A Castle Rock Hike
After that last post, I’ll start this one with a bit of a more pleasant photograph:
Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Range – Castle Rock Park. December 2, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
In most ways (more on that in a moment) this was a really great hike. I started out at about 10:00 a.m. and it was quite cold and very windy. In fact, it was the sort of wind that causes a sound almost like jet engines – very impressive! Leaves and twigs were flying everywhere, and I didn’t get warmed up until I finally did some uphill hiking. For the first time it actually felt like winter is perhaps beginning around here.
Although it was cloudy on the ridge – due, I imagine, to the clouds lifting as they blew in from the coast – it was apparently sunny out over the ocean. As the photograph shows, not only was it clear enough to see all the way across the bay to the Monterey Peninsula, but the sun was reflecting brightly off of the surface of the water.
About that “most ways” comment above… As I headed back up the trail to the car a bug – a fly, I thought – started buzzing around my head. Annoying. I tried to brush it away, but it was persistent – actually landing on my head and in my hair a couple times. The last time I took a moment too long to swat it away, and discovered the hard way that it was a bee! Ouch! It has been years since I’ve been stung by a bee, and this is the first time I’ve ever had one actually pursue me. Double ouch!
An Almaden Quicksilver Hike…
… or, Who Has Been Plowing Up The Park?
After not going there for some time, yesterday I made it back to Almaden Quicksilver County Park for a hike up the Deep Gulch Trail to the ridge near the old mine buildings. I like this trail because it is a very direct route, heading pretty much straight up to the old English Camp site. I was surprised by light rain – not in the forecast – but it cleared as I neared the ridge.
On the way up I noticed a few areas that looked like they had been worked over by some heavy equipment. I wasn’t quite sure what this meant, but it did look like the non-native and quite invasive (Spanish? Scotch?) Broom plants had been cut way back. About time!
I didn’t think much more about this until near the high point of my hike. At English Camp, instead of ascending to the main ridge on the Castillero trail I took the foot trail that cuts off to the left and arrives on the ridge a bit lower. Arriving here I briefly looked around before starting back down – I was running a bit late. As I started back down the trail I looked to my right and saw two large road cuts through a grove of trees on a nearby ridge – and I decided to investigate. After hiking up one of them, it looks like whoever maintains the high tension power transmission lines that cross that park has seen fit to bulldoze what amounts to a two-lane dirt road straight through the brush to their towers. Pretty ugly stuff.
The following photo is what I think of as an “ironic landscape,” since it is the view one currently sees from the ridgeline trail of this park.
Newly Gouged Dirt Road and Tower of Power. Almaden Quicksilver County Park. December 1, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Lovely view, huh?
Study Details How U.S. Could Cut 28% of Greenhouse Gases
From an article in the New York Times:
The United States could shave as much as 28 percent off the amount of greenhouse gases it emits at fairly modest cost and with only small technology innovations, according to a new report.
A large share of the reductions could come from steps that would more than pay for themselves in lower energy bills for industries and individual consumers, the report said, adding that people should take those steps out of good sense regardless of how worried they might be about climate change. But that is unlikely to happen under present circumstances, said the authors, who are energy experts at McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm.
Unlikely to happen “under present circumstances…” or under the current administration?
Prescribed Burns in SF Bay Area
Yesterday I was surprised to see a large smoke cloud over the Diablo Range east of Santa Clara Valley, in the area of Mount Hamilton and Lick Observatory. It is unusual to see fires this late in the season, but I assumed that perhaps our less-than-typical rainfall might be playing a part.
Today the California Fire News blog reports that this fire, a fire in Big Basin, and others not too far away are actually prescribed burns. I’m used to seeing this in the Sierra in the fall, but it is a new development – as far as I know – in the Bay Area. It is also probably a very good idea given that wildfires in areas where fires have been long suppressed have the potential to do very serious damage.
Hang in There, Tom!
Having recently converted this blog (and about a dozen others) to WordPress, I was interested to note that Tom Mangan is in the process (throes?) of switching his Two Heel Drive blog over. The process of switching can be a bit hairy, but I think you’ll like the outcome when you are finished, Tom.
Meeting the Ranger at Calero
Yesterday I completed a short “photography walk” at Calero, mainly photographing some oak trees in the dry and brown early winter conditions. (We need rain!) At the end of my hike I arrived back at the parking lot and was taking off my pack in preparation for loading the car and heading home when the ranger truck drove up to me and stopped. It seemed like the range was intent on talking to me, so I wondered what I might have done.
The ranger, Fernando, got out of the truck and asked about my hike, and then noticed my photographic equipment. It is hard to miss it. I often travel “heavy” when I day hike there. The load I carry weighs about as much as the packs some of my ultralight backpacking friends carry on a weekend trip.
It turns out that he is also a photographer, so we spent some time talking cameras (he uses Minolta, now bought out by Sony) and good places to shoot at the park. He shared some interesting advice about photographing coyotes that I’ll try out the next time I encounter one. (I’ll keep it a secret for now…) He also confirmed my assumption that there are indeed mountain lions in the park. Given the terrain, I was already pretty certain this is the case – and the fact that I’ve never seen one despite logging many miles on park trails probably testifies to their natural inclination to avoid contact.
Yesterday's Hike
After heading to the Sierra almost every weekend (or so it seemed) from late September through the first week of November, and then traveling to Southern California last weekend (an enjoyable trip, for sure, but also a long drive!) it was nice to once again have time to hike one of my “neighborhood parks” here in the South SF Bay Area.
As I hiked a familiar loop at Calero County Park south of San Jose, I was reminded of a few things: in the fall when the grasses die back on the oak-grassland terrain you can hike cross country again; in November there are beautiful sunny days when the temperature is only in the mid-60 degree range; there is fall color in the Bay Area, though you have to look for it; it can be more relaxing to hike/photograph in a familiar place than in more exotic locations.
Camping Reservations
George Carlin. “Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.” [Quotes of the Day]
I'm outa' here… or there… or something…
A while back I probably recommended a subscription to Firefighter Blog. I’ve reconsidered after reading the distracting and heavy-handed political stuff posted there… more than a bit off-topic I’d say.
Count me as unsubscribed.
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Dan's Outside 
Hello to Visitors from Two-Heel Drive
My friend Tom shared a post about trail photography this morning that included a link to this site. (Thanks for the link, Tom… :-) A few thoughts…
I may try to post something else about my approach to hiking, backpacking, and other forms of outdoor photography later. In the meantime, you can read about my current backpacking photography equipment list.
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December 7, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary, Photography | Comments Off on Hello to Visitors from Two-Heel Drive