hiking

per la Giornata della Terra / for Earth Day

| Simona
Briones Park

sweet hills

The December day was gray, with a clear wish to rain. The expanse of Briones Park, peacefully empty, was exhilarating for the young woman recently arrived from Milan (that is, me). While people were rushing hither and thither to get all the Christmas chores done, we were luxuriating amid softly undulating hills studded with stately oaks. 

My first walk in Briones Park occurred during my first visit to California 20 years ago. I have been back countless times. I have walked on pretty much all its trails (and all around nearby Briones Reservoir). My first photographic project had the Park as subject. I love Briones Park, jewel of the East Bay Regional Park District:

With its rolling, grassy hills and secluded, shady canyons, Briones is a secret wilderness surrounded by the towns of central Contra Costa County. Although the park is close to Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord, and Martinez, there are peaks within it from which you can see only park and watershed lands for miles in every direction. [source]

The photo above shows the classic landscape of Briones Park. As the dry season progresses, the grass will dry making the dark green oaks stand out even more.  

Briones Park

on the Briones Crest Trail

After a long stretch in the open, it is nice to enter a short tunnel where the sunlight, filtering through the trees, creates a kind of marbling on the ground. Uphill from this spot, I once met a coyote. Neither of us was particularly excited about the encounter, so we decided to go our separate ways with just a nod as salute.

Briones Park

the sky is the limit

My recent walk in Briones Park occurred on a day where I needed help quieting the turmoil in my mind. I took this image of a path carved on the side of a hill as an invitation to forge ahead.

Briones Park

cattle grazing

Humans and coyotes are not the only creatures sharing the park space. Cattle grazing occurs in Briones Park year round. This page explains how grazing animals benefit this and the other parks that are part of the East Bay Park Regional District:

Livestock grazing utilizing cattle, sheep and goats is used as a vegetation management tool to maintain and improve habitat conditions for resident plants and animals and to prevent wildfires. [source]

Briones Park

A moment of rest

There are various ways of enjoying the natural beauty of the park: hiking, biking, horse-back riding, or resting with your back on the grass and your eyes to the sky. 

I invite you to celebrate Earth Day with a walk in a park (last year, we were in Yosemite National Park), though, of course, every day it Earth Day. 

oasi / oasis

| Simona
Washingtonia filifera frond with fibrous threads on leaf segments

Washingtonia filifera frond

There are 2,500 species of palms worldwide, with 11 native to North America. The largest of these, and the only palm tree native to western North America, is the California Fan Palm. It is also known as the Desert Palm and the California Washingtonia. (source)

The leaf fronds are up to 6 feet (1.8 m) long, made up of a petiole up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) long, bearing a fan of leaflets 1.5–2 metres (4.9–6.6 ft) long. They have long thread-like white fibers between the segments. When the fronds die they remain attached and drop down to cloak the trunk in a wide skirt. The shelter that the skirt creates provides a microhabitat for many small birds and invertebrates. (source)

Oasis in Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert

Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert

Borrego Palm Canyon is the third-largest palm oasis in California… (source)

Oasis:

  • a fertile spot in a desert where water is found
  • a pleasant or peaceful area or period in the midst of a difficult, troubled, or hectic place or situation

Last year, our winter break oasis was in lush Big Island of Hawai'i. This year, it is in the deserts of Southern California. In Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, for the first time, we visited an actual oasis.

Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert

small pools of gold

On our way back along the Palm Canyon Trail, in the magic light of the late afternoon sun, the water turned shining gold.

Washingtonia filifera frond with fibrous threads on leaf segments

filifera means "thread-bearing"

I am officially in love with the desert and will share more photos soon. In the meantime, I would like to wish you all the best in the New Year:

Buon Anno!

un weekend in montagna / a weekend in the mountains

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Fourth of July lake

I spent the last a weekend completely offline in a nice corner of California called Alpine County, the least inhabited county in the state: "as of the 2000 census, it had a population of 1,208." Its total area is 465,030 acres (726.6 sq. mi.) and 96% of land is public. The Central Sierra Nevada is the dominant land feature. Alpine County is a great destination in every season.

On Saturday morning, we arrived at the Carson Pass Information Station of the Eldorado National Forest, and secured a campsite for the night (they are few and are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis). Then we drove to Upper Blue Lake to kayak there. In the afternoon, we hiked to Fourth of July Lake. This is one of our favorite hikes. You start at Carson Pass and visit four lakes: Frog, Winnemucca, Round Top and Fourth of July. It is a well-known trail and is particularly frequented during the wildflower blooming season. We were early this year, but you can see some photos I took in season three years ago in this album, and some late summer photos from the previous year in this album. Being early meant that we hiked over snow (neve) in some parts. The trail goes from about 8,650 ft at Carson Pass to about 9,300 ft at Round Top Lake, then drops to about 8,200 ft at Fourth of July Lake.

