flora – Page 17 – besthike.com

March 30, 2010March 25, 2010

weird, wild Saguaro cactus

I feel lucky to have just finished a driving tour of the exact range of the crazy beautiful Saguaro cactus, definitely one of my favourite flora.

… a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California …

Harming a saguaro in any manner, including cactus plugging, is illegal by state law in Arizona, and when houses or highways are built, special permits must be obtained to move or destroy any saguaro affected. …

Wikipedia

more interesting photos tagged Saguaro

November 7, 2009October 30, 2009

Keanae Arboretum, Maui

I’m a sucker for great trees. Botanical gardens.

But I skipped the Garden of Eden ($5 entry) instead walking the nearby Keanae Arboretum (free).

Around half-mile beyond mile marker 16 on the Hana Highway …

The Ke‘anae Arboretum lies alongside the Pi‘ina‘au Stream on leveled terraces built hundreds of years ago by Hawaiians for growing taro, a mainstay of their diet. A 0.6 mile paved walkway takes visitors through timber, fruit, and ornamental trees from tropical regions around the world, many of which are marked with name plates. Inside the arboretum you can find some 150 varieties of tropical plants (including taro). This is a great location to see some indigenous flowers and the painted bark eucalyptus trees.

An upper section of the arboretum features plants cultivated by the Hawaiians for food and other uses. This arboretum appears to have undergone a major renovation as of our last visit. The renovation included an expansion on the previous path that now leads into beautiful small taro fields not previously located in the arboretum.

There are no facilities or amenities at this stop. Expect to spend 30 minutes to an hour here.

The Aussie Gum trees were my favourites.

Hawaii-Guide

September 9, 2009September 2, 2009

hike Chalamain gap and the Lairig Ghru, Scotland

Love these Scottish place names!

This lesser known hike turned out to be my personal favourite in Scotland.

An energetic walk over a low pass into one of the wildest and most spectacular glens in Scotland …

the Lairig Ghru is widely regarded as the finest mountain pass in Scotland. …

Traditionally, people walked the full 28mi (45km) from Aviemore to Braemar … The walk described here is a day’s outing from just south of Glenmore, through dramatic Chalamain Gap and up to the top of Lairig Ghru then back to Coylumbridge through Rothiemurchus pine woods.

14mi (22.5km)

Lonely Planet Walking in Scotland

Actually, I only did this hike because I was turned back on my attempt to climb Ben Macdui.

The weather alternated between storm and sunshine.

Here was the prettiest purple heather I saw anywhere in Scotland.

But what I most liked about this hike was that I was not much bothered by midges at my two pretty tent camps.

more photos from this hike

January 3, 2009January 2, 2009

Socotra Island, Yemen

Dark Roasted Blend linked to some amazing pics of a place they call The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth.

I’d love to hike there. Check out the incredible vegetation.

socotra-trees
larger version – flickr – jan_vandorpe

socotra-vegetation
larger version – flickr – jan_vandorpe

… Socotra is considered the “jewel” of biodiversity in the Arabian sea. The long geological isolation of the Socotra archipelago and its fierce heat and drought have combined to create a unique and spectacular endemic flora (which may, therefore, be vulnerable to introduced species such as goats and to climate change). Surveys have revealed that more than a third of the 800 or so plant species of Socotra are found nowhere else. Botanists rank the flora of Socotra among the ten most endangered island flora in the world. The archipelago is a site of global importance for biodiversity conservation and a possible center for ecotourism. …

The island was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world natural heritage site in July 2008. …

Wikipedia

The beaches look pretty sweet, too.

larger version – flickr – Valerio Pandolfo

A friend of mine (Canadian who spoke Arabic) traveled in Yemen decades ago. And loved it.

There are some trekking tours listed on the internet, including Socotra Guide.

more photos – Dark Roasted Blend – The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth

April 20, 2008

hiking the Marin Headlands in California

A few pics from my hike today with Tom Mangan of Two-Heel Drive.

We headed across the Golden Gate Bridge en route to Point Bonita Lighthouse, touted in my guidebook the “most sensational easy hike in the Bay area”.

Tom concurred.

lighthouse

It’s only open a few hours each day, access blocked by a locked tunnel. Once through the rock, you need cross a suspension bridge deemed so untrustworthy that only two hikers (or three) should cross together at one time. If it collapses, this is what you face below.

sea arch

We wandered several more miles, enjoying the atypically sunny Spring Sunday.

California Poppy

quail
California Quail

See the rest of my photos from this hike on flickr.

Tom’s excellent trip report and photos.

