Hikers on the November 24, 2023, Waters Gulch Trail field trip, with Lake Shasta in the background. Left to right: Pat Lind, MaryAnn McCrary, and Tom McConnel. Photo taken by a friendly fellow hiker.
Three Black Friday rebels came out for this ~3.4-mile loop hike just north of Redding, mostly along the shoreline of Shasta Lake. It was so good to get out. I think we were all glad to have something to do that day away from home. Roughly 45 vascular taxa got some attention along the way, plus three fungi and a couple lichens. Here’s a little photo-journal of our hike. Enjoy! ~MaryAnn McCrary
Mature black oak, Quercus kelloggii, twisted off during recent winds, perhaps very recently. The crown lay across the trail and the leaves were not wilted at all. Fortunately, because this hike was by reservation only, we were able to move the hike to the afternoon to avoid going during the Wind Advisory. Photo taken on the Waters Gulch field trip on November 24, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary.Pat Lind holding a single leaf of a big-leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum. It is easy to see how this tree got its name! Photo taken November 24, 2023, on the Waters Gulch hike, by Tom McConnel.Surprise! A wispy little plant like bedstraw, Galium sp., most likely Bolander’s bedstraw, Galium bolanderi, remains green at this time of year. Photo taken November 24, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary.Dendroalsia moss, Dendroalsia abietina, on Waters Gulch Trail immediately after a rainy day, when the moss is at its most striking. It has has a fern-like or feathery structure. Photo taken on November 24, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary.There is a delightful rock garden on the north-facing slope above Waters Gulch. This time of year, the fern banks have grown fresh fronds. The most abundant ferns are the intermediate polypody, Polypodium calirhiza, and the narrow-leaved sword fern, Polystichum imbricans. Photo taken November 24, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary.Intermediate polypody, Polypodium calirhiza, is easily identified by its alternate leaflets. Photo taken November 24, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary. The back of an intermediate polypody, Polypodium calirhiza, frond, showing its sori, full of spores. Photo taken November 24, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary. Two rare species growing together: Shasta snow-wreath, Neviusia cliftonii, and Shasta maidenhair fern, Adiantum shastense. Photo taken on November 16, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary.Waters Gulch Trail runs through the canyon above Waters Gulch. In this photo, we can make out the bare branches of California buckeye, Aesculus californica; the evergreen canyon live oak, Quercus chrysolepis; the golden leaves of Shasta snow-wreath, Neviusia cliftonii; and intermediate polypody, Polypodium calirhiza. Photo taken November 16, 2023, by MaryAnn McCrary.
