High Sierra Topix

Your usual appetite for hiking punishment... (: As to the cold dewy chill of the canyon bottoms, now you know why deer spend their nights up on the side of canyons or on ridge tops. To really have some fun in the near term WD would recommend Death Valley.

The bridge before the hot springs is the only place in the SF Bay Area Region where one can drive up at a whim, write your own fill the blanks permit at the HH trailhead, drive the next mile to the bridge, and not have to pay for any parking, then set out to hike anyplace one wants to. Note just down the road at Hunting Hollow is where one needs to fill out the the permit and if parking there, will cost a few bucks a day. Although there are official camp places, there are some nice spots I've noted along the way if one hunts about off the trail/road. But Feb is too early as I prefer mid March through April for the wildflowers. Unworldly cat sounds during the night spook this person if solo, as those lions are most definitely out there.

Yeh, I know about the free parking at Hunting Hollow. I did not go in that way because that is what I did the last three trips and I had not been in from Headquarters since before the big fire and was really curious about its impacts. As for camping in the valleys, that too was my choice. I have done a lot of the ridges in the past few years and really wanted to explore more of the valleys this time. Some flowers were out- the lupine, shooting stars, buttercups, another yellow flower and those really small blue button like flowers. I thought it was odd that I did not see a single orange California poppy. And the hills along the highway from the Central Valley to Gilroy were covered with yellow flowers.

I just finished a 5-mile hike here on the American River today and it is amazing that in just the last few days the oaks are really leafing out and the yellow poppy-like flowers are covering the hills. There is an iris that I keep watching to see if it blooms, but I think someone stole the plant last year. The grass is still that vivid yellow green. It will be interesting to see what this next week's wet weather does. I am really glad it is forecast to rain - that should keep the flowers going.

The Folsom Lake Lupine should be crazy this year, timing a visit to my sisters place in Placerville to coincide with the bloom, this ain't to far from you WD if you want to check out a great wildflower show.
https://www.google.com/search?q=folsom+ ... ACw#imgrc=_