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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 J. Zimmerman.
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3-layer cool to start the day; down to 2-layer after about 3 miles.
(8:20 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) Team of three observers. Met 0 people. Gorgeous vermilion blankets of redwood leaves. Waterfalls pretty but still only mild; spray-bows at Berry Creek Falls. 48 Banana Slugs. 2 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.) 7 adult terrestrial amphibians (all newts), including one with a chalky-grey back.
Berries and other seed housings on many plants including: bluing balls on Clintonia; rose hips. Many mushrooms and fungi. 
GREAT NEWS:
A boardwalk across year-round quagmire has been added to Sunset Trail near the Marion Jones Grove.
THANKS TO THE BUILDERS.
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Flowers (alphabetically) seen on the hike:
Report by J. Zimmerman.
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3-layer cool to start the day; down to 2-layer for a few hours mid-day.
(8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) Team of four observers, with one exiting a little ahead from Golden Falls. Met only one person (sadly, a plump and smug man who was cycling illegally and breaking down the trails). Gorgeous vermilion blankets of redwood leaves; beautiful yellow-gold big-leaf maple leaves. Waterfalls pretty but still only mild. 95 Banana Slugs (86 on the part that we hiked plus 9 pro-rated from comparable data in our reports for 2004, 2005, and 2006). [Because of a prescribed burn, we were detoured from part of our usual route, having to omit the stretch of Sunset Trail between West Waddell Bridge and Middle Ridge Fire Road. No counts were kept on the detour (via fire road and then C4 trail). I pro-rated the banana slug count for the average percentage that we have seen (for the last three years) in December in the by-passed section of the trail compared with the whole route.] 2 different flower species in bloom. We list the flowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time on the hike. (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) (Look at slug and flower count graph in a new window.) 13 aquatic amphibians (all Pacific Giant Salamanders). 29 land amphibians (all newts). One lizard ["alligator lizard" Scott Peden] watching a banana slug near the Middle Ridge Fire Road. One butterfly: California Sister (on the ground). Still several berries and other seed housings: Bluing balls on Clintonia; huckleberries; madrone; rose hips; salal; ONE Fat Solomon Seal with berries. Many mushrooms and fungi; several were being colonized by pale hairy mold. Lace ferns and coffee ferns and California Polypodys are green (as last month). |
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No flowers at HQ. Taking Dool Trail toward Sunset Trail - beginning our counter-clockwise exploration. By Middle Ridge Fire Road: 1 new slug (1 total). By Sky-Line-to-the-Sea Trail Connector on Sunset Trail: [not surveyed in 2007 due to prescribed burn detour]. By West Waddell Creek Bridge on Sunset Trail: [not surveyed in 2007 due to prescribed burn detour] estimated number of new slug (from pro-rating from Middle Ridge Fire Road as explained above and below) = 9; total now 10. By Timms Creek Trail on Sunset Trail: 3 new slugs (13 total). By East Berry Creek Bridge: 15 new slugs (28 total).
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| Slugs seen in previous years | On Sunset Trail between West Waddell Bridge and Middle Ridge Fire Road | On entire Berry Creek Falls Loop | Percentage |
| 2002 | (insufficient information) | 118 | Unknown |
| 2003 | (insufficient information) | 91 | Unknown |
| 2004 | 7 | 91 | 7.7% |
| 2005 | 7 | 46 | 15.2% |
| 2006 | 2 | 22 | 9.1% |
| Total for 2004 to 2006 | 16 | 159 | 10.1% |
| 2007: Pro-rating from 86 slugs recorded on open portion of Loop Trail. | Add 9 | 95 (86+9) | 9.5% |
Report by J. Zimmerman.
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22 banana slugs.
4 different wildflower species in bloom. 6 newts. (All terrestrial although 3 were on the edge of a pool.) Scott Peden identified birds: California towhee, junco, piliated woodpecker, spotted towhee, winter wren. Scott noticed in several places the feathery remains of the migrating spotted towhee. We list the wildflowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time on this COUNTER-CLOCKWISE hike. 4-layer cold at start, warming to 2 layers. Two observers (joined by a third at Berry Creek Falls) (8:20 a.m. - 4:35 p.m.) Lots of signs of last month's controlled burn, including ashy and charcoal-like smells, blackened wood, fire-consumed wood, and charred tan oak leaves (which seem rather resistant to burn). Met 0 hikers. Thanks to
our heroes, the Big Basin volunteer trail-clearing crews,
Noticed lots of yellow big-leafed maple leaves. Also noticed green leaves in West Berry Creek; red alder is the only deciduous tree locally that drops its leaves green; looking up, we saw a living 40-foot red alder inclined at about 70° off vertical over the Creek. [This is over the Cascades, which is in-between Silver falls and Golden Falls on West Berry Creek.] Slug and flower graphs (in new window). (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) |
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No flowers at Ranger Station HQ. Taking Dool Trail toward Sunset Trail - beginning our counter-clockwise exploration. By Middle Ridge Fire Road (on Sunset Trail): 0 slugs. By Sky-Line-to-the-Sea Trail Connector (5.2 miles from Park H.Q. on Sunset Trail): 0 slugs. By West Waddell Creek Bridge (on Sunset Trail): 2 slugs spotted; 2 total. Scott, who is keen on blueing balls, noted them before Timms Creek. By Timms Creek Trail (on Sunset Trail): 0 new slugs; 2 total. By East Berry Creek Bridge (on Sunset Trail): 2 new slugs; 4 total. After the bridge, several Golden Chinquapins were very showy.
