I love when little things are more than they seem. This is a tiny rosemary flower that you could easily never stop to notice.
Since I havent posted a blog in like... half a year... I figured I might as well steal one from somewhere else. I wrote this as a trip report for a trip I read. Hope someones interested or at least appreciates the picture of the gnarly snake 
Sykes Hot Spring, Nov '09
Sykes Hot Springs is not only Big Sur’s most frequented backpacking destinations, but it is, in fact, one of the most popular trails in California. Two years ago, Big Sur’s Basin fire ravished the area. The trail remained open for a few months following the fire but closed during the subsequent rainy season due to mudflows and landslides. It took over two years, but the trail was finally reopened this October. A Redwood trip to the location was promptly set.
The hike into the hot springs is purportedly 10 miles but is likely closer to twelve. The first two miles from the trailhead climb approximately 1500 ft on a western facing chapparal slope. On a hot day, the exposure can make this climb tough. Conditions for our trip, however, were cool and close to ideal. The trail then turns upward into into a long canyon through which the Big Sur river runs. The trail is rolling, not gently but not terribly difficult, for the remaining 8-10 miles. It meanders in and out of lateral glutches alternating between cool redwood forests and exposed chaparral. There is reliable water source (though it has to be treated) at Terrance Creek five miles in.
The hot springs themselves are about 1/4 to a 1/2 a mile down stream from where the trail meets the Big Sur river. They are on the left bank (remember, the left bank is defined looking downstream!) There is a trail to them but it requires a bit of scrambling. It took our group approximately 20 minutes to cover this distance. There are three springs: two small ones closer to the river comfortable holding about 3, and one larger spring higher on the hill that comfortably holds about 7. You may find them filled with naked people when you get there. It's no easy task to find a time when a group of 12 can all go in together. We woke up at 6am to accomplish this feat, and also all crammed into the biggest spring.
A lot of people have asked about what the trail looks like after the fire. I can now report that it looks great! I was surprised to see how green and beautiful it really was. Many of the Redwoods are burned to a height of 10-15 meters but have continued growing just fine above that. The trail has a distinctly more open feel as the underbrush has been cleared out. This area is notorious for poison oak. I had feared that poison oak would be able to take advantage as a poineer species and would be worse than ever. As it turns out, there seems to be less poison oak than there has been in years past. It's very early in the wildflower season but a few early bloomers were present. In particular, we saw some milk maids, penstemon and yarrow in bloom. Vetch is getting ready to explode in the sunnier places. A morning glory type flower that I suspect is invasive is beginning to bloom. It is, unfortunately, taking over in some areas.
We found a large Santa Cruz garter snake distinguished from other local garter snakes by its matted yellow dorsal stripe and lack of greens/oranges. (Picture courtesy of CaliforniaHerps.com. Check out the external airway if you ever wondered how a snake can eat and breath at the same time.) This is a pretty neat species. It's locked in an evolutionary arms races with the Rough Skinned Newt. Some species of the rough skinned newt are thought to be the most poisonous creatures in the world (harmless if they bite you, but eat it and you'll surely die). The Santa Cruz garter snake has evolved an increasing resilience to the newt's neurotoxins. Also seen we're several California Condors--a species almost eliminated but now doing fairly well, banana slugs, western fence lizards and the like. The Big Sur river is supposedly a steelhead run for you anglers out there, but I think you'd have to walk fairly far upstream after a long hike to get to an undisturbed location.
Sykes Hot Spring, Nov '09
Sykes Hot Springs is not only Big Sur’s most frequented backpacking destinations, but it is, in fact, one of the most popular trails in California. Two years ago, Big Sur’s Basin fire ravished the area. The trail remained open for a few months following the fire but closed during the subsequent rainy season due to mudflows and landslides. It took over two years, but the trail was finally reopened this October. A Redwood trip to the location was promptly set.
The hike into the hot springs is purportedly 10 miles but is likely closer to twelve. The first two miles from the trailhead climb approximately 1500 ft on a western facing chapparal slope. On a hot day, the exposure can make this climb tough. Conditions for our trip, however, were cool and close to ideal. The trail then turns upward into into a long canyon through which the Big Sur river runs. The trail is rolling, not gently but not terribly difficult, for the remaining 8-10 miles. It meanders in and out of lateral glutches alternating between cool redwood forests and exposed chaparral. There is reliable water source (though it has to be treated) at Terrance Creek five miles in.
The hot springs themselves are about 1/4 to a 1/2 a mile down stream from where the trail meets the Big Sur river. They are on the left bank (remember, the left bank is defined looking downstream!) There is a trail to them but it requires a bit of scrambling. It took our group approximately 20 minutes to cover this distance. There are three springs: two small ones closer to the river comfortable holding about 3, and one larger spring higher on the hill that comfortably holds about 7. You may find them filled with naked people when you get there. It's no easy task to find a time when a group of 12 can all go in together. We woke up at 6am to accomplish this feat, and also all crammed into the biggest spring.
