Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Northern California. Exploring Mountains, Valleys, and Seashore онлайн

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Bear right on Canyon Trail (1.7/800') as Jackson Flat Trail curves left. You initially continue through thick redwood forest, but the woods soon transition to canyon live oak and madrone, then abruptly transform into an entirely different ecosystem. As the trail crosses the threshold of the Santa Margarita geologic formation—a sandstone layer poor in water and organic material—it encounters species uniquely adapted to these harsh conditions. Knobcone pines, spindly conifers that sprout their namesake cones everywhere, including from their branches and trunks, proliferate. Knobcones survive through serotiny—their cones open only from the heat of wildfires. This strategy populates the newly charred, nutrient-rich soil with a sudden, massive influx of seeds. Other members of the drier chaparral community grow alongside: manzanita, golden chinquapin (look under the leaves), toyon, scrub oak, and chamise.

The trail winds through this open community, passing views that reveal the depth of this diminutive canyon. The route momentarily banks left into a small tributary canyon and descends to cross a seasonally rushing creek (note the bigleaf maples and change of ecosystem as moisture again increases). Several switchbacks then return you upward to the Santa Margarita Formation and its accompanying views and flora. The path contours around several small drainages, returns to thick forest, and reaches the posted junction for the park’s trail camp (3.7/1,200'). (To reach the trail camp, bear left and head steeply uphill along the narrow trail for 0.5 mile to an unnamed fire road. The campsites are just uphill to your left.)