Dick's Adventures of 2026 - Part 2

Adventures of 2021          Adventures of 2022          Adventures of 2023          Adventures of 2024          Adventures  of 2025          2026 Part 1

When I hiked the full loop trail here in 2015,  I came to a shady hillside a few hundred yards from the end of the trail where there were hundreds of purple brodiaea. I returned several times, hoping to repeat the experience, but only once, the following year, did I find them in such abundance. The full loop soon became more than I cared to do, but I hiked in from the trailhead to that location (counter clockwise on the loop) a few times. With the weather warming up quickly, I wanted to get in one final hike in the Pine Flat Lake area, so I decided to go on March 30 and seek the elusive brodiaea one last time.

I soon realized that even this short section of the trail is "no country for old men." Part of the reason is that I have aged more than ten years since those early hikes. But the biggest reason is the horrible, stupid "design" of the trail. When we first hiked here it was badly overgrown. We had to go up or down from the trail to get past several large logs. These were removed, and a crew wielding tools scraped all the vegetation from a three-foot wide strip around the loop other than the part that is a service road. However, they did not carve out a level path in the hillside, just removed the grass. The result is a trail that slants down across the trail at angles up to 45 degrees. Add to this a number of very steep sections covered with pebbles and loose dirt, and the route is an invitation to disaster. So this report will document my last visit to this part of the Edison Point loop trail.

But enough complaining. Despite the problems with the trail, I had a great time. There is still a lot of green grass, and quite a few flowers. The ones we see later in the season are here. The blossom called farewell-to-spring typically appears well before the calendar says it's time, but in recent years they arrive even earlier. There were a few last week, the FIRST week of the season, and quite a few more this week, both on the trail and by the road. White lupines were reaching the end of their season, vetch was again the dominant flower, and the ones I came to see, the purple brodiaea, were mostly gone to seed.

I made my way to the shady slope where the brodiaea appear and a little beyond, but I had to concentrate so hard on being careful that it was not much fun, so I soon turned back (but I'm NOT complaining). I got back up to the car and sat in my chair a while, eating a couple of granola bars and chatting with a couple who had hiked the upper (easier, safer) part of the trail.

Shortly after I started down I heard people behind me. First there were two men, one carrying a rolled up shade and some other items, the other pushing and pulling, with some difficulty, an ice chest on wheels. Later two more men followed, carrying fishing poles and other items. Eventually I could see that they had made it down to the water's edge and set up their shade.

Before I left home I had decided not to go out to eat after the hike as I usually do, but at the farthest point I hiked I realized I deserved a reward for my efforts, and went to In-N-Out for the second Monday in a row. On my previous visit, there were few people in the restaurant and no line; this time there were several people in line and most tables were occupied. Only after I talked with my daughter about my day did I realize it was the first day of spring break, which explained the large numbers of young folks present. A boy who plays soccer with my great grandson Jack was there with a friend and some family members.

--Dick Estel, March 2026

More Photos

Photos (Click to enlarge; pictures open in new window)

Edison Point

Edison Point