April 9, 2008May 15, 2013

my Alakai Swamp trail run in Hawaii

I like the route Lonely Planet Hiking Hawaii recommends for Alakai Swamp:

Kalalau Lookout trailhead > Phea Lookout > Kilohana Lookout. And back.

That’s maximum bang / mile, I think.

It’s a brilliant hike, too, by the way. Don’t be deterred by the name “Swamp”.

OK, it’s a swamp. But it’s so weird and unexpected after the sunny, hot coastal beaches, that I was instantly won over. Many hikers are. For some it’s their favourite hike on Kauai.

The highlight is not the swamp. Not pounding miles of boardwalk in my running shoes.

Some come specifically to see indigenous Hawaiian flora and fauna.

But for most, the highlight is the drop dead gorgeous 4000ft vista looking over Na Pali (The Cliffs). One of he great lookouts in the world.

see all my photos from this hike on flickr

learn more – Alaka’i Swamp Trail – Trailspotting

March 18, 2008

Lost Palms Oasis, Joshua Tree National Park

Almost everyone has heard of a small Park in California because of the hit album by Irish Rockers U2 called Joshua Tree.

Anton Corbijn photography December 1986 – via Brad Biringer

I’ve been wanting to get here for YEARS.

Best hiking destination in the Park, no doubt in my mind, is Lost Palms Oasis. That’s 7.5mi (12km) return from the trailhead to the Palms.

Count on at least another half hour wandering the Palm grove. And another half hour scrambling Mastadon Peak, a nice sidetrip. There’s the Cottonwood Spring campground as seen from the top of Mastadon:

The walk is scenic, varied desert environs, until suddenly a huge palm oasis appears far below trail level:

In early March, most everyone in the park was shooting Spring wildflowers. Including me.

more of my photos from this hike – flickr

October 4, 2007

Autumn hikes in North America

The Adventure Blog links to a Backpacker Magazine article. And editor Kraig adds some recommendations of his own:

We’re into October now, and that means that Autumn is in the air and soon the green leaves of Summer will give way to the bright reds, oranges, and yellows of Fall. I know that it’s a perfect time to hit a trail and enjoy the cooler weather and stunning scenery, and so do the folks over at Backpacker Magazine where they’ve compiled a nice list of suggestions on where to go depending on how much time you have to spend.

… they recommend Lowe’s Bald Spot in New Hampshire, or Lost Maples State Natural Area here in Texas …

read more … The Adventure Blog: Autumn Hiking Suggestions

In Canada it is almost too late to see the larch trees turn golden at Lake O’Hara in the Rockies. I planned to head up there myself last week â€” but decided, instead, to fly to Mexico for dental work.

more photos from our Fall 2006 trip – flickr

September 8, 2007

top 10 Fall forest walks USA

Having just returned from hiking wonderful Inyo National Forest, this post caught my eye.

As selected by GORP:

1. Willamette National Forest, OR
2. Inyo National Forest, CA
3. Coconino National Forest, AZ
4. Gunnison National Forest, CO
5. Chequamegon-Nicolet N.F., WI
6. Mark Twain National Forest, MO
7. Pisgah National Forest, NC
8. Allegheny National Forest, PA
9. Green Mountain National Forest, VT
10. White Mountain N.F., NH – ME

GORP – Autumn Escapes: Fall’s Best Forests

(via The Adventure Blog)

September 6, 2007

hiking the oldest trees in the world

While acclimatizing to altitude in preparation for an ascent of 14,000ft+ Mt. White in California we spent two days hiking photogenic Ancient Bristlecone Forest – Inyo National Forest – out of Bishop.

The Schulman Grove Visitor Center is situated way up at 10,000ft.

The oldest known live tree in the world is dubbed “Methuselah”. But the exact location is top secret. The Methuselah Trail passes within site of this tree. But you must guess which it is.

An even older one, nicknamed “Prometheus”, was cut down in 1964.

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine – Wikipedia

Studying weird, warped trees is one of the great highlights of hiking the Sierras.

Patriarch Grove – my favourite of the established day hikes

all my photos of hiking Bristlecone – flickr

Nature Ali (Alison Sheehey) also has a nice Bristlecone page:

I am on a quest to discover, identify and photograph all of the conifers of California. Part of my quest led me to the oldest living tree on earth. Estimated at almost 5000 years old, the most ancient of bristlecones are considered one of the oldest continuously living plants on earth.

But watch out, they are surpassed in age by the 11 to 12 thousand year old creosote bushes (clones of the original bush) in the nearby Mojave Desert. Amazingly many of the oldest living things on earth occupy a very small niche in central and eastern California.

Ancient Bristlecone Forest – Inyo National Forest