A lot of people have asked about what the trail looks like after the fire. I can now report that it looks great! I was surprised to see how green and beautiful it really was. Many of the Redwoods are burned to a height of 10-15 meters but have continued growing just fine above that. The trail has a distinctly more open feel as the underbrush has been cleared out. This area is notorious for poison oak. I had feared that poison oak would be able to take advantage as a poineer species and would be worse than ever. As it turns out, there seems to be less poison oak than there has been in years past. It's very early in the wildflower season but a few early bloomers were present. In particular, we saw some milk maids, penstemon and yarrow in bloom. Vetch is getting ready to explode in the sunnier places. A morning glory type flower that I suspect is invasive is beginning to bloom. It is, unfortunately, taking over in some areas.
We found a large Santa Cruz garter snake distinguished from other local garter snakes by its matted yellow dorsal stripe and lack of greens/oranges. (Picture courtesy of CaliforniaHerps.com. Check out the external airway if you ever wondered how a snake can eat and breath at the same time.) This is a pretty neat species. It's locked in an evolutionary arms races with the Rough Skinned Newt. Some species of the rough skinned newt are thought to be the most poisonous creatures in the world (harmless if they bite you, but eat it and you'll surely die). The Santa Cruz garter snake has evolved an increasing resilience to the newt's neurotoxins. Also seen we're several California Condors--a species almost eliminated but now doing fairly well, banana slugs, western fence lizards and the like. The Big Sur river is supposedly a steelhead run for you anglers out there, but I think you'd have to walk fairly far upstream after a long hike to get to an undisturbed location.
POTATOES!
I've always kept up a garden. Even when I lived in graduate housing I had an assortment of potted plants. I built a table on which to grow salad. I grew peppers and herbs in pots.
A year and a half ago I moved into a house where I had total freedom to rip up the back yard and plant whatever I liked. There's something to be grown year round in California. I haven't yet mastered my timing to the point where I've been able to harvest something ever month. I'm working on it though.
This fall I planted potatoes. They didn't look all that great. They sort of grew out rather than becoming bushy, got attacked by some little critters that would eat their leaves and then finally wilted over and looked pretty much dead. Murphey's Law: What can go wrong will go wrong. Luca's law: If anything goes wrong, you don't get potatoes.
I pulled them out this weekend and started digging just for kicks. I dug more aggressively at first than I would have if I were expecting to find anything. The skins haven't hardened yet when they're in the ground and you don't want to damage them. As soon as I plunged my hand into the earth I felt a huge round tuber! I had grossly misinterpreted the wilting of the plants. They didn't wilt and die prematurely, they had just finished their cycle!
I grew red skinned potatoes and blue potatoes. The blue potatoes are truly blue, inside and out. They have a gorgeous cross-section when you cut them in half. Potatoes are not uniform in cross-section as your standard mealy potato would have you believe.
The yield wasnt great. I probably planted two pounds of potatoes and harvested four. But the satisfaction of digging for an unexpected treasure and finding it pretty much made my weekend.
I've always kept up a garden. Even when I lived in graduate housing I had an assortment of potted plants. I built a table on which to grow salad. I grew peppers and herbs in pots.
A year and a half ago I moved into a house where I had total freedom to rip up the back yard and plant whatever I liked. There's something to be grown year round in California. I haven't yet mastered my timing to the point where I've been able to harvest something ever month. I'm working on it though.
This fall I planted potatoes. They didn't look all that great. They sort of grew out rather than becoming bushy, got attacked by some little critters that would eat their leaves and then finally wilted over and looked pretty much dead. Murphey's Law: What can go wrong will go wrong. Luca's law: If anything goes wrong, you don't get potatoes.
I pulled them out this weekend and started digging just for kicks. I dug more aggressively at first than I would have if I were expecting to find anything. The skins haven't hardened yet when they're in the ground and you don't want to damage them. As soon as I plunged my hand into the earth I felt a huge round tuber! I had grossly misinterpreted the wilting of the plants. They didn't wilt and die prematurely, they had just finished their cycle!
I grew red skinned potatoes and blue potatoes. The blue potatoes are truly blue, inside and out. They have a gorgeous cross-section when you cut them in half. Potatoes are not uniform in cross-section as your standard mealy potato would have you believe.
The yield wasnt great. I probably planted two pounds of potatoes and harvested four. But the satisfaction of digging for an unexpected treasure and finding it pretty much made my weekend.
