Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve, part 1
Today, I had the pleasure of being guided through the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve, which is described on the East Bay Regional Park District site as an “ecological jewel.” The native plant community of Huckleberry is found nowhere else in the East Bay. The plant community found in Huckleberry represents a relic plant association that is found only in certain places along California’s coast where ideal soil and climatic conditions exist. Today, similar vegetation is found on the islands off the Santa Barbara coast and in isolated pockets on the mainland coast from Montara Mountain (south of San Francisco) to Point Conception. Trail conditions of the Huckleberry Path that we followed are found here (PDF file).
This was my first visit to the Preserve. My model was also my guide. Huckleberry has a 1.7-mile (2.7-km) self-guided nature path, a loop that passes through a wide variety of terrain. I shot about 2 GB of RAW images, and I will describe the Preserve in greater detail when I can illustrate the entry with photos. (Note on June 24, 2008: Done.) In the meanwhile, a Trail Map, Accessibility information, information about the park, and information about reaching the park (including public transit) are at the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve link above. Dogs bicycles, and horses are prohibited, except that dogs and horses are allowed on that part of the path that is shared with the Skyline National Trail. Jogging is discouraged. After several groups of hikers and a few joggers passed us on the narrow trails, I can see why. Several times we had to find a spot on the trail wide enough to let people pass.
The 241-acre Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve provided a cool environment for an afternoon walk, rich and green with ferns and pioneering plants. In the late afternoon, with an onshore air flow, we could feel the cooler air pouring over the hills from the west. The walk provided us with grand vistas of East Bay hills and Mount Diablo (1, 2, 3, 4), and an overview of the valley below. Small streams bubbled down the hills, creating rich pockets of lush vegetation.
I can’t wait to work on the photos, which I have already loaded on my Mac!
(Note added on June 22, 2008: The photos have been added to the Other Places, Outdoor Recreation, and (one photo to the) Flowers albums in the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Pro Gallery on Shutterfly™, and to those sections of the Portfolio. Photos were added to this entry, and an additional entry, Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve, part 2 has been placed in the photoblog!)
-Bill at Cheshire Cat Photo™
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