Scouting Report: Siskiyou
Whenever I visit Siskiyou County, I question why it took so long to return. The county is so beautiful and loaded with tantalizing outdoor things to do that it’s a wonder it’s so lightly populated and traveled.
Siskiyou is the frosting atop California’s layer cake of spectacular places, and Mount Shasta is its grandest decoration.
What’s kept me from visiting more often has been my perception that it’s too far away. However, on a recent scouting trip up north, time melted away and anticipation built as I drove north on I-5.
Near Red Bluff, big, beautiful, frosted Mt. Shasta rose above the horizon, beckoning and reminding me why Siskiyou is so irresistible.
CaliforniaFallColor.com posts far too few reports from locations north of Shasta Lake, but when we do, they glitter with gold.
Among my favorites for fall color are the Klamath River, McCloud River, Hedge Creek, Mossbrae Falls, Faery Falls and any spot that contrasts fall color with Mt. Shasta.
I asked Siskiyou County’s Megan Peterson where locals go when the color begins sparkling. She likes the Scott Valley where bigleaf maple populate the twisting edges of the Scott River. Good one.
Megan also likes the Gateway Trail system near Yreka. Dogwood and Bigleaf Maple are the dominant deciduous trees and part of the Foundation Trail (part of the Gateway) has tightly bunched dogwood that “put on a great show” in autumn.
Hiker Jane Cohn of Mt. Shasta City lists the Castle Lake Shore Trail, Lake Siskiyou Trail, Box Canyon Trail, Ney Springs Canyon Trail, McCloud River Fall Trail, Sisson Meadow Trail, Dunsmuir Trail, Sacramento River Trail, Pine Tree Hollow Loop, Kelsey Creek Trail and Cabin Creek as all being flanked with pockets of bold color in autumn.
Hikemtshasta.com recommends the Cliff Lake Trail and Spring Hill Trail.
Then, of course, the Mt. Shasta Resort’s golf links are lined with trees that shine bright orange in autumn.
In late May, driving along the McCloud Road, dogwood were abloom with their floral white bracts, hinting at the display of yellow sure to appear once autumn arrives.
Autumn is, however, still a season away, but then don’t put off visiting, as I had. There’s just too much to see, enjoy and explore atop the state in Siskiyou County that is downright irresistible.
Inspired by Nature
Strategically placed chairs in a garden, Marjolein Bastin
In Inspired by Nature, life-long sketchbook artist Marjolein Bastin writes that her sketchbooks reflect what fascinates her in nature … butterflies and bumblebees, fluttering and buzzing around chairs in her garden. Petals and songbirds, berries and blossoms.
For fans of autumn, those images are of fallen leaves, reflections and intensely vibrant fall color, warm and embracing, yet wrapped in a brisk blanket.
Photographs of fall color can be breathtaking, but also limiting to what is seen. Sketching, on the other hand, allows the viewer to eliminate distractions and express detail.
Bastin’s handsome book is meant to be carried, tucked into a rucksack with pencils and watercolors, to be used in the field to capture “experiences, observations and nature finds.”
A blue, cotton bookmark, threaded into the binding, returns you to where you last sketched and a handy envelope inside the back cover provides a place to insert “Nature’s Finds and Treasures.”
There’s lots of empty space in the 64-page sketchbook, meant to be drawn upon, splashed with wet color and pen-scribed. And, example after example of Bastin’s sketches and observations guide how to fill a sketchbook.
Tho, there’s not much detail within Inspired by Nature to explain nature drawing and journaling. For that, get John Muir Laws’ tome, The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling. Laws’ book, though comprehensively instructive, is not one you take into the field. Bastin’s is.
When photographing fall color, I often find myself chasing light, then waiting for it to get golden. During that waiting time, sketching is a way to record observations visually that’s not dependent upon the perfect moment. As, with sketching, the point is to interpret perfection through creative expression.
