Holy Crap it was a nice day for a hike! by Cl. "watch out for the road apples" Panic, guest blogger

Spring has sprung.

Which means that it was a perfect day for a hike. My good friend from Australia was in town and we decided to try out a new hiking spot at the Henry Cowell State Park. It was also good weather to take Tiburon out for a spin, so off we went. Until we stopped along with all of the other traffic on the freeway. Apparently it was also a great day for the beach, which meant that traffic on the 17 heading into Santa Cruz was backed up to San Jose since every resident of the Silicon Valley flocked to the ocean.†

Acting on a whim, we redirected ourselves to an old standby: the Phleger Estate. It's been nearly a year since my last visit to Phleger, but given the variety of trails and ample parking, it seemed like a safe bet, and avoided the need to deal with Santa Cruz traffic. And so we wound our way through the quaint village of Woodside and into the Huddart County Park. Trail map in hand and poorly identified trails ahead, we were off...

I don't remember the large amount of horse shit on my last trip to Phleger. I mean there was a ton of crap along most of the trails. No killer mountain bikers, just killer road apples.

The park was eerily quiet. Not many other hikers, but there was this one jogger guy that was way too in shape; he lapped us and was moving at the same fast clip whether going uphill or down. Bastard.

We saw a lot of squirrels and lizards. No banana slugs though. Come to think of it, I've never seen a banana slug on any of my hikes. Maybe they know that I carry salt in my back pocket?

I was able to capture a nice macro shot of a flower (a Redwood Sorrel, according to Prof. KIA), and also some strange web-nest-thing. Hey NN: does Professor Know it All have anything to say about the caterpillar orgy?

Did anyone notice that the moon was visible all day? And there were no clouds in the sky? I mean, it was absolutely beautiful out.

After the hike we decided me might try to sneak into Half Moon Bay via Highway 84. No such luck. Traffic was backed up all the way to the 280. Guess the beach will have to wait ...

† Presumably this did not include the Nus who were likely trapped in retail hell trying to solve Mr. Nonny Nu's crisis.

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Going Home to Phleger

Ah...it was nice to go home. Stillman and I hadn't gone hiking since last July when MonkeyPig visited HQ. Part of the reason was that Stillman had knee surgery, and part of the reason was I was too busy eating on the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now that Stillman's knee is ready to face the wild again and I am face to face with my New Year's resolution, we have begun our hikes again. And, what better place to start it all off again than the Phleger Estate? Yes, it was like coming home again. There were so many little nooks and crannies that became familiar again once we came across them.

One thing that was unusual was the packed parking lot. Turned out that there was some sort of foot race being run out of the park, but not on the trail. So, off we went into the forest.

There were so many things that I had forgotten but was reminded of again when I went into Phleger! We went past the spot where I had first met the kung fu master. She wasn't there today, though. But, you know who was there? The Banana Slug Welcome Back Parade! Sometimes, when we think about trees and shrubs standing still or the banana slugs living solitary lives since they move so slow, we forget that they really are a community together. I mean, look at the parade they organized for us, right? And, look at the trees and their vine entourages. These are not solitary things, after all.

It was really nice to walk along the trail under the overhanging tree trunks. The heavy canopy kept the rain off, but when we got to the part with the chaparral, we felt a bit of the rain on our heads. We were struck with a sense of nostalgia as we encountered our first switchback:



But, there were so many new things! Since, I only started hiking last April, I have never seen the trails in Winter. There was a lot of fresh, new moss. This was the most mossed single-standing structure. And, since it was so soon after the rains, the brook was REALLY babbling:



And, the birds were really chirping:



We also saw a whole bunch of new mushrooms sprouting up:
Clump 1
Clump 2
Clump 3

Also, we witnessed one of the first blooms of the season. Stillman and I thought it was an iris, but Professor Know-It-All says that it's a Slink Pod (of the Lily Family). But, it was a day of learning for me. Stillman explained that, if you look carefully, you will see a dead tree in the middle of a ring of new trees. This is because the dead tree in the middle (the parent) sprinkled acorns from its branches around their trunks. Then, when a fire goes through and burns through the forest, the parent tree dies, but the fire helps the acorns to start growing into trees. We saw quite a few examples of large burnt out tree stumps surrounded by new growth on our hike.

Speaking of old and new growth, any one want some nice fungus? Check this out. They're fresh and there's plenty for everyone! The soft orange puffy ones seem to be new fungal growth that will mature into the harder looking ones. (I left them in high resolution so you all can see what I'm talking about.) These guys are also glow-y. Here, take a closer look.

