Pine Valley, Ventana Wilderness

On Friday and Saturday, fellow wilderness ranger Roger Beaudoin and I made the six-mile trek into Pine Valley from the Tassajara Road, to maintain the eight or ten established campsites in the valley, dismantle a few illegal campfire rings, and talk to backpackers making the hike in for the long Memorial Day weekend—some 46 souls. I took a few photos (see below).

In the middle of Pine Valley is the cabin of Jack English, a man I met a few times during Search & Rescue overnight trainings. He would always invite a few of us in for coffee and a chat, and oatmeal if it was morning. (The coffee was always on his stovetop.) He may have lived in the middle of nowhere all alone, but he enjoyed people, and I know he made a lot of friends among the hikers who came to Pine Valley regularly. He died two years ago, at the age of 96, and his cabin is now closed up (a scattering of sprung mouse traps adorned his back porch, so apparently someone is looking out for the place). There's a wisteria vine in front, looking healthy: it must have been glorious earlier this spring, full of bright green leaves and purple flowers. I miss Jack, and I know I'm not alone in that. He was a real gentleman.

Here's a video that was made about him when he was 93. It's one I enjoy watching every so often. It reminds me of what's important in life, of having a good spirit. And here is his LA Times obituary.

And here are a few of the photos I took on our hike into Pine Valley, in Pine Valley, and then back out, along the Pine Ridge Trail. It was an overcast couple of days, with drizzle, and the thigh-high grasses along the trail did a great job of soaking us through. But it wasn't cold, and the light was absolutely gorgeous, saturating the blues, reds, yellows, oranges, pinks, and purples of the abundant wildflowers. Better, especially on the uphill hike out, than hot sunshine. It was a lovely couple of days.

Looking east across Tassajara Road from the start of the
Upper Pine Ridge Trail

The boundary of the Ventana Wilderness

A beautiful pink thistle (Cirsium mohavense)

Santa Lucia monkeyflower (Erythranthe hardhamiae)

The trail bounded by sky lupine (Lupinus nanus)
and scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius)

Chaparral yucca (Yucca whipplei)

Hulsea heterochroma, a fire-chaser

Sky lupine and yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus)

The rocks behind Jack's cabin

Jack's memorial to his beloved Scrumptious

Santa Lucia monkeyflower among the granite

Pine Valley as the sun sets: this was virtually my view
the next morning, rising from my tent

Bedewed ladybug(s?)

Scarlet bugler penstemon

More scarlet bugler, in the deep fog

And that darn pink thistle again

And finally, a couple of before and after pictures of our illegal fire ring maintenance. I do love hurling rocks! (They'd be better paired, but I'm too lazy. You'll get the picture by scrolling, though.)