High Sierra Topix

In the Northern Sierra Nevada the below link are 2 hikes I made on April 1 and 2 earlier this month. Not worth visiting now because the bloom period is brief however recommended destination any following years to put on one's calendar and April 1 plus or minus a few days always seems to be peaking in my experience. I hiked about 7 miles each day so it can be a good early season workout and the blue oak savanna landscapes don't get any better.

http://www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_C ... 016-7.html

Nice photos Dave. Good to see pics of the area with the flowers blooming this year. I'm fairly familiar with this area as family lives nearby. I've been lucky enough to see some of the peak blooms in the past. My last visit was on Dec 29 2015...viewing some of the falls. I was just in the area last week, but didn't get to Table Mountain. It was not on my mom's "favorites" list, since her first and last visit there and her encounter with mud and cow pies. Ha.

So your folks live in that wonderful region!

A trip to that reserve can certainly be unpleasant if one goes at the wrong time.

First, go when the most showy wildflowers species usually peak that is most often very close to April 1.

Second, don't go on a windy day that is very common as it is an exposed open plateau. Check wunderground.com and plug in oroville or paradise then look at the 10-day wind graph.

Third do go on a pleasant sunny day and not during or within a day of a rainy storm as waters drain off the hard basalt rock areas slowly making for mushy travel.

Fourth, arrive early like at 8am or so and NOT late morning into the afternoon when most groups do. Of course the early morning is wonderful with birds singing and more often breezes are minimal.

The excessive numbers of grazing cattle also turn this person off and suspect someone at DF&G has been increasing grazing numbers. Some of our state parks have the same problem.

If you don't already know where I took those images, send me a PM. Your Mom would like the hike.

David

My mom just moved to Paradise in 2014 and she did go on a hike with me (and Greg...with his new hip.) But my sis and family all have lived up there since 1995, so I've been up to Table Mountain several times, including super bloom year 2005.

here's from Earth Day 2014...past prime bloom time

Looks beautiful out there. The wide open landscape dotted with boulders, trees and wildflowers is lovely. Wildflowers are something I look forward to every year. This year I managed to make a side trip over to Shell Creek Road in San Luis Obispo County and was treated to a nice display though not quite as good as last year. I'll share a picture if I can find one.

Below is a 500 pixel width by 6000 pixel height full pixel crop from the 9th image, PH07539-07555-2x1v.jpg, from top on my above feature link. This is a single 6000 pixel row from 9 focus stacked blended shots at a sharp F11 making up one frame that was stitch blended with another image to create that image that shows how impressively sharp top to bottom the full image actually is. The Sony A6000 has a 6000 by 4000 cell sensor so the crop is one full height by 1/8 width.