Dick's Adventures of 2026 - Part 1

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It has become very easy to look out at the morning fog and decide “I’m not going out in that.” Some days I will go out later in the day after the fog clears, but I much prefer to do these outings first thing in the day. In early February I decided I was going to go into the foothills and do a short hike no matter what. My friend Wes has recently been to the Sycamore Wildlife Area area by Pine Flat Lake and sending photos of poppies, so that was my chosen destination.

When I drove up the first big hill from the lower elevation on February 4, I came to a place where fiddleneck blossoms are thick. These small orange flowers are probably the most common species throughout much of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and I would see them everywhere throughout the day.

I soon came within sight of the lake, about 30 miles from home, and began to see a few poppies, more fiddlenecks, and the occasional blue ground lupine.

After you drive along the lake shore for some distance, you come to three former campgrounds (one was actually a picnic ground). They have been closed for decades, and there are locked gates at the entrances, but entry on foot is permitted, even encouraged. The old paved roads in these areas are still more or less intact, with a lot of cracks where grass and wildflowers can grow. The walk through each one is not steep and fairly short, and we usually hike at two or all three of them.

Since the Ramblers will be hiking in this area next week and will probably go to the first and third spot, I chose the second one. The road into this location goes down a steep hill, then levels off and forms a loop past the crumbling parking spurs where people once could camp.

Besides multi-thousands of fiddlenecks, I saw baby blue eyes, always a favorite, lots of popcorn flowers, a few fiesta flowers and filaree. This latter is very common, but they were just getting started.

This is low foothill country, about 1,500 feet above sea level, with all the usual trees and bushes of that environment. Most common are blue oaks and bull pines.

When I finished my hike I set up my chair by the car and had an apple, then drove back down the road a short distance to a sort of trail I call Sycamore Fire Road. This is an abandoned road that was probably related to ranching or prospecting. It was never paved and has deteriorated to just a trail most of the way. I've walked in a mile or so many times, but since this was the second hike of the day, I just went in a few hundred yards to the first creek. In wet years a half dozen little creeks flow across this trail, but we have not had significant rain since very early in January, and I was not surprised to see that the creek was dry. Nevertheless, there were flowers getting a good start, including the brilliant magenta of fringed redmaids, and the pink bell-shaped blossoms of the manzanita.

When I first arrived at the wildlife area I noticed some fairly large flowers along the road. I parked by the sign, walked back to to take a look, and discovered a flower I don't think I have ever seen anywhere before. They are yellow, about an inch and a half across, and grew in two clusters, about 15 feet apart. So far I can't match them to anything on the various wildflower identification pages on the Internet.

Having enjoyed a spectacular, sunny day in the foothills, I reluctantly returned home, stopping as I often do after hikes at the Colorado Grill for a buffalo chicken sandwich with fries and a coke. And of course, I was delighted to know I would be returning to the foothills in just over a week.

--Dick Estel, February 2026

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Sycamore Wildlife Area

Sycamore Wildlife Area