Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Orange County. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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A wide, flat, decomposed-granite path suitable for hikers, cyclists, and horses runs toward the south from the entrance for a mile, beneath the brow of a steep bluff. It then connects with a segment of paved bike path leading to Victoria Street. Short of that juncture, there are opportunities to branch west and loop back to the entrance using unimproved trails. Those alternate trails may turn muddy after significant rainfall.

Talbert Nature Preserve is an extraordinarily quiet place, screened from traffic noise by the bluff rising on the east and levees on the west, which effectively deaden the din from the surrounding cityscape.

Fairview Park has many other points of interest worthy of exploration while you are in the area. A Tongva village was once situated atop the bluff, and the countless shards of shellfish provide a reminder of their coastal lifestyle. Five rare vernal pools that fill up during spring rains can be found here. Some support fairy shrimp, which lay their eggs in the mud, and which then hatch the next year when the rainy season begins again. The shrimp can complete their lifecycle in only 16 days, growing to maturity, mating, and laying their eggs in the mud before their ephemeral ponds evaporate.