Inspired by Nature Sketchbook (paperback, 6 x 6″) is available from Andrews McMeel Publishing ($16.99) wherever books are sold.
Coastal Color
Wildflowers are blooming along the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) between Cambria, north to Big Sur.
Color spotter Mark Harding drove Hwy 1 over the weekend, returning with these images of wildflowers and wildlife.
African daisies (osteospermum), Bixby Bridge, Coastal Highway (4/27/19) Mark Harding 
Tule elk play fighting, Coastal Highway (4/27/19) Mark Harding 
Smooth Tidy Tips (Layia chrysanthemoides) and Lupine, Coastal Highway (4/27/19) Mark Harding 
Bigleaf maple and coastal redwood, Big Sur, Coastal Highway (4/27/19) Mark Harding 
Hwy 46 between Cambria and Paso Robles (4/26/19) Mark Harding 
Hwy 46 between Cambria and Paso Robles (4/26/19) Mark Harding 
Wild turkey, Hwy 46 between Cambria and Paso Robles (4/26/19) Mark Harding
Backroad Beauty
The Eastern Sierra is now airbrushed with vibrant yellow, pink, blue, white, lavendar, crimson and purple wildflowers, reports Gigi De Jong from Bishop.
Gigi says most of the creeks leading out of the Sierra are feeding a flush of color along the foothills that is filling the sweet air with wild floral scents.
Flower types vary according to their proximity to the water and the soil and elevation where they’re growing, including cinquefoils, lupine, exotic bachelor’s buttons, tickseed and others.
Tinemaha Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/23/19) Gigi De Jong 
Tinemaha Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong 
Bachelor’s Buttons rising from a carpet of yellow, Tinemaha Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong
Many are sprayed across the hillsides. The predominantly yellow flowers growing close to the ground are often obscured by sage and rabbit brush, until you get out among them.
This is a great time of year to explore by off-road vehicle or by hiking, as many dirt roads and trails travel near the drainages.
For the Jeep roads that climb into the Eastern Sierra foothills, high-clearance vehicles are often needed. CLICK HERE for a list of OHV Roads in the Inyo National Forest.
Lupine, Division Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong 
Lupine, Division Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong 
Lupine, Division Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong 
Lupine, Division Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong 
Bigelow’s Tickseed (Leptosyne bigelovii), Tinemaha Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong 
Baker Creek, Eastern Sierra (4/23/19) Gigi De Jong 
Foothill Penstamon, Baker Creek, Eastern Sierra, (4/24/19) Gigi De Jong
Owens Valley Coming Out
It’s springtime in the Owens Valley and wildflowers are appearing first from the lowest elevations to the highest.
Gigi De Jong sends these images with a report that wildflowers are abloom in the southern Owens Valley and marching north.
Even the lizards are coming out.
Owens Valley (4/13/19) Gigi De Jong 
Owens Valley (4/13/19) Gigi De Jong 
Alabama Hills (4/13/19) Gigi De Jong 
Owens Valley (4/13/19) Gigi De Jong 
Lupine, Owens Valley (4/13/19) Gigi De Jong
Flawless Diamond Valley
A flawless super bloom is being seen at Diamond Valley Lake near Hemet, California where California poppies, lupine and other native wildflowers are carpeting the hills.
Alena Nicholas visited on Sunday, sending these images. For more information about visiting Diamond Valley Lake, visit dvlake.com and dvmarina.com.
- Diamond Valley Lake – Peak Wildflower Bloom (75-100%) GO NOW!
California poppies and lupine, Diamond Valley Lake (3/17/19) Alena Nicholas 
California poppies, Diamond Valley Lake (3/17/19) Alena Nicholas 
California poppies, Diamond Valley Lake (3/17/19) Alena Nicholas
Super Bloom Spring
With above-record rainfall drenching California this winter, wildflower super blooms are possible this Spring in Death Valley (late – Feb.), Anza Borrego State Park (mid-Mar.), the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve near Lancaster (early-Apr.) and the Carrizo Plain National Monument (early-Apr.).
