The Indians and Big Creek Reserve

30 April 2018 -Rachel Aichele

• • Today we embarked on our second journey, this time to endlessly breathtaking Big Sur. We are staying in Big Creek, a very special UC Reserve. To get there, we bid farewell to our beloved Santa Cruz and drove south on Highway 1, which was entirely indescribable. We stopped at Moss Landing to see Southern Sea Otters, an endangered species, as well as an adorable and special Snowy Plover, whom was nesting! As a finale, we also got a splash show from a sassy Grey Whale! We cruised further down the turquoise coast and eventually pulled off the 1, through some VIP gates and into our new playground. Our instructors invited us to hop out of the packed buses and student cars and walk the rest of the way to camp (to get used to our surroundings and of course, naturalize). The path to camp followed the river and was decorated with lush wallpaper of redwoods, mosses, ferns, and irises. Wildflowers dotted the hillside and a few bold mushrooms pushed their heads through the soil. Once we all made our way to the dreamy bridge that crossed over Devil’s Creek into Redwood Camp, we began to build our fortress. As a group, we unloaded the vans and dispersed into the trees. The bubbling stream is loud but calming. Giddy, we grubbed hard some burritos around the campfire and called Day 1 quits.

    Photo by Rachel Aichele

1 May 2018 - Madeline Sandler

• • Today was a very beautiful day exploring the highs and lows of the reserve. Though we were met with a brief stint of rain (the first of our field quarter experience) that did not stop our yearning to explore. We left camp and split into groups where we did a plant walk to help familiarize ourselves with the types of plants around the reserve and help us identify and recognize plant families. Spending intimate time staring deeply into a flower really helps me understand and appreciate its existence in ways I never have before. After a full morning of fondling flowers, we all convened on the beach to eat lunch and observe some wildlife along the coast. This beach is its own little cove that peeks out towards the incredible views heading south along Highway 1. In our relatively brief time on this beach. We saw a sea lion, a peregrine falcon, many gulls and a grey whale! It was incredible to see the whale that close up - I could even make out patterns on the top of their massive body as they breached for air. Next, we grooved back into the classroom near the gatehouse at the entrance of the reserve where we learned about sea/shore/coastal birds and ocean circulation from Alexa and Ryan. After this, we embarked on a steep and beautiful hike up to Whale Point. The hike had many switchbacks that guided us through a trail full of wildflowers as we made our way to the top. Once we finally made it, sweaty and tired - it was all worth it when we saw the view. Sweeping mountains and deepy canyon coupled by expansive ocean view and cascading clouds made this peak absolutely breathtaking. We spent a few hours here learning about whales from Katherine and exploring around. On top of whale point, we had the incredible privilege to see 2 condors soaring overhead! They were so majestic and everyone was ecstatic to see these massive birds soaring right above us. This moment was very special to me - I ran quickly to grab my binoculars and realized I had only ever seen condors in a zoo before, so it felt very exciting to see them - especially in Big Sur. Finally, we made our way back to camp. I collected yarrow and mugwort along the way to dry out and make into tea. We arrived back at camp and filled our bellies with veggie stir fry and sat around the campfire until this beautiful day came to a sleepy end.

    Photo by Madeline Sandler

2 May 2018 - Jordan Carter

• • Today was a lot of things. The day started with a morning slightly warmer than the previous two. I put my socks on outside the confines of my sleeping bag, and now tonight, it may be cold but its relatively warm, and I’m in shorts. After a hearty breakfast, we set out for one of the longest hikes we will go on during NHFQ: a five-mile loop up the interpretive loop, onto the lower dolan ridge trail, and then down through Dairy Canyon back to the interpretive loop. A mile or two into the hike we took a short detour to the first stunning overlook of the day. This flat, open little space sits at the bottom of a steep slope topped with jagged rocks. Looking approximately west we could see whale point and its cabins. If it weren’t for the redwoods clogging Devil’s Creek, we could see Redwood Camp too. From this overlook we got a taste of the Pacific, as two sides of the canyon were joined by an intensely blue blanket. A few hundred feet higher, and at least a mile later, we reached dolan ridge. From there the ocean is bluer than the sky. The condors are dinosaurs. And the wind smells like salt. It was so worth it.

