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

79 страница из 92

A steep (average 20% for 0.3 mile) grade follows, the bane of mountain bikers and hikers traveling either up or down. But afterward, you can let gravity repay you in a gentle way as you make a much more gradual descent along the bottom of El Moro Canyon.

Upper El Moro Canyon is far and away the most beautiful attraction in the park’s backcountry. You stroll past thickets of willow, toyon, elderberry, and sycamore, all brightly illuminated by the sun; then suddenly plunge into cool, dark, cathedral-like recesses overhung by the massive limbs of live oaks. In one such recess, several shallow caves, adorned with ferns at their entrances, pock a sandstone outcrop next to the road. Prior to the establishment of the California missions, coast-dwelling Indians gathered acorns, seeds, and wild berries in this canyon. These foods, coupled with the abundant marine life nearby, provided a balanced and healthy diet.

Continue down El Moro Canyon to the trailhead at its mouth, then veer right onto the trail ascending the bluff back to the visitor center.