sbrobert
By Robert Bernstein
Ever since the January 9 storms it has been difficult to find places to hike that include some elevation gain. I recently led a Sierra Club hike at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, managed by the County. Here are my photos.
This entire 200 or so acres was scheduled for development, but local organizers negotiated a deal to keep development to the upper section and keep the rest of it as a preserve. Millions of dollars were raised to make this a reality. More recently, a new round of negotiations and fund raising secured the rest of this area as a preserve.
The first part of my hike headed straight uphill into this new section.
Here is a view from this upper section out toward the rest of the Preserve.
We paused under this lovely oak tree before heading over to the older section.
A few early lupines were on display.
A highlight of the outing was our encounter with hundreds of sheep that were happily munching away on the vegetation as a fire control measure.
In this video you can actually hear them munching, even with someone talking nearby.
Here you can see some of our group with the sheep. Notice the fence. The fence is electrified to keep the sheep in and to keep predators out.
This sign at the entrance explains what is going on. Channel Islands Restoration manages the grazing for fire control and also to keep down non-native invasive grasses.
Cuyama Lamb provides the sheep. The sheep do the work and they are also used for their meat and wool. More information about them here.
We then made a series of turns and climbs toward the overlook at the top. Even though the Preserve feels like a fairly small park, you can get lost. It is a good idea to look at the map at the trailhead and plan your route.
We encountered a field of these fiddleneck flowers. So named because they start out curled up like the scroll of a violin.
We looked back at the agricultural area just above the new part of the Preserve.
Again, even though it seems like a park, this is a wonderful nature preserve with some serious elevation gain. About 600 feet to the overlook. Here we took in the sweeping, panoramic view at the overlook and posed for photos there.
Here was the view toward the mountains. You can see Arlington Peak on the right and the thumb of Cathedral Peak sticking up left of center at the top.
Biologist Kenny Learned showed us one of the native bunch grasses among the non-native grasses.
There were some other flowers to be seen as well.
On the way back I was happy to encounter one of my former co-workers Lin Huang and his wife Yu Fang.
And another hiking friend Heide Wieland, who was celebrating her birthday in the great outdoors.
Regarding the closure of most of our trails for two months and counting, I was grateful for this thoughtful article by Ray Ford.
The storms did severe damage to many of our local trails. It may take years to restore them. But, that is no reason to close the entire Forest or even to keep the trails closed. Nature is not Disneyland. Hikers have to expect and be prepared for challenges.
As Ford notes, the Forest Service has not done meaningful maintenance on trails for decades. The work is largely done by volunteers and organizations like Montecito Trails Foundation. So, why should the Forest Service have the authority to close trails it doesn’t even maintain? Let people get out in nature, while being aware there are risks. Oh, and how about if we invest some of our tax money in those trails, too?
Happy Heide! and electrified fences, oh my… Wondering how that was posted (the electrification part), or was it an oops moment/discovery?
those pink flowers not lupine..I think they are in the pea family perhaps. The east end of the preserve toward Antone there is a beautiful area of purple lupine in full bloom.
Thanks for the flower correction HZ. Yes, I later realized they are something in the pea family and not lupine. I have trouble recognizing and remembering these things; that’s why I studied physics! Thanks!
The electrification was not clearly posted, BICYCLIST. Just posted in a few places. I think it is a mild shock, but it should be made more obvious.
Awesome. I love that this local site wasn’t sucked into development. Take note “affordable housing” proponents.
Another great adventure through Robert’s storytelling and photos. Thank you.
Hi Robert.
I’m glad you folks had a good time on the San Marcos Foothills. It’s a great time of year to visit! The pea family plant is wild sweetie (Lathers vestitus var. vestitus). I love plant ID, so I’ll point out that the “other flowers” you mention are:
1. Nonnative white stemmed filaree (Europium moschatum)
2. Native chaparral nightshade (Solanum xanti)
You can find a complete plant list on: http://sanmarcosfoothills.com, which a comprehensive web site for the Foothills. The site is being updated and will be available also sanmarcosfoothills,org.
Channel Islands Restoration is training docent right now who will educate visitors about the Preserve and help with wildlife/visitor interactions. I would encourage folks to get involved at http://www.cirweb.org
Cheers!
Ken Owen
Executive Director
Channel Islands Restoration
Wonderful story and photos, Robert. Especially the lambs. And that sheep docent birthday photo! 🙂 Glad for the flower ids, Ken.
Thanks for an inspiring report, Robert. Please tell us where the starting point is for entry to the preserve.
This Google Maps link shows the correct trailhead. If you just Google San Marcos Foothills Preserve it will NOT show the correct trailhead! Thanks for the kind words and thanks for asking, ESL TEACHER.
https://goo.gl/maps/row2vqTUW8bVfQTW7