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Report by J. Zimmerman.
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46 banana slugs.
Only 5 different wildflower species in bloom. 2 Aquatic newts and 2 terrestrial newts. We list the wildflowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time. Frost on rooftops and meadows on the way to the park. 3-layers plus hat and gloves needed at start (35 degrees; humidity 81%). Three observers till Berry Creek Falls, then one (jz) completed the loop while the others retraced. (8 a.m. - 3 p.m.) Met 17 hikers (on the loop, including solos, pairs, and a group of 6). Thanks to
our heroes, the trail-clearing crews.
We appreciate the huge amount of unseen work that they do to make this part of the park accessible to us. Beware on the rickety old bridge over West Waddell Creek. For information only, the two-person team that retraced from Berry Creek Falls to HQ saw 29 banana slugs over the same terrain that the three-person crew earlier counted 25. We hypothesize that more were out in the warmest part of the day when the return trip was made. Also Scott Peden observed: buds on the Western Azalea; Coffee Fern; lichens on the base of several redwoods had little red bulbous flowers; many mushrooms. Clear; fairly still. Lots of redwood duff. Slug and flower graphs (in new window). (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) |
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One wildflower by the Ranger Station HQ:
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Report by J. Zimmerman.
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Cool and sunny; heavy winds and rain three days earlier,
(8:40 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.)
91 Banana Slugs. Included a recently separated mating pair, one of which had a quarter-inch exposed raggedy sex organ. 3 different flower species in bloom. Also, 12 newts (all Terrestrial). (Look at slug and flower count graph in a new window.) Warning: Counts may be low because the observer was struggling with the flu (thanks to the Junior Bush Administration's failure to get enough flu vaccinations in the USA so she could have one). The most amazing chance to see a god halo: rising from East Berry Creek through condensation mist back-lit by a faint sun, I moved my head so that the sun was shielded by dead tan oak trunks. In the mist close to the sun was a halo, violet on the outside (instead of the inside as in a rainbow), the darkness brightening inward to yellow then fiery gold. Berry Creek Falls was spectacular and all the ephemeral creeks and streams were back. Lots of fungi and mushrooms - the most in number and variety this season - remember, look but don't take any. Smell of smoke near Middle Creek Fire Road, and a few charred indications of a small controlled burn. Recent downpours had washed from the trails most of the vermilion blankets of redwood leaves. (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) We list the flowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time on the hike. |
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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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No flowers visible by the Ranger Station HQ. Take Sky-Line-to-the-Sea Trail toward Middle Ridge Fire Road. By Middle Ridge Fire Road: 1 slug; slug count so far is 1. By Sunset Connector Trail junction: 9 new slugs, 10 total. By Kelly Creek Bridge: 20 new slugs, 30 total. By East End (upper) of the side trail: 8 new slugs, 38 total. By West End (lower) of the side trail: 3 new slugs, 41 total. By Timms Creek Trail: 8 new slugs, 49 total. And 1 terrestrial newt, 1 total.
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Two reports this month, both shown below: Thursday, December 11, 2003 and Friday, December 19, 2003.
Report by J. Zimmerman.
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59 banana slugs; 3 flower species blooming; 1 newt.
See graphs of slug and flower counts (in a new window). |
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3 flowers: (1) Coyote Brush flowers at park HQ. Greenish-white. (2) Alum root (aka crevice heuchera) Heuchera micrantha White. (3) Sensitive Manzanita White. Astonishing hike with no one else in the forest. Only 4 placed where I had to clamber over/under fallen trees, despite the recent gales. 7 quail sitting down. 3 wild turkey strutting their bedraggled stuff. POSSIBLY a bob cat - surprised a moderate-sized short-tailed grey-brown furry animal, which clambered agilely up a steep bank in the cover of a downed redwood near Silver Falls. A phenomenal suburb of 11 slugs in about 50 feet above Berry Creek Falls. And an entwined pair of kissing slugs by the Sunset Trail. Worrisome signs of wild pig activity, in overturned dirt beside trail near Silver Falls. More mushrooms than 2 weeks ago - but none where the pigs plundered.
