San
Joaquin Gorge River Trail
I
would guess that I have made more trips to the San
Joaquin River Gorge Special Management Area, and spent more time
there, than any foothill location other than my parents homes in
Mariposa. So with a desire to enjoy the spring weather and
wildflowers before it gets too hot, where do you suppose I went on
March 25? It goes without saying. Since
the Ramblers will be hiking on the Bridge Trail there April 6, my
plan was to walk on the San Joaquin River Trail, which in this area
is far from and out of sight of that river. The Ramblers went there on
February 21, but the vegetation changes rapidly in the spring,
and it was my hope to see flowers that were not out earlier. Just
before I entered the BLM property, a field of popcorn flowers caught
my eye, so I stopped. A barbed wire fence, and some posts which had
been drilled by woodpeckers added interest to the floral scenery,
which also included fiddlenecks.
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The
dominant species was popcorn flowers, which covered many acres. Blue
dicks were also present in large numbers, but their growth pattern
does not create a massive patch of color. There were a lot of birds
eye gillia, and of course, filaree. I saw a single poppy blossom,
but they never appear in significant numbers on this trail, even in
the best of years.
Flowers
I had hoped to see but did not were owl clover, mustang clover,
purple brodiaea, and Mariposa lilies. Maybe next time, which
fortunately is not far away.
--Dick
Estel, April 2022
More
Photos Note:
Until a few years ago this Bureau of Land Management property
was known as Squaw Leap. Considered offensive by Native Americans,
the name survives on the table mountain overlooking the area on the
south. A name change is under
consideration. |