Hiking Pinecrest Peak

One of the places I visted this summer was Pinecrest Lake, CA. My dad, sister, and I took a long hike up Pinecrest Peak, through Cloe's Back which is a land-marked trail, in hopes of reaching the valley yonder for good fishing. Alas we did not make it. Sadly I was wearing inadequate shoes and the soles begin to fall off by the time we reached the wet granite vertical slabs that leads to a pass into the valley. Not a good combination lol.

But I'm proud of the elevation gain we did that day. Seven miles and nearly 4,000 ft gain :) Not to mention the amazing views. 

Wolf Lichen 

My dad fishing :)

Pinecrest Lake

Mule Deer 

My Dad and little sister Brenna

The falls at the base of Cloe's Back. The falls really run over several miles up the peak and it was amazing to see all the white water rushing and smashing into the granite. Throughout the whole hike we were walking among the falls as we rock climbed the land marked trail. 

View from half way up Pinecrest Peak!

Subalpine Painted Bush (Castilleja lemmonii) and wild flowers growing from a small patch of dirt cover on the granite. 

It was awesome hiking among the vertical granite slabs. I had to pull a cliff hanger move several times to save time. The views were awesome. Too bad for my shoes!

View of Pinecrest peak from the fall's point of view.

The falls in a flatter terrain on the way up.

This is where I ended up having to call it quites. My converse had been soaked the whole hike and the soles started to fall off. In the horizon you can see the tree break on the edge of the valley we were trying to get too. So close, yet so far!

The view heading back down the peak. 

This trail was a lot of fun but very difficult. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't have experience with rock climbing and scared of heights. There were many points among the climb were you're climbing wet slabs of granite that are nearly vertical...which I didn't mind too much. It's just if you fall, you're falling into the falls and I doubt anyone could survive that mistake lol. 

I did see tons of wildlife on this hike, but most of the time I was taking pictures and trying to catch up to my companions lol. There were many Blue Orchard Manson Bees and Leaf Cutter Bees founded among the fallen pine on our side of the peak. I spotted bob cat scat, mountain lion tracks, and observed many interesting insects and plant life. I also saw a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) off the side of the trail. I was bummed not to get a picture of him as he was sun bathing. 

A Great Send-off

I thought I'd put up a post of baby California Mice (Peromyscus californicus) eating my plants the day before I moved to Sedona, AZ.

I had a lot of fun shooting these guys and got a ton of great photographs. Unlike adult mice, these little guys didn't mind me much and I was able to observe them nibbling my cactus and taking a siesta.

Hunting for Mistletoe

I am currently working on a small sign that introduces the plant Mistletoe (Phoradendron macrophyllum). Now I didn't know very much about this plant before I started doing my research. I knew that Mistletoe is toxic  for humans, that it is a parasite (which means it steals nutrients from the tree it grows upon), and that there is a species native to California.

I was surprised to find in my research that there are over four species of Phoradendron macrophyllum that is native to the west coast (US), and the southern states (Arizona, New Mexico, and Western Texas). I also learned that most of my first impressions of this plant were completely wrong. I always thought this plant was supposed to be bad and that you would usually want to remove it. But I learned that Mistletoe provides many animals, such as Mule Deer, food resources during winter.

Luckily, this species grows just down the street a little way off the Sugar Loaf Trail.  Taran and I decided to go out for a hike to find this species and get some decent photographs of it for my signage.

I had always remembered seeing patches of Mistletoe on the trees among this trail. I found more Dwarf Mistletoe than the particular species I was looking for. The Dwarf Mistletoe was growing heavily on many of the pine trees. I finally spotted Phoradendron macrophyllum when I started looking a bit lower. I was surprised to find it growing on a shrub. I haven't identified this shrub yet (since I am new to this ecosystem). The leaves looked just like the leaves found on Oak trees, but unlike Oak trees, the shrubs didn't grow any higher then me. Many of the Mistletoe plants were growing off the trunk or lower branches, which is why I didn't find it in the first place since I was trying to spot it out on higher tree branches.

Again, Mistletoe shouldn't me messed around by humans. But you can see how the this plant pops from the barren branches of trees during fall and winter. Many animals like to feed upon it, including birds who eat the Mistletoe berries. Birds also use this plant for cover and nesting. Mistletoe is dispersed by the birds who eat it's berries. The berries are sticky and get stuck on the bird's feet and beaks. Later the seeds from the berries fall off the bird. If they fall onto a branch of the right hosting tree, they might germinate. Severe "infection" often occurs on older trees, where birds enjoy the high branches for lounging.

Since my plants were growing too close to the ground in thicker foliage, which made getting a decent photograph for my sign hard, I decided to eradicate one of the plants from a tree that was infected. From my research, I learned that Mistletoe co-exist with their host and don't harm the tree it grows upon, endless there are too many Mistletoe plants growing on one tree. I found one of the shrubs that counted seven large Mistletoes and removed the smallest one who's berries were already gobbled up by the birds and could not germinate. I used this plant to get a clearer shot.

Hunting for Phoradendron macrophyllum was a lot of fun. Everything about this project has been a surprise.  Many of my first impressions on this plant were not so close to the truth and it wasn't growing were I'd expected to find it. Through my research, I read many lores about this plant that was interesting.