Hiking: Mishe Mokwa Trail

When we felt better prepared to trek the Malibu Mountains through the Mishe Mokwa Trail, we packed up our things and headed out! However, we were not prepared for the sharp curves the road had--which scared us quite a bit. But when we reached the parking lot, I knew that it was the right choice. There were only a few people (I don't like hiking with too many people on the trail), and clear mountain air everywhere! The sun wasn't too strong yet, so temperatures were really comfortable. Wind, as expected on the mountaintop, was very, very strong, but for me, the feeling of clean air blowing against my face is a refreshing experience.

Like the last post about hiking, I included large amounts of photos. The photos are in the sequence which I saw them as I hiked, so some of the plants may recur in several areas.

The moment we got off the car, we were welcomed by the seed stalks of Yucca whipplei.

They were ten feet tall or so, with the base of the stalk nearly 6 inches thick!

Clouds, blue sky, craggy mountains, and chaparral.

Chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum.

Just a dramatic, scenic shot that includes Adenostoma fasciculatum and the seed stalks of Yucca whipplei.

Beautiful peeling red bark of Chamise.

Another shot of the needles of Chamise.

Just a random picture of the thicket, with a backdrop of the sky.

Toyon! Heteromeles arbutifolia. No flowers (flowers in summer), or fruit (fruit in winter, around Christmas) yet!

More peeling bark lit up by the angle the sun is hitting it.

Soap lily! Chlorogalum pomeridianum.

They say in times of desperation, the bulbs can be eaten after roasting--though it imparts a lasting soapy aftertaste.

Black sage! Salvia mellifera. All the way up here! Oddly, it was no longer blooming, perhaps due to the lack of sufficient rains. But nonetheless, brushing against it produced a pleasant smell (though my sister found it pungent).

Out of focus, but this is supposed to be Cercocarpus betuloides. Birch-leaf Mountain Mahogany. 

Such a pretty ridge. And pretty clouds! But I'll admit, the colour of the sky wasn't very accurate.

Ribes malvaceum, Chaparral Currant. It is supposed to bloom pink flowers in early-mid winter, so I probably missed it. But the leaves are still nice to look at.

What is this?

Ah, a better, more focused picture of the Cercocarpus betuloides.

The tangle of Birch-leaved Mountain Mahogany branches.

Half-eaten Toyon leaves. Oddly, only the younger leaves were eaten, though the younger leaves tended to have higher concentrations of toxins and other repelling chemicals. 

Mossy rocks! In Southern California! Such a velvety green rock!

A species of oak, either Quercus agrifolia or berberidifolia, though I'm leaning towards agrifolia, because of the leaf margins.

Another Ribes malvaceum that I saw.

Don't know what this is either.

Sorry, really, really out of focus! I was getting left behind because of all my picture-taking antics, but I just had to take a picture of the glorious mossy rocks!

Perhaps these are Red Shanks, Adenostoma sparsifolium, though I couldn't get a close look at the leaves.

It certainly grows like one, though it's possible that older-growth Chamise can grow like this too.

Grass! Can't give an identification though.

Rhus ovata, Sugarbush. The flowers have faded, but the berries have not formed yet.

Marah macrocarpus, Wild Cucumber.

Wild Cucumber growing wildly.

Coffee fern, Pellaea andromedifolia. It also grows with Pellaea mucronata on these mountains, but the leaflets show that it is the former.

Another, closer shot of Rhus ovata. Such pretty red veins on the leaf.

Coffe fern, growing as understory.

A close-up of the Wild Cucumber flowers and tendrils.

No idea what this is. I'm not very good at identifying bryophytes. But what especially confuses me is its choice of a dry sunny slope, rather than a moist shaded area, as a growing site.

Lichen. One of the indices of good air-quality.

It's everywhere!

My sister and my dad passing through the green growth flanking them without even so much as looking at it. Meanwhile, I marveled at every plant I passed. Quite the contrast in this family. Pragmatism (finishing the hike) versus idealism (seeing everything I could).

And the Birch-leaved Mountain Mahogany comes back a third time!

But this time with Prunus ilcifolia. It was a huge shrub, compared to the tiny one I have at home. But the one I have at home is already blooming.

What is this? I would think some species of Satureja, but I'm not certain. I'm sure this is in the mint family though. Danny Skullcap (Scutellaria tuberosa)?

Finally, a clear close-up of moss, with dramatic shadows cast by indents in the boulder.

Wild Cucumber flowers add an airy, woodland quality to this.

My shadow, and Wild Cucumber flowers, of course. With some grass (not very good at identifying native grasses thus far).

More moss, speckled with lichen.

Wood ferns (Dryopterus arguta)! A sign that things are getting a bit wetter.

Even more mottled patterns of lichen.

And glowing moss too!

What an interesting contrast. It clearly shows the microclimates of each turn in this mountain: from moist woodland to dry rocky outcrops.

A species of Pitcher Sage? The leaves were quite fragrant. But according to this website: http://tchester.org/plants/muns/smm/mishe_mokwa_trail.html
, there's no Lepechinia.

Just a rock. And Hollyleaf Cherry.

And the mystery plant strikes again!

Such dusty leaves. It looks like a very sad Rhus ovata.

Beautiful cliffs, everywhere you go. Hikers have scenery on both sides of them: on the left, they can view the plants, on the right, they can enjoy the mountains.

The famous Balancing Rock!

What is this? A mass of silvery foliage in dry soils.

Guess what this is...

Poison Oak alert! They say that plants that can cure poison oak rashes grow nearby, but my search was to no avail. But I'd have to admit, poison oak is really pretty.

Quercus agrifolia, growing in shade.

Prunus ilcifolia, also in shade.

Chamise, mountains, and sky.

Eriogonum fasciculatum, Buckwheat. Such pretty, delicate flowers that are widely loved by insect pollinators.

Buckwheat flowers that have yet opened.

Deerweed! Acmispon glaber or Lotus scoparius, depending on preferred naming.

If the flower is yellow, it's an indication to pollinators that the flower has yet to be pollinated. If the flower is red (most insect pollinators cannot see red), it indicates that the flower has already been pollinated. What an interesting method used by a plant to save time and energy for insect pollinators!

As I walked out, I saw even more Buckwheat.

In this clearing, I saw some birds flitting around, but I couldn't get a very close-up picture of them.

Quercus berberidifolia flowers?

A very tall snag. It's really good for birds and other wildlife.

There's a bird, in the center of this photo. It's pretty big, though I couldn't see very clearly (wasn't wearing my glasses).

 Sadly, due to concerns of not being able to finish before dark, we headed back without reaching Inspiration Point or any of the major points of interest. Nonetheless, the plants I saw were wonderful, though I wished we could have pressed on. But, I made my family promise that we head back here again and finish the entire route.

We got lost and ended up skirting the ocean on our way back home. But I got some pictures of it!

Try this hike for yourself, it provides quiet solitude and lush greenery right after the winter rains. Even when the plants have gone dormant, the element-sculpted rocks are just as interesting to look at.