Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Southern California. Exploring Mountains, Seashore, and Desert онлайн

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Winter at 6,000 feet in the Laguna Mountains

Puncturing Plants

Most desert hikers will sooner or later suffer punctures by thorns or spines. This is most likely to happen during close encounters with the cholla, or jumping, cactus, whose spine clusters readily break off and attach firmly to your skin, clothes, or boots. A comb will allow you to gently pull away the spine clusters, and tweezers or lightweight pliers will help you remove any individual embedded spines. Another problematic spiny plant is the agave, or century plant. It consists of a rosette of fleshy leaves, each tipped with a rigid thorn containing a mild toxin. A headlong fall into either an agave or one of the more vicious kinds of cacti could easily make you swear off desert travel permanently. It’s best to give these devilish plants as wide a berth as possible.

Rattlesnakes

Rattlesnakes are common everywhere in Southern California below an elevation of about 7,000 feet. Seldom seen in either cold or very hot weather, they favor temperatures in the 75°–90° range—spring and fall in the desert and coastal areas and summer in the mountains. Most rattlesnakes are as interested in avoiding contact with you as you are with them.