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| California Redwoods and Waterfalls:
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August on the Berry Creek Falls Loop (BCFL) Trail in the Forest of Big Basin State Park. [Route was clockwise except where stated otherwise. Report is by Joan Zimmerman except where stated otherwise.]
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Designation of "unique": In these reports, "unique" refers to any species that was seen in a single location on the reported day.
Designation of
:
In these reports,
("New")
refers to a flower that was not spotted by us in previous years.
Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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2-layer cool to start the day; 1-layer warm and fairly dry after about 3 miles.
(8:40 a.m. - 6:08 p.m.) Team of three observers; met 15 people. Waterfalls pretty but reduced from their spring splendor. 40 Banana Slugs. 29 different flower species in bloom. (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) (Look at slug and flower count graph in a new window.) 25 Aquatic Newts, several of which were newt juveniles (shorter than adults; disproportionately short legs). Many butterflies, particularly California Sisters. Lots of spider webs. Lots of catkins fallen to the ground beneath the tanoaks. Berries on many plants including: bluing balls, fat Solomon's seal, hooker's fairy bell, huckleberries, manzanita pawn-broker bush, salal. We list the flowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time on the hike. The most instances of a flower species seen on this hike was California Harebell, Asyneuma prenanthoides (white). |
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Starting with the flowers (alphabetically) at Ranger Station HQ, many of which are seen on the loop trail; 2 banana slugs at HQ:
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Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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14 Banana Slugs.
22 different wildflower species in bloom. 0 newts. 1-layer warm all day. Some unusually high temperatures in the previous weeks may have lowered the counts. (8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.) Waterfalls still quite pretty. Chipmunk at HQ. Many butterflies especially the California sister. Lots of catkins fallen to the ground beneath the tanoaks. Lots of berries (manzanita, salal, coffee berry tree, burning bush, fairy bells, two-eyed violet, etc.) One thumbnail-diameter broken eggshell; white with a few brown flecks; Winter Wren. Slug and flower graphs (in new window). (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) We list the wildflowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time on the hike. |
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A few wildflowers visible by the Ranger Station HQ:
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Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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51 Banana Slugs.
28 different wildflower species in bloom. 3 Aquatic newts. 1-layer warm all day. Humid which may account for the record number of slugs in August. (8:40 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.) Waterfalls still glorious. The rivers are presumably fed by sea fog. Many butterflies especially the California sister. Lots of catkins fallen to the ground beneath the tanoaks. Slug and flower graphs (in new window). (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) We list the wildflowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time on the hike.
Berry Creek Falls Loop Trail: paces calibration.
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A few wildflowers visible by the Ranger Station HQ:
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Report by Joan Zimmerman and Scott Peden, Photographer and Docent at Big Basin State Park.
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Hot; breezes in the tree tops brought showers of dry tan oak leaves.
8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. 21 Banana Slugs; all but 2 were seen on 'uphill' side of trail, where visibility is clearer. 24 different flower species in bloom. (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) (Look at slug and flower count graph in a new window.) Also, 9 newts; 4 snakes; lots of California Sister butterflies. Over a dozen California nutmeg trees sprouting up to 3 feet tall. Go 
Oak Grove High (Sacramento) cross country runners.
Enjoying the hilly trail as part of their summer training camp, about 30 fleet and light-footed and polite runners passed us up and down the trail. We list the flowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time on the hike. |
Designation of "unique": In this report, the designation of "unique" is given to those species that were seen in a single location.
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Starting with the flowers at Ranger Station HQ:
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Notes by Joan Zimmerman and Scott Peden .
4 banana slugs and 15 flower species blooming. (Look at slug and flower count graph in a new window.)
Lots of tan oak catkins on the ground. Occasional thump as the wind blew down tan oak cones. Species seen in blossom (alphabetically): Butterweed (yellow) California Harebell (blue) California Hedge Nettle (pink) California Spikenard (white) Hawkweed (yellow) Redwood Sorrel (pale pink) Redwood Violet (yellow) Rein orchid (Scott suggests Piperia trans versa) (pale green) Sugar Scoop (white) Tarweed (yellow) Tiger Lily (magnificent orange) Trail Plant (white) Western Azalea (cream though old and desiccated) White Hawkweed (white) Wintergreen (pink) [The pinkness makes me think Bog Wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia) though it seems to be outside its range.]
