For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by @thesocalhive I go for a quick hike in Badger Canyon where I found some...

Wildflowers and Rocks!

I headed up behind CSUSB through all the sunflowers to the mouth of Badger canyon for a quick hike. I wasn't planning to go far... but I couldn't help myself. My original plan was to go to an area up there where there are ruins from an old nudist camp. It's pretty cool, but I've been there a bunch of times and it's not a very far hike. As I was hiking up the old dirt road it crossed a couple side forks before getting to the main canyon and the ruins. On the second fork I made a split minute decision and decided to explore up that canyon instead of going to the ruins. Not sure what I'd find... but I like it like that.

Wildflowers

Looking across Badger canyon towards the ruins

I started working my way up the canyon. Down low it had the dug out look of a canyon that had been hit with some flooding. And as I hiked up it I started checking out the rocks and I started seeing some pieces of epidote, mica, and chrysocolla. So of course my rockhound instincts kicked in.

First signs of Epidote

First signs of Chrysocolla

I continued working my way up the canyon and it narrowed and became more overgrown. Eventually I came upon a few dry waterfalls that I had to climb. Luckily someone had ropes tied up already. At one point I came to a fork in the canyon and both looked brutal. So I decided to climb straight up out the west side of the canyon. I climbed up an old landslide and as I did I started finding more epidote and chrysocolla. It was very steep and dangerous terrain, but I collected some specimens and continued up. I got up onto a nice rock outcrop above the canyon and took a quick snack/hydration break. And I noticed there were a bunch of wild onion patches growing all over there. From there I made my way across the hillside, through the thick brush. It was brutal, but as I went I found some even better specimens.

Making my way up the canyon

Climbing up out of the canyon

Break time on the outcrop

Wild Onions

Eventually I made my way across to the Cloudland dirt road. Which was a nice relief from the brush. I hiked down the road a bit and then cut down the trail back into Badger canyon. Once back down in the canyon I made one last quick stop at my favorite little meadow down by the creek and I sat there for awhile just reflecting on how awesome and how random this little adventure was!