    Photo by Katherine Chen

3 May 2018 - Colleen McCullough

• • Today the class split into smaller groups with each of the four instructors (still sans Chris, with Eric joining us in his place). Each group hiked at a different pace and lots of birding and reviewing of plant families was to be had. The four groups trickled to our destination, which was a spot up Big Creek. We gathered around for lunch and Sierra’s land management presentation on fire. She shared that fire was an integral part of how indigenous people living in Big Sur managed the land. We learned that currently, fire has no part in the caretaking of the land because of the risks it poses and damage fire has caused historically to the human infrastructure in and around the area. After the presentation, the group scrambled up a rocky slope and discovered the hidden Hot Spring (dubbed warm spring). It was quickly realized that the rocks on the bottom of the small swimming hole could be rubbed together to create face paint and suddenly there were smiling butterflies and cats and beetles swimming in the water with us. It was also noted that the spring water was strongly reminiscent of the smell of the hard-boiled eggs that were served for breakfast that morning. On the hike back, Azure butterflies let us have a close look while they were pollinating. And right before we got back to camp, we saw hundreds of bees swarming in a ceanothus bush. The last people to arrive at camp brought the news that the bees, in a matter of minutes, had quit swarming and disbanded. That evening, students and instructors washed the sulphuric smell of the spring water off in our neighboring Devil’s Creek and keyed plants by the campfire.

    Photo by Sierra Kohls and Aurora O’Greenfield

4 May 2018 -Cactus Yates

• • After breakfast, we piled into the vans to drive up to Highland Ridge, south of Redwood Camp and about 2,000 feet above sea level. We hiked out through tall chaparral consisting mostly of madrones and manzanita species, with occasional clusters of Ponderosa pines, destined for a patch of serpentinite soil, and, for those interested, a waterfall beyond it. Along the way we noticed one giant manzanita, at least 4 meters tall, that had survived the 1985 Rat Creek fire. It was so old that it had dead branches and areas of missing bark, something I had never seen before on a manzanita. We also found an Orobanchaceae species, commonly called Indian Warrior, that resembles a fern.

    At the serpentinite patch, chaparral gave way to an open, forb-covered clearing with a scattering of pines. Many of the species on these heavy-metals-rich soils are endemic, adapted to this harsh environment. Close observation paid off, as many were small and hidden beneath taller plants.

    Some of us stayed there to continue observing, while the rest of us made our way down the canyon to Canogas falls, where we swam in the coldest water of the entire trip. The falls fulfill all your ideals of waterfalls, while still managing to surprise you. The water, laden with dissolved limestone, is a cerulean blue.

    We ate dinner at Highlands Camp, courtesy of the cook crew’s heroic efficiency, and walked out to Gamboa Point to watch the sunset and the fog.

    Photo by Madeline Sandler

5 May 2018 -Danielle Devincenzi

• • We woke up today at the same time as always, ate breakfast and met around the campfire at Redwood camp. We met to discuss the plan for the day: Niche Hunt. The Niche Hunt is a 5 hour event in which we were invited to deeply engage with a subject of our choosing. Some chosen subjects included: sea gulls, lilies, kelp, riparian plants, and a newt. In this time we carefully observed our subjects and practiced spinning the wheel, trying to see if our subjects would yield any secrets to us. I spent the day watching seagulls from a cliff at Big Creek Beach. The windy, overcast conditions did not make for good gull watching, so I ended up observing all of the seabirds in the cove. The highlights from my day were watching two Pigeon Guillemots mating in the water, observing the behavior of two boisterous Black Oystercatchers, and spinning the wheel about common phenotypical gull adaptations. After the hunt we had down time at camp to review plant families and animals for the quiz tomorrow. There were assorted bottles full of specimens from the 20 plant families we were to know that were available for close examination. The reserve had gotten significantly more crowded today with the UCSC photography department joining us on the land. Also Ryan’s wife, Jessie Beck, had joined our group that morning. In the evening Jessie and our two alumni guests from yesterday, Nick and Alicen, shared a bit about what they do now and how field quarter has affected their lives. After this we had a panel of questions and we did a long Nature Notes in which everyone shared briefly about their days experiences and secrets their subject of observation yielded. This ran late into the night and afterwards everyone went tiredly to bed.

