This relatively modest peak in the southern end of the Santa Ana Mountains features great views of the ocean, and, when it's clear, the San Bernadino Mountains, Palomar Mountains, Los Angeles and Orange County Basins, and Catalina Island.Distance: 9.5 MilesElevation Gained: 2,150'Difficulty: Moderately StrenuousTime: 3:45Critters: Squirrels, birds, hawksGet there like this. The Santa Ana Mountains are …
Relict Species: Giant Sequoia
Relict, n: a remnant or survivor.Species, n: a distinct sort or kindGiant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)There comes a point when using words to describe something becomes futile. There usually follows a point where one will try to make analogies or metaphors to try to get at the essence of a thing, while foregoing direct verbal description. When that fails, people …
Giant Forest Snowshoeing
Giant Forest is the heart of arguably the best Sequoia grove within what is one of the greatest forests of North America. The mixed-conifer forests in the middle elevations of the Sierras feature some of the largest and most beautiful trees in the country, and this more apparent here than anywhere else. Drop several feet …
Marble Falls Trail
The Marble Falls Trail leads to the cascading Marble Fork of the Kaweah River in a deep gorge just west from Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park. While the park is famous for the big trees and the high country, this trail features the foothills, which include chaparral, riparian, and oak woodland ecosystems.Distance: 4.8Elevation Gained: …
Mission Trails Regional Park: South Fortuna, Oak Canyon, Junipero Serra
Mission Trails Regional Park is a 5,800 acre natural preserve situated entirely within the city limits of San Diego. A municipal park this size is so rare that Mission Trails ranks as the sixth largest municipally-park in the country, as well as the largest in Southern California. It features numerous rocky peaks with great views …
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Daley Ranch – Jack Creek Meadow Loop
This mostly flat section of Daley Ranch takes you past the ranch compound, which features a number of old, picturesque buildings, and into the long, narrow Jack Creek Meadow. Come for an early morning hike, and you will encounter a great variety of wildlife.Distance: 5 milesElevation Gained: 500'Difficulty: EasyCritters: deer, rabbits, hawks, egrets, coots, ducks, …
A Year of Palomar Mountain
A Hawk's Eye View of San Diego County from the Boucher Hill LookoutThis is a brief photo essay documenting the four seasons that I have witnessed this year at Palomar Mountain. The locales include High Point, the State Park, and the Observatory Trail. This is easily one of my favorite hiking destinations in all of …
Daley Ranch – Boulder Loop
The popular Daley Ranch Park preserves one of the last major parcels of open space in the Escondido. Featuring a great variety of ecosystems, the park showcases a number of different hiking options, such as a loop through Engelmann oak woodland, a loop around a large meadow, ponds, chaparral, sage-scrub community, and, as on this …
Torrey Pines State Reserve, Beach, and Extension
Perched across two bluffs separated by a lagoon stand the last groves of the rarest pine tree in North America, the Torrey Pine. The reserve that protects the remnants of these trees also protects a long strand of primeval beach, over which massive sandstone cliffs. Here, the visitor can catch one of the last glimpses …
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Relict Species: Engelmann Oak
Relict, n: a remnant or survivor.Species, n: a distinct sort or kindThe Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii)For my own satisfaction, and hopefully for somebody else out there who likes trees, I'm going to write about some of the remarkable remnant species of trees and plants that I come to know in California. A relic species is that of which only …
scott turner hikes 