1-13-2003  Back to the mountains

This year we missed our usual fall hikes for several reasons, but we've been out twice now in the new year.  Southern California winter hillsides tend to weather to a dormant gray-brown before rains come, but we've had several (albeit brief) rain storms now, which have left the hills thriving with short, bright emerald grasses and other native plants, vetch and mustard among the most common.    Here we head up into the mountains at Satwiwa.

The Satwiwa visitor center (red building) houses displays of native Chumash culture, and also hosts Sunday afternoon presentation by artists, storytellers and musicians from a number of different tribes.

Heading up into the hills from the visitor center, the hiker passes through fields of grasses and native plants.  Hillsides are covered with drought-tolerant chaparral.  Here, the tops of willows peek above a ravine in the foreground.

Behind the first ridge and down into the canyon, the trees are nearly leafless now.  Two weeks ago the sycamores were bright, tracing a yellow-gold trail down the canyon toward the ocean.

Three days of relentless, hot Santa Ana winds at the beginning of last week did their work between then and now, leaving mostly-barren, gray-barked trees with only the occasional bright leaf clinging to them, and the creek filled with fading willow leaves.

In the shadows of the first ridge, small flowers are beginning to bloom along the trail.  Judging from the leaves, this plant with its tiny sprays of pink flowers is probably related to the mallow family.

On shadowed hillsides, several kinds of
ferns thrive in the cool, damp shade.

Heading up the steep trail on the second hillside sometimes requires rest stops.  Here, as the trail turns, we seem to be climbing straight to the sky.

Under its fragile surface soil, the hillsides are rocky, breaking easily into irregular geometric shapes.  But hearty plants thrive anyway, sprouting up in any convenient, hospitable niche.

Our reward was reaching this point, which provided us with an amazing panoramic view.  From this height, the volcanic nature of the local mountains is obvious, as is the continued encroachment of new housing in the area.  The visitor center roof, by the way, can be seen here as a white spot amid the green about 1/4 of the way across the picture from the left.  Next week, the boys want to climb even higher.