Report by Scott Peden, Photographer and Docent at Big Basin State Park.
This Glorious Day held THESE HIGHLIGHTS:
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19 Banana Slugs (Slug photos)
26 different flowers in bloom. See how to access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) (Look at slug and flower count graph in a new window.) After having more than 40 Banana Slugs counted on each of the last four months, this is a let down, but I have to remember that the Crystal Geyser man doesn't deliver to these fellows: they only have had about 6 inches of rain fall (not including fog drip) since last Christmas, whereas 20-24 inches in February alone isn't uncommon in other years. My feelings (not checking statistics) is that this has been a cooler summer too, than the average year. Please note: I mention the flowers in the order that I see them, on each section of the trail.
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Historical note: Although we saw lots of berries on this hike, Berry Creek, and Falls, were named for a Mr. Berry, who had a cabin just below the falls.
We left at 8:41 AM from the Ranger Station/HQ, taking Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail
toward Berry Creek Falls.
Park HQ to Middle Ridge Fire Road, on the Skyline to the Sea Trail:
1. California Hedge Nettle
2. Rushes in Bloom
3. Harebell
4. Redwood Violet
Middle Ridge Fire Road to Sunset Trail connector:
5. Hawkweed
Harebell (lots of them!)
* Pairs of Orange Red seeds on the Hookers Fairy Bells
6. Wintergreen, Pyrola Picta
Banana Slug, 1.
Sunset Trail Connector to Kelly Creek bridge:
Start of the hillside meadow.
7. Tarweed
8. Blackberry
9. Orange Sticky Monkey Flower
10. A fading One Leaved Onion
11. Ocean Spray
12. Common Groundsel
* The bright black/purple seeds of 'Douglas' Nightshade
end of hillside meadow
* Doug, One of the State Trail Crew Members making a small bridge winter-ready.
Harebell
13. Alum Root
* four Spotted(?) Coral Root Orchids with large seed pods, not quite dry.
Banana Slugs, 2 more, total 3.
Kelly Creek bridge to east end of Loop Trail:
Harebell
Redwood Violet
Alum Root
14. Elks Clover/Spikenard
* A huge cluster of reddish seeds on the end of a Fat (False) Solomon's Seal
* Seed pods on Bedstraw
a.k.a. Cleavers (Galium aparine).
* Bluing Balls or Bead Lily (Here is a good name change, when in-flower this is the Red Clintonia!)
Banana Slugs 4, total 7.
East end of Loop Trail to the west end of Loop Trail:
Ca Hedge Nettle
Elks Clover/Spikenard
* Banana Slug having eaten 1/2 of a huge Western Wake Robin (Trillium Ovatum) leaf
* 3/4" snail that has a brownish gray shell, on a dry tan Oak leaf
Harebell
* Hookers Fairy Bell, with 8 pairs of red seeds
Banana Slugs 3, total is now 10.
West end of Loop Trail, to Timms Creek Trail:
15. Helleborine, European Invasive Orchid
Harebell
Ca. Hedge Nettle
16. Redwood Sorrel
* Five Fingered Ferns
Alum Root
* Banana Slug eating a California Hedge Nettle leaf
Bluing Balls
17. Trail Plant
* An orchid that I am as yet unfamiliar with: it has seed pods; it is on the uphill side of the trail,
just before a U-shaped cut in a log that we have to walk through; and this is just before the
Timms Creek Trail intersection.
Banana Slugs 4 for a total of 14.
At this point we have seen so many folks, that we have been reminiscing about the Winter, when we
would find more banana Slugs than people!
Timms Creek Trail to the viewing bench of Berry Creek Falls:
18. Sugar Scoop
* Lady Ferns
Trail Plant
Hellebourines lots of them from one end to the other of this trail section
* Poison Oak, looking just lovely with Sword Fern and Redwood Sorrel in a creekside setting.
Bluing Balls
* Huge Fly, 1/2 the size of the Redwood Violet leaf that it is sitting on. 6 legs, wings similar to a
honeybee, Glossy Black head, and a amberish thorax. Wings folded so far over the back that it
looks like one wing. From what I can tell from my California Insets, this may be a
Rodent BOT fly.
Redwood Sorrel
* Dew in the spider Webs shimmer as they go far up the side of a redwood giant.
