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Designation of "unique": refers to any species that was seen in a single location on the reported day.
Designation of "early": refers to any species that we are seeing this month on this trail for the first time since we started this record. [These flowers have often been reported by others this early. They are, however, early for us.]
Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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23 banana slugs.
6 different wildflower species in bloom. 7 amphibians. Met 1 hiker. 3-layer cold at start, warming to 2 layers. Two observers (8:20 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.) Waterfalls in excellent luminous flow. Lots of downed trees across the trail, particularly Sunset, due to storms in the last month. Bridge at West Waddell Creek is out, though a robust downed tree provides a safe place to cross downstream. Thanks to 
our heroes, the Big Basin volunteer trail-clearing crews.
Slug and flower graphs (in new window). (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) |
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Flowers:
Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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7 banana slugs.
6 different wildflower species in bloom. And a new record of 195 newts. (All terrestrial; many showing their longer and taller tails and other body changes for their breeding season.) 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. Raining, drizzling, misting, and dripping most of the day. This was the first serious rain for a month, which made perfect newt weather. Three observers (8:45 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.) Met 2 hikers. Thanks to
our heroes, the Big Basin volunteer trail-clearing crews.
Slug and flower graphs (in new window). (Access Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) |
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At the Ranger Station HQ:
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Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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Thanks to
our heroes, the trail-clearing crews,
for their great clearing of the downed trees reported
last month.
We appreciate the huge amount of unseen work that they do to make this part of the park accessible to us.
A few more trees are down, just to add to their work. The old bridge over West Waddell Creek is very weak and rickety; be especially careful here. |
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34 banana slugs.
1 newt (terrestrial). 8 different wildflower species in bloom. We list the wildflowers below in the order that we encountered them for the first time. Clear, thin cloud layer with sun breaking through. Fairly still. 3-layers plus hat and gloves needed at start, but soon dropped to two layers and the hat. Two observers: 8:10 a.m. - 2:40 p.m. Met 22 hikers (on the loop, in solos and groups of up to four). Slug and flower graphs (in new window). (Scott's Flower Photos in his on-line portfolio.) |
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At the Ranger Station HQ:
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Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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Damp and 5-layer cold. 3-person team.
(8:05 a.m. - 3:35 p.m.)
Large tan oak leaves covering the ground. Lots of downed trees. 48 Banana Slugs. Astonishing! This is three times the average (14) of the last three years. 12 different wildflower species in bloom. Slug and flower graphs (in new window). Also, 5 newts (all Terrestrial). Lots of winter wrens. Several ravens near HQ. Saw four other hikers on this trail. Berry Creek Falls was spectacular and we saw spray bows. Several red mushrooms; many turkey tail and other fungi. (Scott's Wildflower 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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No wildflowers visible by the Ranger Station HQ. Take Sky-Line-to-the-Sea Trail toward Middle Ridge Fire Road.
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Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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Damp and 3-layer cool. 2-person team.
(9:25 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.)
Thanks to the trail crews, the trail was clear and most of the downed trees reported by Scott Peden six days ago have been removed; at the biggest fall, the trail is rerouted. 58 Banana Slugs. This is four times the average (14) of the last three years, and so it's even more Astonishing than the total reported six days ago! 11 different wildflower species in bloom. Flowers are significantly more dense than on the previous hike. (Look at slug and wildflower count graph in a new window.) Also, 18 newts (16 Terrestrial and 2 Aquatic). Hiked counter clockwise; reached Berry Creek Falls 1:10 p.m. and saw a spray bow. Fewer mushrooms and fungi. Saw only one small patch of blooming Adder's tongue. |
Report by Joan Zimmerman.
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21 banana slugs; 9 wildflower species blooming; 8 newts.
See graphs of slug and wildflower counts (in a new window). |
9 wildflowers: Alum Root (aka crevice heuchera) Heuchera micrantha White. Toothwort (Dentaria californica, var. integrifolia). Pink. Fetid adder's tongue (A bonanza crop) Green and purple. Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana). Pink. Redwood Violet. Yellow. Sensitive Manzanita. White. Sugar-scoop. White. Western wake robin (Trillium ovatum) White. Wild Strawberry. White. Saw a fox trot across the road near the Park Entrance. Rather cold (42 degrees and 90% humidity at 8 a.m. start) which perhaps accounts for the low slug count. A couple of the newts still had their long aquatic tails. Scott asserts that one creaky-hinge call was a green heron. Huge increase in wild pig activity, with overturned dirt beside much of the trail. Fewer mushrooms.
Report by Joan Zimmerman.
Another pleasant mid-week hike. My co-hiker photographed hundreds of shots of fungi and the budding spring wildflowers. Saw two other hikers along the trail. Cold, clear weather, after a dry, cold month.
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| Thanks to the Park Service for their trail clearing and building! |
Highlights:
| 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. They do a huge amount of unseen work to make this part of the park accessible to us. Respect the
Berry Creek Falls Trail, a loop in Big Basin State Park in the Santa
Cruz Mountains near Boulder Creek.
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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 (except as noted). |
