Week 7: Cactus Park to El Monte Park

Cactus Park East Ballfields, here we start

After our troubles last week, we agreed to get an earlier start and also hope for cooler weather.  We got both, though were still running later than I had hoped.  It worked out, however, because we ended up needing El Monte Park to be open for our logistics.  Cactus park being open was also helpful.  So we left the bike in El Monte Park and then drove the car to Cactus Park and from there picked up where we had left off the week previous.
What a difference a week makes.  The marine layer had advanced far inland as it sometimes does in early summer.  I recall in 2012 a day when the marine layer extended all the way to Alpine.  Also a number of flowers had begun to pop up that were simply not there before.

Wildflowers!

Mustard

The play of colors is lovely here

widespread

Death of field mouse is part of the natural cycle

It is spring after all

Perhaps we do get a few days of spring this year.  Clearly life here is adapted to surviving some length of drought and making the most of any cool wet weather we have.   Certainly we were happier.   Looks like we are going to be factoring in the weather a lot more in coming weeks.
The river walk took us up the river bottom through El Monte Valley.  While we were the only hikers, we saw a number of horseback riders, some of whom even commented that hikers are rare in these parts.  It is definitely the domain of the equestrian out here.  The Cactus Park ballfields seem to have been the last trapping of civilization and we were now officially in the country.

Tamarisk and Mustard:  nonnatives

The river bed is a giant infiltration gallery here.  This little dam helps that

Tamarisk in Bloom is lovely.

As are these flowers

And finally we sight El Capitan

The exact legal status of this place is not clear.  The El Monte Valley Project is part of a plan by Helix Water district to store treated wastewater, let the aquifer and its biota do their natural cleaning, then pump it out.  Though similar work has been done in other parts of southern California for decades, and has the potential to greatly reduce our need for outside water, the project is not without controversy.    Anyway it's on hold presently, due to costs I am to understand.  Meanwhile there are a number of clearly marked horse trails and nobody seems to bat an eye at hikers wandering this stretch of river bottom wild lands.

Mile marker?

Into the woods

A lush forest trail

It looks almost alien

It is tempting to say that we are looking on the land as it mush have looked before the arrival of the Spanish. This, however is not the case.  Much of what now dominates the vegetation is non-native:  Wild mustard, Tamarisk, Eucalyptus are just a few of the nonnative plants here.  It is an interesting ecologic shift taking place with some non-natives finding new niches, others just wiping out the natives.  It is still meditative in a way that simply was not the case a few weeks back.  Dirt trails, brush, and the walls of the valley rising up steeply on either side.

This is why they call it cottonwood

Anita in front of a giant sedge

One of the more remarkable plants we came across were these giant sedges.  I wonder about their origins.  They give the walk a sort of land before time feel.  I don't know much about them otherwise.  As I walk I become aware of a whole world previously unknown to me or most people.

Giant sedge

More flowers

They are lovely

The rock gets closer

The walls of the valley get ever taller

Anita in front of the rock face

A lovely shade of purple

So what exactly is the legal status of our being here?

Anita in Sepia tone

After crossing the first road of our trip today we took a break on a bluff along the north bank of the river.  While the clouds had cleared somewhat we still had a cool breeze.  The sides of the valley rise up over 1000 feet on either side, with the El Capitan rock face rising over 2000.  One could imagine this almost being a national park or at least a state park.  Instead it's a mishmash of private land and public agencies, all in a sort of truce that allows us to walk here.

This is how it used to photograph

Onward through the country

Yellow Blossoms

This live oak is reminiscent of old California

Dome house on the ridge

Looking back

The lovely geometry of the hills

Civilization fades ever more as we make our way through this little Yosemite-esque land of old California.  While we have been in the river, we have not seen a drop of water in it.  Nor have we seen anyone except for a few horseback riders.  It feels a bit like the undiscovered country out here.  Hard to believe anything like it exists so close to the ever expanding suburbs of San Diego.

Looking out across the river bottom

Meadows of verdant green

A panorama worthy of a postcard

More flowers

Tree tunnel

Coming along the trail

Selfie of the day

Light trees and flowers

Purple and pink

Yellows

And they were all yellow too

Crossing the second road we soon found ourselves in a place where the trail became less certain.  After a short bit we found ourselves surrounded by fences and got the idea that perhaps we needed to go around.  In seeking a shortcut we encountered some incredibly nice horseback riders who escorted us to a road that would take us to El Monte Park.  We had apparently stumbled somewhere we weren't supposed to be.  We try not to do this, but find not doing so easier with signage.  The horseback folks were quite friendly and clearly integrated with the land.  If I were to advise future travelers, I would encourage them to either avail themselves to the service of a horse or at least be very friendly to the horses.

Water well

And we are lost

But the flowers are really pretty

a skeleton of a tree

Rock faces draw close

There was an SCA event at El Monte park.  Looked like fun

In El Monte Park there was some sort of Society for Creative Anachronism's type event taking place with folks dressed as knights and ladies of many centuries, roasting meats on the grills and holding up battle flags from another time.  One could almost imagine this being 13th century Spain or Italy.  I had a long friendly chat with the park staff about our trip of the river and all the sights we had seen.  As I continue this I find it hard not to talk about what we are up to and share the vision of a continuous trail from Ocean Beach to Inaja (or maybe Lake Cuyamaca) and the possibilities.

I was reminded however that I had promises to keep and so got on my bike and rode back to the car.  The wind had picked up considerably and I think that next time I do this car / bike shuttle I am going to try to get the riding over before the wind picks up.

Riding back I got this shot when I made a wrong turn

Sarai's Tacos is really good

I leave you with this last 3-D of El Capitan