One last thing that was new was a real live lizard! I've shown you guys lizards in still-life format before, but here is one on the move:



At the end of the day, we were bid farewell by our old friend, The Graffiti Rock. As you can see, the graffiti others had left was erased by the moss' regrowth. Of course, I had to leave my mark. (YAY, GIANTS!)

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Diving Boston Harbor (pt. 1)Cl. Panic, frigid guest blogger

On my latest outing to Boston (in December), I decided that it had been far too long since by last dive. That, and NN has been pestering me about not posting any pictures of fish. I really didn;t believe that Boston Harbor had much in terms of marine life (aside from concrete-shoed former mafiosos and the occasional scrod). Low and behold, I was wrong!

One of my first sightings was the curious cuttlefish, a squid relative. These little bastards are weird and move like space ships--and they aren't even fish. They're mollusks. Really smart mollusks. In fact, they have highly developed eyes that are able to sense the polarization of light, and chromatophores that allow communication and disguise. Like some of the partners at NN&N, LLP, their blood runs blue-green instead of red. No, they don't run on money. Unlike humans, they rely on copper (rather than iron) to carry oxygen. Since a picture doesn't do these guys justice, peep your eyes on the video as well. Of course, they have ink. And for you trivia lovers out there (Shakespeare Teacher?), cuttlefish are the natural sources of sepia dye (hence they belong to the Order Sepiida).


I also paid a visit to Mr. Stonefish. I was careful because he has poisonous spines and dead, dead eyes. Not only do these guys have some of the most toxic venom of any fish, they can survive outside of water for over 20 hours. Think about that the next time you order okoze sashimi!


And while I'm on the topic of spines, I came across a friendly little urchin. He was so friendly that he let me look under his tail (how'd you think I knew he was a he?) And no, that's not his anus; it's actually his mouth (his ass is on the other side, which gets confusing). A third grader informed me that an urchin's mouth is also called "Aristotle's lantern." An urchin can move its spines and locomote using little sucker feet and its spines. Oh, and they have no eyes. My sushi fans out there know that uni (or roe) comes from sea urchin gonads.



Stay tuned for part 2... featuring blue lobster, an enemies a shy fish and penguins!

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Shamelisted: Poorly Signed Hikes

This is about as bad as what Stillman and I saw on Sunday when we went on our latest hike. OMG, I couldn't believe this thing. Okay, lemme start from the beginning.

We went to the Upper Stevens Creek County Park. It's only a 5.5 mile loop, as compared to the 7+ mile loop at Phleger Estates. I hadn't been hiking since MonkeyPig visited, which was almost an entire month ago, so you can just imagine how out of shape I am (I've also slipped off my running schedule and Mr. Nonny Nu has threatened me with morning calisthenics again--I HATE THOSE). Anyhow, we get there and it was bad from the beginning. The hike synopsis told us to "look for a narrow, unmarked path heading east." Okay, seriously, WTF, right?

Anyway, after a false start (I parked at the wrong place and Stillman had to set me straight), we found the entrace and off we went. Folks, if I'm lyin' I'm dyin', but not one sign matched the county-provided map. Needless to say, we headed 2 miles out of our way because we were led astray by the non-signs. And, if you look at the elevation description, it's a steep hike. It was all downhill from the beginning, so, once we figured out our way back, it was all uphill (nearly 800 feet ascent) and not at the strollable 7 degree slope either. Get this--the hike synopsis says: "A few early switchbacks lull you into the false confidence that this will be a gently graded ascent. As you get further uphill, steeper sections set you straight." Right. It wouldn't be so bad if the signs actually told us where to go.

I was looking forward to a good strenuous hike since I hadn't been hiking for almost a month, so I didn't even bring Professor Know-It-All or my hand-me-down camera. I just wanted to focus on the hike. Personally, I had a great time because I was confident that we'd find our way out of there eventually. And, we had a nice little rest with a couple of clementine oranges, so everything was just dandy. But, I just think it's such a disgrace how poorly marked this trail is. Here, take a look, this is what one of the junctions look like:We were supposed to take the trail to the left where the reflector "marker" is, you see? You see?

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I'm-a Gonna Learn Me Some Plants!

Apparently, some people disagreed with my naming of the wildflowers from my last hike. So, Stillman, for my birthday, got me a tutor, Professor Know-It-All! Dudes, check out this guy's brain! So, for Fourth of July, Stillman and I went to Sanborn Trail with the Professor. Here's a map. This was not where we had planned to go, but when we got on the freeway to go to our originally planned destination, it was just bumper to bumper with holiday traffic. So, we just switched destinations in the blink of an eye. [Stillman: We're pretty darned adventurous to just switch locations like that, aren't we?]