IMGP8452We arrived at our campsite (a space to set up our tent in view of the lake) in time for dinner. This being bear country, our food was stored inside a bear can. Our repast consisted of organic soup from a carton (the two-cup packaging with a spout is great for camping), bread and homemade cheese (pane e formaggio fatto in casa), and biscotti for dessert.

The cheese was a Stirred-curd Cheddar to which I added, as I was spooning the curds into the press, toasted caraway seeds (semi di carvi, o cumino tedesco). The cheese aged three months: I love the way my little experiment tastes. I always bring my biscotti when we hike or kayak: I call them the best energy bars ever. I also had some of the blueberry scones I had baked on Friday. They made a great breakfast on Sunday morning. Fresh fruit (frutta fresca) and some bittersweet chocolate completed the food provisions. In terms of drinks, I brought some black tea for myself and coffee for my husband, together with our precious one-cup stovetop coffee pot.

IMGP8515

After packing up our belongings, on Sunday morning we hiked back to Carson Pass. The photo shows Fourth of July Lake from the trail on our way back up to Round Top. Some of the beautiful wildflowers that grace the trail have started to bloom, as you can see in the photo. We had lunch (sandwiches with the above-mentioned cheese and roasted red beet hummus) on the shore of Lake Winnemucca. Back to the car, we drove to Sorensen's, the resort in Hope Valley where we spent Sunday night. I have a special attachment to this place. My husband introduced me to it during my first visit to California (December 1993) and I fell in love with it. If you follow the link, you'll see a photo of the cabin where we stayed that first time and of how it looked when we were there. We have visited the resort many times since, at different times of the year.

Caples Lake

After a short rest, we drove to Caples Lake for a late afternoon paddle. It was a bit breezy, but absolutely beautiful and quiet, a nice closing scene for the weekend. More information on Alpine County, its interesting history, and its offers to visitors is available on this site.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post: 

un weekend in montagna

or launch the un weekend in montagna  audio file [mp3].

[jump to Comments]

Newrule

un weekend in montagna

IMGP8498

Vi presento un angolo di California che si chiama Alpine County. La contea dello stato con il minor numero di abitanti (solo 1208 nell'anno 2000) si trova nella zona centrale della Sierra Nevada, a sud del Lago Tahoe ed è una zona bella da visitare durante tutto l'anno.

Sabato mattina siamo arrivati alla stazione di Carson Pass (parte della Eldorado National Forest) e ci siamo assicurati il permesso di campeggio (i posti sono molto limitati e senza prenotazione). Il sentiero che parte dalla stazione porta a quattro laghetti: Frog, Winnemucca, Round Top e infine Fourth of July (nella foto), sulle cui rive abbiamo montato la nostra tenda. La piazzola non ha alcun servizio: è solo uno spazio riservato.

IMGP8515

Il sentiero è famoso perché in estate è pieno di fiori. Quest'anno siamo arrivati un po' in anticipo, ma potete vedere delle foto di tre anni fa su questo album. Su quest'altro album ci sono alcune immagini scattate nella tarda estate, quando le foglie dei pioppi tremuli cambiano colore. Comunque un po' di fiori li abbiamo visti (vedi foto). Essendo in anticipo sulla stagione, abbiamo camminato in parte sulla neve. Il sentiero parte da circa 2600 m (Carson Pass), sale a circa 2850 m (Round Top Lake), poi scende a circa 2500 m (Fourth of July Lake).

IMGP8516

Domenica siamo tornati indietro a Carson Pass e con l'auto siamo andati da Sorensen's, in Hope Valley, dove abbiamo passato la notte. Mio marito mi ha portato qui la prima volta che sono venuta in California, un Dicembre di un po' di anni fa. Quella volta abbiamo dormito nella casetta che si chiama Snowshoe Thompson e tutt'intorno c'era la neve, proprio come nella foto che si vede se seguite il link. Ci siamo poi tornati tante volte, in diversi periodi dell'anno, e abbiamo soggiornato in altre casette. Nel tardo pomeriggio siamo andati in kayak su Caples Lake (foto sopra): c'era un po' di vento, ma praticamente avevamo il lago (artificiale) tutto per noi.

Spero che abbiate gradito questo piccolo assaggio di un pezzetto meno conosciuto, ma molto bello della California. Maggiori informazioni su Alpine County le trovate su questo sito e naturalmente potete farmi tutte le domande che volete.