Went
on a wonderful hike in Cuyamaca State Park with by hiking buddies, Myrna and
Chris. The weather was perfect: after about 15 minutes of hiking we took off
jackets and hiked in our shirtsleeves, and I in my shorts.
Chris
had picked out the hike as it is one of her favorites. This was the Dyar
Springs/Juaquapin Loop. It started at the Sweetwater River Parking area just
North of Green Valley Falls C.G.
The
first half mile the trail was quite rough due to an earlier muddy season, but
then it leveled out a bit and got to be what one usually experiences. The
wildflowers have started to bloom and we enjoyed the sweet smell of ceanothus
perplexans, desert ceanothus; Arctostaphylos glandulosa, Eastwood Manzanita, Encelia
californica, California sunflower; Lamium amplexiaule, Henbit; Paeonia
californica, California peony; and Sidalcea sparsifolia, Checkerbloom.
Eastwood Manzanita/ Arctostaphylos glandulosa |
Wild Peony/ Paeonia californica |
Checkerbloom/Sidalcea sparsifolia |
Here
is a plant I have not yet been able to identify. Your help would be much
appreciated.
There
were several large meadows to walk by and we were rewarded with seeing 18 mule
deer in the distance.
Mule Deer Herd |
Then we saw evidence of the cycle of life with the rib
cage skeleton of a deer as well as it’s lower jaw.
At
Dyar Spring we saw evidence of the harvesting of acorns by the Kumyaay with
deep morteros in the nearby rocks.
Granite Formation |
Peaceful Scene |
Grinding Rock |
Many grinding holes |
A distant view made me think of the Smoky Mountains -
To
celebrate the occasion we had a dessert treat at the Descanso Junction
Restaurant on our way home. They have done some remodeling since I was last
there as well as upgraded the menu. We enjoyed apple dumpling (Chris), cherry
pie (Myrna), and Chocolate volcano cake (NKV). They were all delicious. Sorry
no pictures but they were beautiful and delicious.