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Monday, July 27, 2009

Heron Release

Saturday, I got tapped to do a release of six Black-crowned Night-Herons with Amanda, one of our interns. These birds were raised at IBRRC after getting blown from nests, etc., when they were too young to survive. They are juveniles, and their color will change to mostly light gray with a black crown. My old camera flaked out after the first picture, and most of the pictures didn't turn out well, but at least the release is documented. Time for a new compact camera.
The herons did not want to come out. Amanda finally had to pull out some of them.





These two appear a little aprehensive.



Finally, they flew off into the Suisun Marsh, about a quarter mile from IBRRC. This was also Amanda's last day, as she is being transferred to San Pedro until October - they currently have no interns and we have three (well, not quite three as Monica broke her toe and is on crutches).

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Marble Mountains Backpacking Trip

Did you ever dream about diving into a clear mountain lake on a hot day? Well our dreams came true on this trip.


It all started when Nick and I drove about 420 miles to reach the Shackleford Trailhead in The Marble Mountain Wilderness of the Klamath Mountains.

Driving through Scott Valley we saw this western kingbird on a fence.





Cooling our feet after a long drive.

Starting off the next morning.

The trail was crossed by many small streams.


The flower season comes late up here.



Nick spotted a couple ants carrying a grain of sawdust at a time from their tunnels, and dropping it over the edge. We noticed a division of labor between the smaller ants and the larger ants of the "nest".


This plant appeared to be a wild rose.

We passed several bogs covered with water lillies.

Tiger lilies





Our base camp destination - Cliff Lake.





Boiling water for another delicous Mountain House dinner.


We slept under the stars our first 2 nights. Don't worry, we moved the food cannister far away before bedding down.


The sun lingers on the peaks.








Looking down at Summit Lake as we climbed a trail up to join The Pacific Crest Trail at the top.


We saw the white marble of distant peaks and also a lightning fire smoldering away in the distance.

We hiked along the PCT until we came directly above our lake (Cliff Lake). You can see Mt. Shasta in the far distance. There were still a few patches of snow in the near mountains, but much less than usual, I believe.

Our lunch spot that looked hundreds of feet below to our campsite

There's our lake with an interesting chute from top to bottom. Several times, over the four days we were there, we could hear rocks rolling down the chute for no apparent reason other than gravity and erosion.



A Nick shot, naturally.


Our campsite the last two nights.

On day three, we rested around the lake, reading, swimming, and watching fish leap clear out of the water to grab damsel flies perched on grass.

We were joined by a friend, similar to my friend of last week.

This is the main street of Fort Jones. We were amused by the tuxedo rental sign, as a tuxedo seemed to be the last thing one would need out here in the sticks.

Fifteen miles closer to civilization is Yreka, a surprisingly cute town with a victorian flare. We filled up on fajitas at Lalo's down the street. A few hours later, we were back in Napa with stories to tell.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Archer Taylor Preserve Revisited

Today, I went up to The Archer Taylor Preserve on Mt. Veeder. This dog met me as I got out of the car and accompanied me on the whole hike. If I ever had a dog again, a dog like this one would be my pick.


The Grove.


Your typical third world feral dog.

My guide leads the way.

Manipulated photo.

About 50 feet up the waterfall is a ledge. The pool is "The Devil's Well" - about 25 feet deep. although my friend played in the creek, she did not go into the Devil's Well.

At the base of the falls, the canyon is very narrow and steep.

My new friend at The Devil's Well.