July Interlude: So Much Yellow on Blue Ridge

 Little puffs of dust billowed from the laces as I untied each boot in turn, but that was nothing compared to the dust that rose into the air when I pulled my socks off. Maybe I should have done both of those things outside. Better yet I could have done it right after returning to the trailhead and left all that stuff where I found it. This July Interlude was another dusty summer hike.

Ah, but it was so much more than dust. I'm talking about all the yellow wildflowers that are blooming right now in the high country above Wrightwood. It is appropriate, is it not? Yellow. I mean it is kind of the official color of summer. Between the Rabbitbrush and this other low growing stuff you are bound to see the color in which ever direction you turn your eyes.

there were a couple riders up there, mostly hikers though

there are five bees in this one shot

I have long wanted to give this route a ride, only further than we were able to walk it today, the full twelve miles to Cabin Flat, and while that remains a possibility I can now see that the switchback road from Guffy Camp down into the canyon of the Prairie Fork will be quite a monster to to get back up. Of course now that I see you can drive the dirt road from Inspiration Point to Guffy Camp, cutting the distance in half, kind of makes that obstacle more reasonable. But that will be for another timeAnyway...

by taking the Blue Ridge Road outbound, and then sections of the Pacific Crest Trail back we were able to turn an out and back into a bit of a loop, and made it more interesting. It sure is different up there in the higher lands (trailhead begins at over 7,000 feet and only goes up from there), beside the late season wildflowers showing off, the buckwheat, turned to rust in the low lands, is in full bloom, and the bees are in an absolute frenzy of activity, collecting pollen from the plants already mentioned plus the purple Aster, Mallow, the last of the lupine, Indian Paintbrush, and even buzzing around the needles of Jeffery and Ponderosa pines. If you're more into the bigger view, there are no lack of peaks to gaze out on, block the horizon - Iron, Pine, Baldy, and most dominant of all Mt. Baden-Powell. The rocky, scree-covered flanks of all of them are impressive for their bulk, but also let your eyes wander down the canyons winding their way from Blue Ridge and wonder what hidden sights lie in those folds.

Mt. Baden-Powell

Pine Mountain with its long ridge falling away to the right, with Mt. Baldy and its long ridge behind

which way would you go?

Rabbit Brush

the trail way

lean-to

steep slope and Baden-Powell

trailside color

My earliest remembrance of the area date back to the '70s when a great aunt and uncle had a cabin in the town. Later there were occasional hikes, rides along Highway 2, or spending a few hours in town. None of those, however, involved a traverse along the Blue Ridge with the Mountain High ski area on one side, and steep slopes and series of small canyons falling away to Prairie Fork on the other. Two campgrounds along the Blue Ridge road, a communications array atop one summit, research opportunities galore (vehicles from both UCR Botany and Cal Poly Pomona passed by at different times) and, of course, the facilities and equipment of Mountain High kept the road fairly busy, and was a good excuse to take to the PCT (not that we could have done so had we been on bikes), and not that any extra excuse was necessary, as the trail was far more interesting, winding through shaded stands of pine and oak, up and down hillsides, and offered different views than those of the more level road route.

these are much more fresh than the ones growing in the wash near home

a few gooseberries are yet to be picked by the birds