(Note: I have been trying not to edit my work after I post so that those of you who have an RSS feed don’t get repeated wildsuburbia listings but… I left out something really important. The drive to the trailhead from the road is 2.9 miles of rutted and rocky, gut-jiggling fun. I’m sure it is no problem for those with durable vehicles that have a clearance from the road of more than six inches, but it was an adventure in our Toyota Matrix. After this rain the road is probably worse, so be advised. We plan to rent an SUV if we go again.) – Barbara
Yesterday my husband and I went for a hike on the Lytle Creek Middle Fork Trail. It was one of the nicest areas I’ve been to in Southern California. All day we only met three other groups of people on the trail. There weren’t many weeds visible and extremely little litter. The trail passes through rocky washes, slopes of chaparral, and oak and riparian woodlands. The topography is varied, rugged and dramatic, though the hiking is pretty easy. Subdued colors of white, black, gray, and green swirl across rock faces, while burnt orange buckwheat flowers, rich cinnamon brown manzanita bark with gray-green leaves, and bright orange-red ladybugs color the biotic world. Our ears were soothed with the sound of wind blowing through trees, water rushing down rocky creeks, and occasional birds chirping away. An altogether satisfying day!
(It seems there is no way to show picture captions with embedded flickr slideshows, so click here to get to the flickr slideshow with captions.)
Here’s a link to a google map of the parking at Middle Fork Trailhead
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Lovely pictures. I'm going to go hiking here soon. Where do you go to find ladybug swarms? I'd love to see that.
Good thing you went when you did…that area is probably rushing with water now! Hopefully the rain will help regenerate what was lost in the burn areas without too much damage.
A beautiful looking hike. I didn't really discover hiking till I moved north. A shame since I think there are some really interesting places down south. Thanks for the virtual hike at least.
Thanks for commenting. Barbara, the ladybug swarm was about midway between the trailhead and Third Crossing campground. Sorry I can't be more specific. They were on a low growing buckwheat on the left side of the trail, going in, at a curve. (That's kind of like saying, you know the guy, the one with brown hair).<br /><br />Susie, we did just squeeze it in. What a week!<br /><br />Brad,