Yesterday, we had a gorgeous eleven mile hike into the San Mateo Canyon Wilderness, Cleveland National Forest, in SW Riverside County. The weather was perfect, the grass green, streams flowing, and the wildflowers were peaking. We took the Tenaja Trail down to San Mateo Canyon where the trail became more and more primitive. We turned around about a half mile past Blue Water Canyon.
Sticky Monkey Flower
The Tenaja Trail is mostly shady and leads down to the San Mateo Canyon, about 4 miles from the car.
Pale Swallowtail Butterfly
Great Basin Fence Lizard
California Poppies (we knew that one!)
Selfie!
Two-striped Garter Snake
San Mateo Creek, which leads down to Camp Pendleton, hitting the ocean at Trestles in San Clemente.
Blue Water Creek, a tributary of San Mateo Creek.
You can see how faint the trail becomes the further you go. We saw only a couple people all day until we got back close to the car.
There were a number of tempting swimming spots.
This lupine had stickers on its stem, as Gail can attest.
Mortero along side of Tenaja Trail
Looking back over our shoulders down Tenaja Canyon to San Mateo Canyon way off in the distance.
