Yosemite High Country & Lower Yosemite Falls December 30th 2011

The Shortest Winter in Existence

We had all of about 2-3 weeks of snow total this winter in Yosemite. Currently, it's been sunny, and almost summer-like with staff walking around property in short sleeved tees. In October we had a small dump of snow which wreaked havoc for about a week. Now there's not a flake in sight.

Mushrooms in Yosemite

 

Gymnopilus junonius

 

Gomphus floccosus

 

Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster Mushrooms)

Russula 'mariae'

 Gomphus floccosus

High Country and Mono Lake

Yosemite: I live here

Yosemite Valley

I Love Yosemite!!

Yosemite!

My new home for the next two and a half months - Yosemite National Park.
 I'm going to be guiding hikes and snowshoeing trips at the Evergreen Lodge outside Hetch Hetchy Valley through the end of December. It's absolutely breath-taking here and I can't wait to get hiking. I don't have the best internet connection (and no cell service) but I will try and blog from time to time to update about anything cool I experience.

Two Harbors, Catalina

 I spent the weekend out in Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island - an island in the channel island chain. While the purpose of the trip was for fun and to visit old friends from my time working out there, I did get a bit of birding in on the beach. On Monday, after the big Buccaneers Days event was over and all the pirates had sailed for home, the isthmus was pretty empty. Apparently a large bait ball of fish had been using the boats for cover, and they were left exposed. ALL the birds from "Bird Rock" - so called for a huge colony of pelagic cormorants, gulls, and brown pelicans that live there - drove them into the harbor in a feeding frenzy.

A few people were on dinghy boats or kayaking when the birds descended and all they could do was watch and hope not to be landed on or worse while the flock was overhead! It was phenomenal to watch the huge flotillas of cormorants diving from the surface as the pelicans bombed down from above, and the western and Heermann's gulls drove the small fish onto shore to pick off. It finally died down and a friend, who had run out to swim in the midst of it and try for a few bigger fish that could have been feeding on the school, said that there was nothing left but scales raining down in the water. Amazing.

Aliso & Wood Canyon Wilderness Park

Had an awesome hike in Aliso & Wood Canyon Wilderness Park today.The weather was sort of overcast and misty, probably a thick marine layer that never quite burned off. I saw all sorts of good birds, including a loggerhead shrike, some lark sparrows, and a bunch of raptors including, a red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, American kestrel, and a white-tailed kite.

Aliso Woods

Find hiking trails in California

Bommer Canyon Hike

I went for a short, 4 mile out and back hike in Bommer Canyon today. Since the City of Irvine took over the property, its been made public, but access has also been changed dramatically. Now instead of driving in to the staging area to hike out, there's a mustard-filled "nature loop" that you must take to get to the real trail. Definitely took away some of the pleasure of the trip to have to hike out to the start of the real hike in flat, monocultured, unshaded land.

Caterpillar Phacelia

 Stinking Gourd

 California Buckwheat

 Trail