Tiffany Camhi of KQED, San Francisco’s public television station, reported today that with a little more rain, a super bloom of poppies, lupine, owl’s clover and other wildflowers is possible.
The National Park Service reports that “The best blooms are triggered by an early, winter-type rainstorm in September or October, followed by an El Niño weather pattern that brings above average rainfall to the Desert Southwest.”
What’s needed for this rare profusion of wildflowers are preceding years of drought and massive winter rainfalls. Both have happened, so it’s “possible.”
Hanging Around
Bald eagles and pintail ducks will be hanging around the marshes, rice fields and wetlands of the Northern Sacramento Valley for a while longer this winter.
Robert Kermen spotted about ten eagles near farmland at Richvale. Nearby, pintail ducks were watchful.
To photograph them, Bob recommends staying inside your vehicle and using it as a blind. Exiting the vehicle will cause the birds to take flight.
Shooting from inside a vehicle is always awkward, but is made easier by setting up before you get to the wetland. One pleasant way to do this is to schedule a stop to fill a Thermos with coffee. While in the coffee shop parking lot, set up your equipment before drive to nearby wetlands.
Bald eagle, Richvale (1/3/19) Robert Kermen 
Bald eagle, Richvale (1/3/19) Robert Kermen 
Bald eagle, Richvale (1/3/19) Robert Kermen
If you’re with someone else, have one in the front and the other in the back seat (if you’ve got an SUV, van or other somewhat spacious vehicle).
Long lenses can be stabilized by resting them on the upper edge of an open car door window or by using a monopod or tripod inside the car. Occasionally, I’ve opened the sunroof and shot standing in it. Surprisingly, birds aren’t as easily spooked by poking a head out a sunroof or car door window, but as soon as they see boots on the ground, off they go.
Farm roads travel along the edges of the rice fields. Check first for “No Trespassing” signs, but usually these roads are public and open to traffic. A word of advice: levee roads have soft shoulders, so stay in the middle of the road unless there’s a stable turnout.
As reported previously, numerous wildlife refuges are located in the Sacramento Valley. At these, photo platforms get you close to birds that have gotten used to seeing photographers hanging around on them.
Pintail ducks, Richvale (1/3/19) Robert Kermen 
Pintail ducks, Richvale (1/3/19) Robert Kermen
Making Mushroom Merry
As the last days of 2018 are waning, mushroom hunters are making merry where winter rains have fallen.
Shasta Cascade color spotter Gabriel Leete found these fungi while foraging along the Sacramento River in Redding at the McConnell Arboretum and Gardens and in Anderson at the Anderson River Park.
Armillaria mellea, Anderson River Park (12/17/18) Gabriel Leete 
Psathyrella spp, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Psathyrella spp, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Stereum ostrea, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Hebeloma crustulinifrome, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Astraeus hygometricus, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Gymnopus dryophilus, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Crucibulum laeve, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Gymnopus dryophilus, McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
McConnell Arboretum and Gardens, Redding (12/18/18) Gabriel Leete 
Psathyrella spp, Anderson River Park, Anderson (12/21/18) Gabriel Leete 
Stereum ostrea, Anderson River Park, Anderson (12/21/18) Gabriel Leete 
Stereum hirsutum, Anderson River Park, Anderson (12/21/18) Gabriel Leete
Winter Happens Here Too
Autumn ended yesterday.
Weeks ago, on the last day of November, Philip Reedy was traveling through the Hope Valley when he stopped to capture these wintry images of “everyone’s favorite cabin in the snow.”
We delayed posting his pictures until today, as they embody the transition from warm fall to cold winter colors, showing aspen bereft of their autumn gold, now encased in white.
Dude, winter happens here too.
- California Fall Color – Past Peak, You Missed It.