Natural History Wanderings

Where to photograph in California – Yahoo Groups has the following wildflower report for the Kings Canyon area:

Did a long-weekend trip up to Kings Canyon. Lots blooming in the foothills, roughly 2,000-4,000'. Coming up 180 there are some patches of clarkia, lots of yellow asteraceae type deals, buckeye in full bloom. Descending into the canyon there's a lot of madia, some yerba santa, scattered paintbrush, goldfields. Yucca all dried up…EXCEPT: just before Convict Flat Campground there's a single yucca in full glorious bloom, and also a big patch of mariposa lilies.

On the way back I detoured via 245 (roughly reversing Brewer's route from Visalia to Thomas's Mill), and it was even better: impressive displays of madia and clarkia (separately, mostly, but a few where they were mixed), whole hillsides of blooming buckeye, some goldfields, scattered flannel bush.

In Kings Canyon itself there wasn't much blooming–pussy paws, cryptantha, a few lupines–except for some spectacular fields of monkey flowers (mostly yellow, but with some pink) a mile or so east of Roads End.

Saturday I did a 14-mile roundtrip hike on the Bubbs Creek trail. Lots of mule ears (way past prime in the lower areas, but in better shape up in Bubbs Creek Canyon); scattered small patches of cryptantha, whisker brush, violets, monkey flower. Nothing too spectacular.

I saw 5 rattlesnakes over the course of my hike. I managed to avoid startling one of them; the others, not so much. Got a good shot of the one that was coiled and rattling, which I will post as soon as it's uploaded.