Natural History Wanderings

Culp Valley Campground lot of color at Culp Valley Campground area and along the California Riding Hiking Trail west from parking. area. Goldfields, Nolina, Wooly daisies, Whispering bells, Veatch’s blazing star, Hairy? lotus, Apricot Mallow, lots of Chia further up, Wishbone…and more species as well.

Grapevine area:   Hiking details 
This is our known area for flower fields and they didn’t disappoint us. The only bad thing happening is that the mesquite and catclaw are growing back from the 2012 fire. And you are guaranteed to return somewhat black as there is plenty of black stuff out there.

A couple of fields of Fremont’s monkeyflower, Mimulus fremontii Our favorite one Wide-throated yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus brevipes. Fields of Fremont pincushion, Chaenactis fremontii And best of all the only field we found anywhere in the park: White Tidy-tips, Layia glandulosa and Scalebud, Anisocoma acaulis.

We where a bit concerned as we didn’t see any flowers as we came down the PCT, we where after all still early. But they where just in hiding and as we came closer, there they where!