Thirteen (13) of us hiked up the Wonder Trail on a lovely winter day and came back down on the road. We welcomed and enjoyed our newest hiker, Penny. Most of us have this trail among our favorites in the watershed. It was good to introduce a couple veteran hikers to this trail.

We stopped for lunch in our customary outcrop in the forest off the trail just short of the Fell-on-Knee intersection. As we approached the lunch spot, we found a sweet heart arrangement on the ground (with sticks, rocks, and a rose). Seems a former hiker wanted to wish us a happy Valentine’s Day. We then continued on our way to reach the Road to descend along the creek.

We found some flora announcing the coming of spring, including snow queen and early purple wildflower. To our amazement descending down the road, we found a large swath of California ground-cones. Some were coming loose from the soil apparently due to the heavy erosion along the hillside. These California ground-cones are wildflowers that look like pine cones. They are root parasites of madrone and manzanita.

A little rain waited until we reached our cars. We had hikes 5 miles and gained 900’ elevation.

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Hike Leader: Kay

Photos By: Kay