I'm sure I will be breaking some law on this entry. The regulation regarding posting too many photos - if there is one! I warn you, your scrolling finger might wear out! It was just so pretty out, and well, my dog is so unbelievably, undeniably cute and is so good at striking all the poses for Mommy, I just can't help but record it ALL!!!
Early morning light hitting Mt. W's flanks.
Clouds placed just so at sunrise make for dramatic lighting.
More drama.
And who are these weird-looking folks? Strange backpacks...
Well, I'll tell you - they're rock-climber types, and those are their crash pads. The pads never look substantial enough to me, but hopefully the climbers hardly ever have to actually use them!
But, from afar, doesn't it look like SpongeBob SquarePants and his brother are heading up the hill??
Looking back down. Such pretty rocks!
Zouey modeling in front of the Honeycomb Rock. Those of you who saw my very first blog may remember seeing a photo of Senny in front of this same rock (http://carriebartonphotos.blogspot.com/2009/12/hiking-mt-woodson-aka-seneca-series.html). It's kinda cute the way people have put smaller rocks on the "shelves."
Monkey flowers. No, really, that's what they're called! Don't ask me...do you see a monkey in there?!
My thirsty little monkey finds a puddle atop a boulder.
Looking south and downhill, at a section of road with nice features and backdrop (I. Mtn, on the right).
Zouey on lookout again.
Given just a little rain, the moss and lichen get so happy!
Rocks and downtown R.
Just love the colors and clouds (looking north from peak).
More lovely paintbrush.
View from top, looking south, at I. Mtn and the valley just west of it. That stripe through the center of the image is the road heading south out of R.
And recognize this one? No abused dog this time... But more people. I've been hiking this hill for many, many years and was often the only one on the trail (even at this now oh-so-popular feature, the P. Chip Rock)! But I, and others I've spoken with, have noticed that the current flood of people on this trail and at this rock, have coincided pretty precisely with the introduction of youtube and facebook... So, think about it. Have YOU ever had any favorite, "secret" spots, where you've enjoyed some kind of solitude, some kind of peaceful interaction with unspoiled nature? Well I hope that you enjoyed the heck out of them before, because they have been undoubtedly found and "shared" by now!!!!!!!!!!!!! While I miss the more personal experience of yesteryear, I also sincerely despise the defiling of my special places. Not only am I now surrounded by people playing with their cell phones or yakking with their numerous buddies, but I'm also confronted by graffiti on these beautiful boulders, plant destruction, and used toilet paper and other trash along the trails. Nice, huh? I try to avoid weekends, and go very early in the morning for more reasons than just beating the heat... Going around 6:30AM, Zou and I probably run into 10 people +/- on the service road, and a few more might be at the PC Rock (some coming from the trail on the other side). But, later in the day on a weekend...? Expect hundreds... Somebody once put it very aptly - "about two years ago, they must have put in an escalator" (turns out that escalator was Facebook...). And it escalated things in more ways than one!
OK, enough rant. On with the trail! So today is another loop day - up the service road and down the trail. About six miles and a nice combo of topography.
Zou going around and under another house-sized boulder. You can see little bits of the trail continuing down (near Zou's head).
I like to call this rocky constellation The Crack, but that's not very accurate because it's just two giant rocks with a dirt path in between them. Zou, of course, zoomed up and down both rocks in a matter of seconds!
Off in the distance was this couple doing so-called selfies... (stupid word, but turns out I take them too since Zou isn't so handy with the camera...!)
A very scenic section. We're on the older, lesser known trail now I mentioned awhile back. Far fewer people (well, until Facebook popularizes it too... :(
My beautiful nemesis - poison oak. Why does it have to be so pretty?! Contact with it - even second hand contact - requires prednisone treatment for me.
More gorgeous ferns.
This is a relatively small boulder (for the ones around here!), but it still might give Zouey a crick in her neck!
Another neat part.
Some of that happy rained-on moss! Amazes me how fast it can rehydrate and come back to life!
Pretty purple nightshade.
A mystery wildflower. I can't seem to describe it accurately enough to find it on the internet, and all my identification books are packed away in the shed, not to be seen again till some unknown, unforeseeable future date!
Another nightshade, glowing with the light shining through the petals.
Another rock rose, illuminated, like the nightshade.
Finally, the last bit. Past the peoples' houses in the foo-foo development. Lucky folks, live right next to all this cool stuff! Probably find out none of them ever hike it though! And guess who's super vulnerable if (when) that chaparral gets lit...!!
The trail briefly intersects one of their streets.
A white sage plant. Like most sages, this is an extremely aromatic plant. Just rub the leaves... And if you want to get more mystical about it, you can burn them...(supposed to have cleansing properties...)
Another wildflower favorite of mine - purple penstemon.
And there you have it...
6 miles and 6000 photographs!
