Ancient Bristlecones

On our way back from Arizona, Rakesh and I spent a night in the White Mountains of California. These are home to some of the oldest living things on the planet, the Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva).

Found at an altitude between 8000 and 11000 feet, these slow growing pines have survived millennia of wind, snow and sun. Some of these trees were saplings when the Egyptians were building their pyramids.

The wood decays very slowly, this piece is many thousands of years old

The climate is very dry, the primary moisture coming from snow melt in the spring. The soil is made of a rocky limestone which is very alkaline. The Bristlecone Pine has evolved to grow where very few other species can survive.

I have never hugged something that is 4000 years old before

Even the oldest pines continue to produce pollen and seed. There are two colors of cone, the purple being the most common but if you look hard enough, there are green cones as well.

We also found the remains of a mining camp, always fun to explore the history of California.

This mine went on for a long time, I didn't go to the end, it started to get a bit sketchy.

Sunset over the Sierras

Tomales Point Trail (Pt Reyes)

Had a great day yesterday! Went back out to Tomales Point with Lori and Marjorie. The weather was beautiful, wind was pleasant and the elk were out in force.

Tomales Point is at the northern tip of Pt Reyes National Seashore and is a great place to see Tule Elk. It is only a 2 hour drive from our house, so not too far for a day trip.

At the beginning of the hike are a group of buildings belonging to an old Ranch. What an incredible place to live!

Living Roof

We saw four different herds during the 8 mile round trip.

Local Wildlife

Some flowers were blooming.

Iris douglasiana

Pollination in Action

Eschscholzia californica

Lori is Happy

Of course we hit up the Indian Restaurant in Dixon on the way back, YUM!

Stebbins Cold Canyon

We did a quick hike up Stebbins again, this time we took the new trail. I think it is about the same mileage as our usual route but a bit more rugged. My legs definitely felt the difference. Not too many photos, much of it is not very photogenic but still a worthy hike.

Here are a few shots of spring:

Stay clear of this one! All over the trail.

Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve

This is a great little hike relatively close to home. Lori and I have hiked here at least 30 times over the past couple of years. During the summer it is hot and dry but during the winter it is lush and green.




From: UC Davis Visitor Guide



Here is a link to the official website.

We spent a couple of hours hiking the 4.5 mile loop counter-clockwise. I find that people usually hike the loop clockwise and it is not uncommon to get stuck behind slow, oblivious groups of people. Hiking in the opposite direction keeps this to a minimum.

The day was sunny, bright and pleasant. We worked up a pretty good appetite and had a great time.

Mt. Tamalpais

Lori and I headed out to Mt. Tamalpais recently. It is about a two hour drive from where we live and is located just north of San Francisco. The close proximity to 'The City' means that it is very popular and can be very crowded. We went on a cool January day and there was some chance of rain forcasted.

The drive out was a bit tedious and Lori got a little carsick. She took over the driving on the windy road that leads down to Stinson Beach, where the trailhead is.

After parking and finding the beginning of the trail, we hiked up Dipsea trail. There was a small group of girls hiking behind us, they were talking so loudly that we started getting annoyed. After unsuccessfully trying to hike well ahead of them, we finally let them past and enjoyed the relative peace.

Photograph of map at half way point

There were not a lot of people on the trail compared to normal but it was still well used.

Traffic Jam at The Ladder

The rain started around 2pm and came down fairly steady. Lori had brought her rain jacket (smart) and I brought my wind jacket (not as smart). I did eventually get pretty wet on top but surprisingly my REI pants, that I bought for traveling in, were remarkably dry. I think because they are so light, that my body heat was drying them out as they got wet. I really like these pants, they very comfortable, if you want to learn more you can find them here: REI

We finished the 5 mile loop in about 2 hours and made it back to the car wet but happy.

Our belly's were reminding us that we hadn't eaten since breakfast and we were really excited to go to the Indian restaurant in Dixon on our way home. Our friend Rakesh says that this is the closest to Indian home cooking he has had in the US and we all agree that it is very tasty.