Report by Scott Peden.
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91 banana slugs; 5 flower species blooming; 10 newts.
(Look at slug and flower count graph in a new window.) |
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4 flowers: (1) Sensitive Manzanita (2) Coyote Brush (3) Alum Root (4) Sugar Scoop Also Bluing Balls. Flowering Lichens. Many different shrooms, mostly on fallen logs. Coral Fungi! "Rangers in all of the parks this year are really geared up for ticketing flower harvesters. Mushrooms are the flowers of the organism. It is a pretty hefty [maybe $213?] fine."
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Respect the
Berry Creek Falls Trail, a loop in Big Basin State Park in the Santa
Cruz Mountains near Boulder Creek.
Respect the trail restrictions, in courtesy for the Forest and other users: Hikers only. No dogs. No horses. No mountain bikes. |
This month's report is for: Thursday, December 12th 2002.
Check out the introduction to this glorious hike on the Berry Creek Falls Loop Trail. See also our archives and our recent monthly reports:
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118 Banana Slugs (Slug photos)
12 Newts. 4 different flowers in bloom. (See how to access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) (Look at graphs of slug and flower counts, in a new window.) Please note: I mention the flowers in the order that I see them, and only once for each section of the trail.
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THE HIGHLIGHTS
On the trail with me today is Joan. Mushrooms and other funguses, many weird and strange-looking ones. Frequently there were Banana Slugs on them, and actively eating them [Ed. and sliming them in the process - a cautionary (yucky?) note to mushroom thieves.] What a visual treat! Remember your Ethics!. No picking allowed. And another high count for the Newts, they are so interesting. FIRE in the Forest! The controlled burn that is happening on the basin side of our walk (nearest to Headquarters, across Opal Creek) took a lot of our attention early on. A 3-ft diameter Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) burning, and with glowing coals, lay next to a live Redwood tree. The redwood's bark had been scraped off by the falling Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and some of its bark had turned to ash, but relatively little damage besides that, even with the fire right next to it! I will get a better look at it after we get a breather in this drenching storm that started just hours after we left the park. In the Burn area it was really comfortably warm, compared to the cold of the parking lot. Going down Skyline to the Sea Trail to the Falls it was damp, looked as though it had just rained in places, and cold. From Sunset Camp trail back to Middle Ridge Fire road, and was reasonably dry and I had my shirt unbuttoned! So much for a boring winter day on a trail in Big Basin. Pics of the Newts and Banana Slugs eating 'shroom will be on the picture site soon. Latin Names and more information are posted with each picture on my picture site. I load pictures to that on-line portfolio (see how to access Scott's Flower Photos) as time permits. Note: Funguses and Mushrooms are protected just as all of the flowers, trees and shrubs are. This is a State park, and these are here for all of us to enjoy. No one is allowed to pick or harm any feature in the park or to take anything home, etc. There are penalties for this. Last January on Tuesday the 15th, I walked to Berry Creek Falls, and counted dozens of fungus and mushroom. I took pictures as my trophies. I walked to the falls again on Friday, Jan 18th 2002, 3 days later, and there were only 6 mushrooms left; even the poisonous ones were gone.
THE PARTICULARS!
Park HQ up Skyline to the Sea Trail to Middle Ridge Fire Road
* Left at 8:15
* Santa Cruz/Townsend Chipmunk running in and out under the redwood log benches at the
camp fire center.
* Mushrooms growing out of downed trees. Part of the Recycling process,
* FIRE in the Forest. A Controlled Burn. There were many different places that had been
set fire to, in the process of removing large pieces of fuel that would contribute
to a major forest fire, making the likelihood of a major fire happening in these
already burned areas. We spent a good amount of time looking around at what has happened
during this Controlled Burn.
* Banana Slug (on a side road to our loop, so we can't include it in our count) was
climbing over the burnt part of a hillside, and apparently finding something good
to eat. (We were on Middle Ridge Fire Road, looking at some spectacular Burled
trees, just up hill from the Skyline to the Sea Trail.)
Middle Ridge Fire Road to Sunset Trail connector
* 9:20 AM. We are already 50 minutes behind my normal arrival, and it was dark the last
2 times I finished this trail. We check for Flashlights, and mine that lives in the pack
is still with me. We don't want to rush this walk, as there are so many different things
to see that are not here in the summer.
* Several Mushroom and other Fungus, some of the more interesting are decomposing the ends
of Tan Oak Logs, Witches Butter being the only one I can identify
* Joan and I were talking about the number of Banana Slugs that we might see today, after
all of a year doing good observations, and thought that the mean number of 30 to 45
would be likely.
