Rain or shine, I just gotta go hiking.
Today, I rolled out of the marital Saturday sleep-in cuddle-o-rama as the morning turned into afternoon. The rain spoiled my spouse's plans to do some welding, and it also foiled my urge to photograph some ruins for the Abandoned Shit Weekly contest at a colder elevation.
All that aside, with @mattlovell available to shuttle me, today was the perfect opportunity to hit Plunge Creek Trail as a 5.75 mile thru hike.
California Bay Laurel gleams in the steep rainwater drainage.
Wet weather is the best way to enjoy the chaparral in my opinion, and Plunge Creek Trail has the most delightful riparian habitat as it climbs up from Little Mill Creek around Harrison Mountain.
Southern California inland chaparral is one of my most cherished biomes because amidst its evergreen foliage, there is always something in bloom.
For example, that same tree, the California Bay Laurel, is currently in the freshness of its March flowering. Cousin to the Avocado, its golfball-sized fruits are edible, and its large seed can be made into either a coffee or a chocolate substitute. Compare the bloom above with the photo I snapped of my new avocado tree not too long ago: https://steemit.com/photography/@creationofcare/avocado-in-bloom
Dendromecon rigida, Bush Poppy, one of the most flamboyant of the early spring flowers.
Willow shrub with tiny pink pompoms grows in an intermittent drainage stream.
This smooth-leaf variety of scrub oak is in full bloom all over this locale!
The combination of scents from chaparral herbs in the rain is intoxicating. Above is a Scrub Oak in bloom surrounded by Yerba Santa.
From the desert floor to the Santa Ana Canyon, Sugarbush trees with their shiny, waxy leaves and pink-tinged tips are always attractive. Even more so when draped with a delicate Wild Cucumber vine in full bloom.
Heteromeles arbutifolia, California Holly, or Toyon Berry. This specimen was loaded with gorgeous, edible fruit.
Here is another local native, the elegant Elderberry tree. I know where I will be wildcrafting juicy berries come midsummer to make the cordial taste of Victoriana.
After several years of hiking this trail, for some reason I never before spotted this surveyors mark:
All in all, it was a wonderful couple of hours with my trusty hound in the National Forest.
Hope the flowers brighten your day!
Love,Cat
@creationofcare