* The Fetid Adders Tongue leaves, from the Jan/Feb blooming, are now turning yellow and
decomposing. The seed heads are now all open and the seeds dispersed.
Hawkweed
Ca Hedge Nettle
Harebell
* The water at Berry Creek Falls is now noticeable less, even from the viewing bench.
Banana Slugs 3 more, 17 total.
Berry Creek Falls viewing bench to Silver Falls (arrived at 12:45 p.m.):
Ca Hedge Nettle
Trail Plant
Sugar Scoop
Alum Root
Harebell
Bluing Balls
Elks Clover/Spikenard
Wintergreen, Pyrola Picta
19. Brook Foam, Boykinia Elata
* the red Rose Hips, of the Wood Rose
* many California Sisters (butterfly's)
Banana Slugs, 1 more, 18 total.
Silver/Cascade/Golden Falls to the Sunset Camp trail marker:
* Gorgeous huge Spider webs
* it is obvious at golden falls that the water flow on the west Berry Creek is only 1/4th as wide as it
was in June.
* Nutmeg needles are really standing out at this time of the year. I have never noticed so many of them before.
There isn't any trail dust on them either.
Sunset Camp trail marker to East Berry Creek bridge:
We arrived at the trail marker at 1:45
Entering a Chaparral area:
20. Chamise
21. Bush Poppy
* The hillside where the fire happened about 4 years ago, is carpeted green, with Knobcone Pine
trees, 4-7 feet tall, and some of these have cones on them already.
* More fresh berries (little apples) on the Manzanita's
22. Toyon, 1 lone branch with flowers
* Other Toyon Branches have dozens of green seeds, that will turn red later in the season, giving this,
our State Shrub, the nick name of the California Christmas Tree.
23. California Cudweed
* Yerba Santa Seeds
* Huckleberry; from these dwarfed chaparral climate Huckleberry bushes are blue black.
reentering the coniferous forest
Harebell many of them
East Berry Creek bridge to Timms Creek Trail:
Harebell
* Huge seed pods on the Iris Dougliousa, about to open
* large white mushrooms about to come thru the ground
* Many Rosehips on a large Wood Rose, by several dead Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) Trees,
at the highest part of this section of trail.
24. White Milkwort. Uncommon not just in its color, but these are growing in clumps instead
of individual plants, as I am accustomed to see in this park.
* Spotted Coral Root Orchid 'unspotted Yellow variety'
Banana Slug 1, total now 19.
Timms Creek Trail to the West Waddell Creek bridge:
25. Spotted Coral Root Orchid "Red unspotted variety"
* Pileated Woodpecker and Chickadees just before the Bridge
West Waddell Creek bridge to the Skyline to the Sea Trail connector (arrived at the bridge at 3:10 p.m.):
* Dried up stalk with seed pods of Spotted Coral Root Orchid "unspotted yellow variety"
Harebell
Redwood Violet
Hawkweed
Orange Sticky Monkey flower
*Rose hips
26. Rein Orchid, Piperia trans versa
Skyline to the Sea Connector Trail, to Middle Ridge Fire Road
Hawkweed
No other flowers on the way back to the Ranger Station, arriving at 4:50 PM,
for a little over 8 Hours, and 213 pictures.
Summer is over, and Fall has officially arrived. Poison Oak turning red, Green cones on the ground of the Redwood Trees, and the Redwoods are also 'wearing' their russet under clothes: the trees shed needles, especially heavily at this time of the year, and this is what is turning brown under all of the healthy green.
| Our continued thanks to
the Trail crews of the State Park System,
and the several volunteer trail crews,
some of whom have been at this for 30 years. There is a huge amount of unseen work that they do to make this part of the park accessible to us. |
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| The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California , by James C. Hickman (Editor), Willis Linn Jepson. (First published 1925) Willis Linn Jepson's Manual of the Flowering Plants of California became a standard reference for teachers, students, and naturalists. This new volume includes a wealth of material accumulated over almost a century. Two hundred botanists across North America contributed to this comprehensive resource and authoritative identification guide. Recommended for those with (or pursuing) formal education in botany and plant ID identification. |
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Forest and Tree Home,
Glossary pages: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, p, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. |
[Thanks for visiting.]
| Copyright © 2002-2007 by Joan Zimmerman and Scott Peden. |