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DavidS
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This morning, May 5, I drove up to Henry Coe State Park for an exploratory hike for manzanita and hoped I might also find a few wildflower closeups. The peak blooms of wildflowers in all areas of the SF Bay Area including the foggiest coastal bluffs or shadiest redwood groves are now well past peak. However usual late blooming individual species like clarkias are out. I knew the clock for the top of the ridge at Coe would not be as advanced as most other local areas because the elevation is at a cooler wetter 3000 feet. And indeed as I drove up the road from Morgan Hill, grassland areas about Anderson Reservoir were already quite dry looking, but above 2000 feet, grasses were increasingly a bit greener. However even at highest elevations, there are sunny western aspects that are rather fried brown.
As this was Saturday even at 8am, the parking lot was filling quickly. I didn't waste much time paying my $5 in the visitor center and getting out on the trail. I did carry my weighty view camera daypack with tripod though did not expect to find a reason to pull it out. Some added weight to help me get fit for summer backpacking. Rather would be using my 7mp Coolpix 7900 compact digital camera for a few closeups. The big Gitzo tripod would come into some use for steadying my hand against, when taking closeup pics. Skies were mostly blue with some thin high clouds. A strong variable breeze was already rattling the tree tops. I would be taking the Corral Trail, Spring Trail, Manzanita Point Road, and China Hole Trail in order to reach my furthest destination, the old Manzanita Point. Not the campground but rather half way down the China Hole Trail where manzanita dominates on a brushy ridgeline. On the return hike I would return on the road then take the Forest Trail. Not much vertical but a distance of 6.5 miles. Much of the route I had been on a decade or two ago. The first section of the Corral Trail beyond the headquarters areas is always a nice area of wildlfowers on steep south facing slopes weaving across gullies below shady live oak and bay trees. I stopped to take a few closeups for two late blooming species, whitish-hued chinese houses and white globe lilies aka fairy lanterns.
After 0.6 miles the Corral Trail emerges into extensive grasslands atop the broad ridge dominated by waist to head high and still rather green, exotic species of avena barbata, aka slender wild oats. The first grassland slope had lots of white linanthus and some farewell-to-spring and winecup clarkias. Nicely isolated, large valley oaks spread across the grasslands with blue oak, black oak, and buckeye increasingly mixed to the south. Dominating grassland flower color were two exotic species, a legacy of cattle roaming days, yellow-hued bristly ox-tongue, picris echioides, an alien whose seeds occur in dandeline-like puffballs and vast numbers of italian thistle, carduus pycnocephalus, with small purple thistle flowers. Occasionally were patches of drying owls clover, the intricate structures of blow wives, and alien filaree. Also some isolated bicolor lupine and blue dicks. All these were however deeply beneath the towering oats that were continually brushing against my pant legs along the narrow foot trail. I passed through the Lion Springs ravine where a narrow group of live oak and bay trees dwelled above shady areas of poison oak and rusting watering troughs from cattle days. Sounds were a light rustling of the oats, tree tops, and many birds still enjoying some early morning songs and calls. A backpacker passed by me at a seep with monkeyflowers. At the 1.9 mile point the foot trail returned to the dirt Manzanita Point Road. Those with group camp permits are allowed to drive the two plus miles to the end of ridge campsites. Some state park group was about the trail as they were having some search and rescue exercises. As I neared the camp areas, more blue oak woodland appeared with some douglas iris below and significantly no more oats, ox-tongue, or thistle.
At 2.6 miles I turned onto the China Hole Trail. Large big berry manzanita, arctostaphylos glauca, were abundant in the area as an understory to live oaks, blue oaks, black oaks, madrone, gray pine, and bay trees. The trail routes on the shady north side of the ridge and therein were lots of going to seed wildflowers like, hounds tongue, clovers, woodland star, chinese houses, shooting star, baby blue eyes, iris, and ferns. Mixed in with the green were considerable areas of poison oak. Growing on many of the trees including the manzanita were lichen with moss below at the base of trunks. I looked for possible aesthetic situations with the manzanitas, some of which were over 2 feet wide at the base and over 20 feet tall. The wind had been increasing all morning to the point I would not be able to easily take any more wildflower closeups. I could see a day to return some late winter would be one with an overcast sky with light rain. Otherwise the understory was a far too contrasty for film, mix of shade and bright sun. A rainy day wetting the shiny red manzanita bark would also help saturate its color. Today there was also a rather thick layer of pollen and dust on the trunks providing an unpleasant white haze. Some of the route was tunnel like through the brush. A couple trail bikers passed me by. A bit later a trail runner approached, I turned around, and the person surprised me calling out my name. It was electronic hardware engineer I'd worked with several years before. And yes I did remember his name too after about 5 seconds haha. At the 3.3 mile point of my hike I reached the turn around point where the trail leaves manzanita then abruptly descends into hot open slopes of artemisia californica, aka California sagebrush.
Out came my Coolpix for a picture of Mahoney Ridge in the distance, then I made my way back along the narrow path questioning whether there was anything that would be worth returning to. I stopped a bit to take some closeups of lichen and caterpillars on smooth dull red manzanita bark. Back along the road I quickly hiked the 0.7 miles to the Poverty Flat Road junction of 5 trails. There I stopped for my mid day lunch break at an old bench below a large valley oak. I had not taken even a sip of water to that point. The winds were obviously stronger than what the NWS had forecast as the green fields of oats visually swayed with each gust. A state park person with a pack on his back sauntered down the road. As he approached I commented that his method of carrying a map in front on a string was much like my own when backpacking. He was due for a shaded break too so we chatted awhile. Soon I was walking along the narrow Forest Trail. A good sheltered by ridge and shaded woodland choice given the wind. Much the same vegetation and trees as on the China Hole Trail, plus a few larkspur. There were also fair numbers of large manzanita. Not as dense as at Manzanita Point, but enough that I'd rather hike the much shorter distance to this area than the latter in the future. I passed a dozen talkative people behind a ranger on a group lead hike.
After a long mile, I reached the Corral Trail junction where my sore feet and shoulders were increasingly eager for the trail end. At one point I startled a garter snake that quickly dropped over a drop off beside the trail, and rolled a ways into the vegetation below. At 2:30pm I reached the now full parking lot that was abuzz with lots of people though I doubted most of them had done much more than wander about the headquarters ranch house and visitor center. In fact as I drove off the remote lot a half mile further down the road had over a dozen vehicles too.
..David
http://www.davidsenesac.com
(Edited by DavidS at 1:33 pm on May 6, 2007)
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Total Posts: 81 | Joined Feb. 2005 | Posted on: 1:07 pm on May 6, 2007 | IP
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gambolin man
Member
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Nice, David! I love reading about Coe adventures!
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Gambolin' Man
http://gambolinman.blogspot.com
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Total Posts: 129 | Joined Feb. 2006 | Posted on: 11:06 am on May 8, 2007 | IP
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Bay Area Hiker Discussion Board
Henry Coe State Park to Manzanita Point