The first thing I noticed was the seasons had really changed. We were no longer in the lush springtime. Summer was upon us and the trail was much drier. We were expecting a Banana Slug Fourth of July Parade, but no dice. Stillman did her banana slug call in vain. [Stillman: They could be charging to the gates as we speak but we wouldn't know about if for a few hours. They are, afterall, banana slugs.] We did encounter some water, but it was rare and just enough to make a tiny branch start growing out of the trunk of a tree.

So, we just kept on trucking and admired the scenery, which included a tree that looked like antlers growing out of some Tafoni rocks. We were just down the road from Castle Rock, so I was sort of disappointed because I didn't see any manzanitas, which were very abundant at Castle Rock. There were plenty of madrones, though, and some were huge. The red bark of the mardrones showed up brilliantly against their green leaves, just like the way my red mosquito bites are showing up brilliantly against my yellow skin right now. I don't have a picture of my mosquito bites (the last time I posted a photo of my wounds from when I ate it while running, Mr. Nonny Nu made me take it down), but you will get the idea by just viewing either the internet re-enactment of the incident, or a screen shot of a full-length feature film of the incident featuring my body double).

We came across some plants that looked like scallions, and you all know how much the Nus like our scallions! So, Stillman and I investigated. Yeah, they really were wild scallions. These things actually have blooms, but I guess we are past the blooming season for the wild scallions. I didn't spot any flowers until we got to the very middle of the hike. But, that's where I saw some shrubs with yellow flowers. I ran up to the shrub. I thought I had found some Lemony Doodads, but Professor Know-It-All said they were Scotch Broom. Scotch broom?? RIGHT. I swear, these academics are so silly sometimes with their "names."

Then, we came upon a hostel. This wasn't the type of hostel that you hear about in the news. No, this was a fairy tale hostel, an oasis in the woods, the type of hostel where people DON'T get slaughtered. In other words, the boring kind. I looked inside and saw a really nice dining hall and living room with piano (check out the intricate staircase). They turned the landing into a little music area. Unfortunately, the hostel was closed (they keep it closed during the day to cut down on expenses since they can't charge customers an arm and a leg--HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAAAAA!!!). So, Stillman and I just took a look around. We followed a path that was ringed by a moss-topped rock wall and found a pond covered by a thick layer of algae. In one little area of the pond that was relatively clear of algae, there were toads and turtles. All along the pond were Pinky Patinkin and peepee colored Peepee Flowers. Now, according to Professor Know-It-All, these were actually Azalea and Tinker's Penny, respectively. Fellow citizens of TWoNN, you tell me which names make more sense to you. Anywhoo, the Professor was at least nice enough to take a picture of Stillman and me.

By that time, we were pretty hungry, so we found some picnic tables at the hostel under a canopy of redwood trees, one of which apparently bleeds photons the way maples bleed syrup. Stillman had a BLT and I had a salami sammich.* [Stillman: No, I don't want any of yours and you're not having any of mine either.] [Nonny Nu: Well!] It was a really nice little set up. There was even a real live barbecue pit there. Stillman was too pooped to peep at that point. Okay, maybe she did let out one little peep.

After we recharged, we figured that it was best to head back to the trail. As we left the hostel's property, Stillman noticed a deer that was about 10-15 feet away from us! All three of us looked at each other and didn't know what to do. But, finally the deer snapped out of it and hopped back behind a tree (about 25 feet away now) and was looking over its shoulder at us. Did you see it? Here, I put a National Geographic-like yellow rectangle around it. Then, it just leapt off.

One thing I didn't tell you was that we had been going downhill so far. That means that we had an uphill climb ahead of us and, boy, was it steep. I'm talking steep. None of that 7% grade sissy stuff. We were going pretty steady at about a 45 degree angle for quite a while. I was so tired... We passed by a yellow grass field and saw some nice vistas(!). But, as we got higher up, we saw ravines, too. I saw some Purplescus Purpledum and Yellowstar Galactica, while Professor Know-It-All saw Purple Thistles and Goldwire Hypericum Concinnum. Yeah, that rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? Just goes to show that having an "education" isn't everything...

*We got these sammiches at a deli on Saratoga Avenue, right before it turns into Highway 9 (aka, Big Basin Way) in downtown Saratoga. I can't remember the name of it, but it is rumored to have been bought by a busboy who worked there, and the seating area is downstairs from the counter where you order the food. Anyhow, DON'T GO TO THIS PLACE THAT I CAN'T NAME. The sammiches were small for the price. $6.00 each! Sheesh!

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