant water beetles, tadpoles, and some kind of dragonfly larvae (?). We watched the pond goings-on the way a family watches the television after dinner, it was peacefully mesmerizing.

After our tea we examined the camp area and soon after went off to look for firewood. Picking our way through the poison oak and making sure not to touch any wood that was anywhere near any wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Andy spotted three rakes in the leaf litter on the bottom slope of a hill and we went to investigate, then left them there as we hauled dead branches off to the stove. While searching for twigs and stuff I happened upon a lovely, healthy stand of white sage, ominously framed by some even taller poison oak. I found some broken dried sage branches and brought them along to add to the woodpile.

After a few minutes Andy came back with a 20 foot dead sapling of some sort, which he immediately went to town on hacking up with a saw that some other campers (or forest rangers) had left behind for this very use. After sawing a little, he would balance all his weight on the long end and SNAP off the shortest end with his right foot, which he did a good dozen times. Our camp, being situated in a canyon, made the snaps sound like gunshot each time!

A roaring summertime fire, albeit confined to a metal stove. We threw a few tortillas on top of it to warm them - this I do not recommend. They got covered in soot & rust and came away with a metallic tang (big surprise). Carcinogens!

Wine straight out of the bottle, and me moving to the tent out of the sheer desire to lay down. Leading to me dozing off and falling asleep as I watch the boy glow in the heat of the fire. I've fallen asleep to this scene many a time, it never gets old. Though one of these days I'll make sure it's not always me retiring first.

Idlehour trail camp

For Labor Day weekend, Andy and I went on a quick backpacking trip to Idlehour campground in Altadena! We parked at the upper parking lot of Eaton Canyon and headed up the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, aiming for our rest stop at Henninger Flats, which we got to in 1.5 hours.

Once at Henninger Flats we took a hefty break, which was mostly due to my huff-puffing-filled struggle up to that point. The toll road has no tree cover whatsoever, and we started off around 11:30 with the sun beating straight down, with the only respite being a scraggly tree here or there along the edge. Henninger was a welcome change of scenery, with lots of trees and shaded picnic tables, and a wonderful little information center where we each got a cold soda for $0.75. Back outside I checked out the view of Altadena/Pasadena, and picked up little bits of hardened (but still squishy) pine sap just to amuse myself.

Here's a candid snap of me that I had to share because of the look of consternation on my face. Nikon DSLRs are that baffling I guess!

From Henninger Flats to the campsite the trek was considerably easier - all mostly downhill and generously shaded - so you can see why I took my time to snap shots of a fluffy golden weed and some drying ferns, and many of dear Andy beasting his way through the trail.

Glorious mountain views! The Idlehour trail forks west of the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, and I think this shot of the mountains shows some "scarring" of the San Andreas fault, which is evident in the different kinds of rock formations all mashed together (?) which isn't very evident in this photo.

Andy's straw hat let in little sprinkles of light that illuminated his face, and I enjoyed that effect very much.

Do you know how poison oak looks? Here it is. Sometimes it's low-growing and bushy, dense and stick-y (as bushes), or dangly and sprawling as pictured, or tall and tree-like. Nasty stuff, don't get it on you!

Andy, the fearless trail-blazer.

We saw many a manzanita tree with brilliant red curls of bark flaking off to show off even more red underneath! So alien-looking and odd. Then we passed by a large number of feathers that marked the site of a bird's demise...oh the way things go.

elyria canyon

I felt pretty suffocated by the urban environment the whole past week, so this morning I went to Elyria Canyon Park in Mt. Washington, which is only a few miles from where I live. Apparently this spot boasts one of the "finest" California Black Walnut woodlands, which were once plentiful in California but now exist only in scattered pockets like these. Said walnut trees were in the beginning stages of budding today when I visited, and they were beautiful indeed. With the park being in a canyon, one is surrounded by beautiful hill-top houses, but as I had wanted to escape into nature, the sight of the houses and adjacent developed neighborhoods made me feel ever more restless and slightly regretful of my decision to explore new places (note: which is not a bad thing - I was glad that I was getting out of my comfort zone). I tucked a sprig of black sage into my pocket as I reoriented myself for the way out, but then I spied an opening to the north, where I realized the park continued.