6 Banana Slugs
Sunset Trail Connector to Kelly Creek Bridge
1. Coyote Brush. A very strange greenish yellow thing. We usually notice this plant
when the flower has gone to seed, and see the puffy white down, like a Dandelion.
* More 'shrooms, with many slugs dining on them, one Nanner eating an old Trillium
(Western Wake Robin) leaf
16 Banana Slugs, total 22. I now wonder if we will get a hundred, as this is in keeping
with the other real high counts that we have had.
Kelly Creek Bridge to east end of Loop Trail
2. Douglas's Nightshade
* More interesting Mushrooms and shelf Fungus
3 Banana Slugs total now 25
East end of Loop Trail to west end of Loop Trail
* There are Mushrooms that don't have caps, ones that are cup shaped, different colored
and ones that look like Coral!
4 Banana Slugs, total 29 Many of these are eating Mushrooms, or climbing over them.
West and of Loop Trail to Timms Creek Trail
* There was even a bright blue with white speckles Fungus living on a dead Douglas Fir log
16 Banana Slugs, total 45, we are sure that we are looking at another record high count,
considering the average counts are 20 to 40 slugs
3 Newts
Timms Creek Trail to Berry Creek Falls Viewing Bench
3. Sugar-scoop
32 more Banana Slugs! As many as we get in some months! total 77, we are now in 3rd place
for grand total number of Nanners seen in one day on this trail.
Mushrooms and Trilliums are the main course meals today .
7 Newts for a total of 10, second place already for Newts, and this has been a good season
for them.
Berry Creek Falls Viewing Bench to Silver Falls
* The changing shapes of the Fungus just keep amazing me! Blues White Cream Brown Orange!
Singles and colonies on hillsides and logs!
25 Banana Slugs, total now 102
2 Newts, total 12
Silver Falls to Sunset Trail Camp connector
4 more Banana Slugs, total 106
Sunset Camp Connector Trail to east Berry Creek Bridge
* 2:45 PM left Sunset Camp Connector trail
4. Several small leaved Manzanita in bloom
* Huckleberries heavy with fruit
* Fox or Coyote scat in the trail, heavily laden with huckleberries
* Salal Berries
* A new variety of Mushrooms, with a 2-3 inch across ball pushing its way
up thru the Earth, and others like it that have already opened up, have
4-5 inch across 'hats.'
East Berry Creek bridge to Timms Creek Trail
* And more different types of Fungus/Mushrooms
3 banana slugs, total 109
Timms Creek Trail to West Waddell Bridge
* More different types of 'shrooms
West Waddell Bridge to Sunset Connector Trail
* 10-15 minutes before Sunset Connector Trail, I am taking pictures
in the relative dark, and the odds are good that we are only seeing
the most obvious Nanners.
9 Nanners, for a total of 118
Skyline to the Sea Connector Trail to Middle Ridge Fire Road.
5:03 PM
It is too dark to see anything but the outline of the trail
Middle Ridge Fire Road to Park HQ
5:15 PM
It is now so dark that we must use the flashlight to see the trail, and the roots in it.
Lightly overcast, so the moon is hardly any real help at all.
Arrived at park HQ at 5:35 PM.
Times:
Left ranger station 8:15 AM
Returned to HQ at 5:35 PM.
9 hours and 20 minutes on the Trail today.
| Our continued thanks to
our heroes, the Big Basin volunteer trail-clearing crews,
some of whom have been at this for 30 years. They do a huge amount of unseen work 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 is 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. |
| Coast Redwood : A Natural and Cultural History. Editors Michael G. Barbour, John Evarts, Marjorie Popper. | |
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South Bay Trails: Outdoor Adventures in & Around Santa Clara Valley: From the Diablo Range to the Pacific Ocean
by Jean Rusmore, Frances Spangle, Betsy Crowder.
568 miles of the best trails around the South San Francisco Bay. | |
| Peninsula Trails: Outdoor Adventures on the San Francisco Peninsula by Jean Rusmore, Frances Spangle, Betsy Crowder. | |
| Foghorn Outdoors: 101 Great Hikes of the San Francisco Bay Area by Ann Marie Brown. Lovely and usually easy trails. | |
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Redwood Region Flower Finder : A Guide to Identifying Wildflowers
of The Coastal Fog Belt of California by Phoebe Watts, Sarah Ellen Watts (Illustrator). |
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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. |
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[Thanks for visiting.]
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Copyright
© 2001-2012 by
J. Zimmerman,
except for sections authored by Scott Peden, which are Copyright © 2002-2012 by Scott Peden. |