    Photo: Madeline Sandler

6 May 2018 -Rachel Aichele

• • Today was “do it yourself day”. This day is dedicated to self-chosen naturalizing, where you are essentially free to roam the reserve (within boundaries and with a buddy) to focus on whatever calls to you. I decided to go to the beach for two reasons: 1. shells, 2. whales. On the first full day, we ate lunch at the beach as a class for about 35 minutes and managed to see a whale in that period of time, so I had very high hopes (spoiler: I didn’t see any whales but I felt them, ya know). And also, this beach, aka The Cove, may also be one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to and so I had to go back before we left. I scoured the beach most of the morning and examined around 20 shells, sketched a couple and wrote poetry. Other people went on guided hikes to French Camp, up the Interpretive Loop, or to revisit Whale Point (among countless other incredible options). Some people continued their niche hunt and spent a couple more hours with their beloved organisms. Having do it yourself day at the end of the trip is especially rewarding because you already have the lay of the land and know just where you want to take more time to really observe. This day allowed us some time to process and say goodbye to the Big Creek portion of the trip. Do it yourself day leaves space for everyone to get lost in the nature around them and fall deep into mountain time while they spin the wheel.

    Photo by Rachel Aichele

7 May 2018 -Jordan Carter

• • Today we traveled. We left the cool, damp ravine in which Redwood Camp is nestled. We loaded up the vans with luggage, then people, and rolled down State Route One, otherwise known as the Pacific Coast Highway. We skirted the edge of the Pacific Ocean; the water slapping the rocks below was a brilliant turquoise-green color. We saw whales. The vans went south to the intimidating Nacimiento road. Leaving the temperament of the ocean behind, we wound our way through through the Santa Lucia’s; with the altitude loss, it felt like we were going under them. We witnessed a sharp change in the flora, fauna and geological composition of the area. The Redwood Forest began to dissipate, as riparian corridors stretched like narrow hands up canyons looking for water, or following what trickled down to them. Oak woodlands and mixed conifer stands began to make their stand. We lost a chunk of elevation and paused at a clearing along the Nacimiento River. The water was shallow and almost clogged with smooth river rocks. This place is an amazing microclimate home to a myriad of organisms we didn’t see in Big Sur, and likely won’t see in Los Padres. We left the Butterfly Mariposa Lily (Calochortus venustus) and its silly name behind and continued more or less east. Breaking out of rockier landscape, we plunged into the warm, open oak savannah. The denizens of Los Padres National Forest include giant, ancient oaks and sprawling grasslands. Some of the flowers seem to be roasting in this heat, but there are splashes of color in the nearly brown grass, mostly blues of lupines and larkspurs. We saw some kind of elk on the way in. We called our camp tent city because we’re all close together. As opposed to Big Creek, we can spread out here. The water close to camp is low, cold, full of mouthy fish, gregarious aquatic spiders, and cows. The water is refreshing nonetheless. The spiders are quite sociable and seem attracted to legs. I got a few good looks at them: they’re barely larger than a quarter, more body than leg, and have a hairy-looking grey abdomen.

    Photo by Rachel Aichele

8 May 2018 - Cactus Yates

• On our last full day of the trip, and only full day in the Indians, we explored several different ecosystems. Starting from Memorial Camp, a few miles northwest of our campsite, we walked southeast into a large meadow surrounded by rock formations, where we devoted some time to individual observations. When we met back up for lunch, Chris gave us a brief presentation on insects and encouraged us to spend some time observing them. Afterward, we hiked up a dirt road into the Arroyo Seco watershed. The area supported more chaparral than the other areas we had explored, and we observed resprouting live oaks and manzanitas that had burned in a fire some years ago, along with the remarkable Tree Poppy. Eric and Chris pointed out a single Santa Lucia Fir growing along the creek—this is one of the rarest fir species, being limited to the Santa Lucia Mountains and growing only sparsely within them.

  Descending into the creek, we swam in a deep swimming hole surrounded by good climbing rocks, partly shaded by oaks and sycamores, and housing many finger-sized fish. Max and Kelly McWilliams’s dog, Bella, played one of the most heroic games of fetch in canine history, swimming out to retrieve a surfboard-sized chunk of driftwood we were pushing around in the water. After an hour or two of swimming and relaxing, we left, reluctantly, to make our way back to camp.

  Photo by Sierra Kohls