 
It was after this point on really, that the trail sparked my interest again...! This path took me way down, low enough that I couldn't see any man-made structures whatsoever. Just trees! I don't mean to sound overly picky about this hiking spot by the way - it's a good thing subjectivity makes the world go 'round. The trails aren't challenging by any means, but the variety of birdsong and the quietness of the canyon is a major plus. It wasn't until I climbed another hill and reached a bend, that I got REALLY excited.


See this? Mistletoe! American mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum) to be exact. I've always been fascinated by their "witches broom" clumps that I'd see in the barren branches of deciduous trees, and I finally got to see some low enough to the ground to investigate these crazy parasitic plants. It's kind of a good thing that I was alone on this walk, because I was positively gleeful at this discovery, and took my sweet time to investigate its berries, leaves, and attachment to the host tree.


Not too far down the hill from the mistletoe-laden walnut trees was this gigantic patch of prickly pear cactus. Beautiful! I made off with some tiny growths off of a fallen paddle, that I wrapped in a bandanna and placed into my backpack.

Around the prickly pear patch were tons of lupine and these curious other purple blooms. I think they're a variety of blue-eyed grass, which is part of the iris family. I couldn't stop looking at them, but didn't try to take any home with me. Edit: They're wild hyacinths (Dichelostemma capitatum capitatum), another name for them being 'blue dicks' hehe!

the world before me

These delicate beauties are Pellaea andromaedifolia - the coffee fern, which is a native California species. Since the leaves are new, they're a luminous tender shade of green, but as they age they will turn reddish-purplish-brown. I find this plant truly beautiful in all stages of its life.

I've walked this path more than a handful of times, but I had trouble realizing that today. I'm so used to picking my way through dry brush that the lush green grass flanking the thin leaf-littered trail made it seem like a whole new place. The power of atmosphere!

This is Artemisia californica - California sagebrush, which makes up much of the chaparral here on the west coast, and smells amazing. Fill my room with California sagebrush, black and white sage, and forest dirt and MAN will I be a happy camper. The smells are half the reason I eagerly revisit the same trails over and over again.

I've had trouble sleeping in on weekends, so last night I decided in the morning I'd go for a walk at Eaton Canyon. I haven't been there much during the months of late winter/early spring, so it was really delightful to experience the verdant flora exploding and asserting itself - it felt like the woods and ground were vibrating with all their earthly delight. I felt like a carefree hobbit in Tolkien's Middle Earth, a feeling that grew stronger as I ate almond butter-honey sandwiches for breakfast on a dry carpet of oak leaves, listening to birds and the quiet sounds of the mountains. When the shouts and babble of other Sunday morning hikers steadily streamed upward it was time to call it a morning.

A friend sent me this tidbit by Goethe recently:

"...and so long as you haven't experienced

this: to die and so to grow,

you are only a troubled guest

on the dark earth."

Beautiful and true as it is, I can't let this be my existential mantra. Another friend I showed it to put it quite eloquently: "I like the quote, but it isn't a necessary thought process for every day." Still, I mention it because I want to remind myself/others that in the face of adversity, however slight or severe, one should let their inner light prevail and hold off and overcome the darkness, if possible.

hike at griffith park

Last Friday I didn't have to go in to work at the usual time, so I stopped over at Griffith Park for a short hike! Nothing really new to report - the terrain looked slightly different from the usual San Gabriel Mountains, but that isn't an issue at all. There was some light cloud cover that day, so the light was hazy and muted and made for an easy trek. I've never gone on a hike like that on my own...it was rather nice. :)