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Stoddard

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:36 pm
by JeffH
As I was sitting on Stoddard Peak last Sunday I had plenty of quiet time to think about what a perfect day it was up in the mountains. I could look down and see the overcast near the ocean, in fact I couldn't see the ocean, and out in the valleys a thin cloud of dusty haze was gathering. But it was peaceful and clear where I was sitting. That is, until sirens of a CDF truck, paramedics, fire truck and ambulance moved up Baldy Road.
I only had a few hours for myself before we had company arriving at the house so I was going to hustle up Sunset Peak. Unfortunately I hadn't read any stories on this fine site and GMR was gated closed at Baldy Village. Not wanting to waste the day I stopped and walked up to Stoddard Peak. I know it's not much but I didn't feel like driving any distance and Potato Mountain didn't seem like enough distance.
There is water in the creek at the trailhead, a tiny little trickle at the group of houses and nothing in Cascade Canyon. I walked up the use trail a bit trying to find some but I couldn't even hear any dripping under the rocks.
In the two and a half hours I was out there I encountered just one person and a dog on the trail, as I said lots of time to just think and look around and remember how lucky we are to be this close to the mountains.


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Bridge crossing, water flowing well.


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Shady section. Lots of bugs here.


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It gets hot fast once you reach this part. Bugs disappeared though.


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Summit. No one else had signed the register since August 12.


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Me hanging out. I had a snack, spent about 20 minutes sitting up there.


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I thought it was interesting to see this stuff blooming all over since it's been so dry and hot.

Re: Stoddard

Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 7:10 am
by SGBob
JeffH wrote: I thought it was interesting to see this stuff blooming all over since it's been so dry and hot.
The drought tolerance of rabbit brush is pretty amazing. There are a few native plants that still look great after four years of serious drought and record heat. I don't know how they can sit out there and bake in the sun for years on end with little rain and still be green.