My son Ben decided to take
another hike. We started at Lagunitas Parking lot, wandered through the
picnic area and remembered some family picnics in the summer. We went
past the water sluice onto the lake trail, but then turned right on to the
Rock Springs - Lagunitas Fire Road. Before we went very far we stopped
to listen to the birds. Ben spotted a Pileated Woodpecker. This was only
the third time I've seen one. They are quite big, and one can imagine that
they were the model for the Woody cartoon. There were a couple of Acorn
Woodpeckers and a Flicker as well. A truly bouteous woodpecker morning!
We continued onward and upward. There were lots of boughs in the trail that had been ripped off by the wind. As the trail went higher we got some magnificent views of Pine Mountain. It reminded me of a time many years ago that Ben and I had gotten lost, gone cross country and discovered a waterfall. We had passed this point on the way down. I remember Ben saying some nice things about how he felt about his Dad. The views triggered some nice memories.
We tried to find Hidden Lake trail, but failed. We did manage to find No Name trail and ambled back toward the lake. We pulled off to the side, put out the tarp, and had lunch in the sun. Great stuff! We talked about Ben's time at college. He said that some of his friends said that I acted much like a college kid myself.
"You're only young once, but you can be immature forever."We swung over to the Berry Trail, went along Bon Tempe Lake on the Shadyside Trail, and eventually back to the parking lot. A nice short hike with old memories recalled, and new memories created. I missed having a camera!
Here's what we saw:
Birds
Double-crested Cormorant,
Great Blue Heron,
Red-breasted Merganser,
Turkey Vulture,
American Coot,
Common Flicker,
Pileated Woodpecker,
Acorn Woodpecker,
Scrub Jay,
Wrentit
.
Mammals
Mushrooms
Reptiles & Amphibians, etc.
Western Fence Lizard.
Shrubs
Trees
Douglas Fir,
Coast Redwood,
Coast Live Oak,
Tanoak,
California (Bay) Laurel,
Toyon,
Madrone.
