High Sierra Topix

The superbloom on and around the Carrizo Plain is amazing. The Temblor Range, in particular, is spectacular right now. On 4/1 I drove east on HWY 58 to 7 mile road, then south on Elkhorn road for about 10 miles. I hiked up a couple washes near the most crayola part of the hills. It was spectacular! I expect it's still good this weekend, maybe even next weekend too. The rattlesnakes are out en force though so be careful hiking. I nearly stepped on one.

I haven't blogged about it yet but here are few photos.

Temblor Range Superbloom 2017 by Maia Averett, on Flickr

Temblor Range Superbloom 2017 by Maia Averett, on Flickr

Temblor Range Superbloom 2017 by Maia Averett, on Flickr

Temblor Range Superbloom 2017 by Maia Averett, on Flickr

Temblor Range Superbloom 2017 by Maia Averett, on Flickr

Temblor Range Superbloom 2017 by Maia Averett, on Flickr

Looks great! How were the crowds?

That looks amazing! Thanks for the photos, much appreciated since I won't be able to make it down there myself.

maverick wrote:Looks great! How were the crowds?

50% of the people I saw were stopped right at the intersection of 7 mile & Elkhorn, they didn't drive down Elkhorn. Then another 25% were stopped at Wallace Creek, then 15% at another turnout around 6 miles down. Where I stopped, there were maybe 6 cars parked. As soon as I was a few hundred feet away from the road on a trail, I saw nobody. I did see a drone though

I saw a lot more people and way way more people behaving badly (trampling) in Antelope Valley. I skipped the reserve there because it was insanely crowded. Parking lot full, about a hundred cars parked on the road outside the park. O_O

Yesterday there were crowds blocking traffic at 7 mile and Elkhorn. And there were crowds in the roads, clogging the parking lot at the visitor center, lining the roads leading to it. The parking area at the trailhead on Caliente Ridge was overflowing. There were a couple dozen backpackers on the trail looking for places to pitch tents. There were campers in all the pullouts on the ridge road. There were people blocking traffic by obliviously walking with their kids down the middle of roads. A steady stream of cars were driving south into the monument.
The rangers were bemused, confused and everywhere -- all BLM. They were very open about the best of the flower displays actually being on private property, not in Carrizo.

They were very open about the best of the flower displays actually being on private property, not in Carrizo.

Which is where?

maverick wrote:

They were very open about the best of the flower displays actually being on private property, not in Carrizo.

Which is where?

They weren't selling maps. Plenty of the surrounding area -- for example, New Cuyama just over Caliente Ridge -- had equal or better flower displays visible from the highway.

Gracias, my info is that New Cuyama is excellent, but not as good as it was in 2010.

I was there 4/20-4/23, way past the peak, but still nice.

Here's a shot from Caliente Ridge, just a half mile past the Ridge Trail parking area.