Cerro Alto Summer hiking

Cerro Alto early Summer beauty 

below are photos of the Madrone tree shedding . This tree is native to the north coast and produces beautiful hard wood , it also produces a berry in the fall that wild life love to eat . Native Americans also ate the berry . 

Below is a photo of leafs on a Bay Laurel tree , This leaf is used as a seasoning , The berry / seed is eaten by wild life , and in the fall the berry drops to the ground and then it is edible for humans as the natives of long ago ate this as a supplement food and used it for medicinal purposes making a topical ointment for skin and joint ailments . Good medicine for poison oak . 

Below is a Bay Laurel leaf and berry / seed 

The Wood Pecker was shot with a small point and shoot camera from a distance of approx. 200 ft. I got lucky .

Note that these photos were made late into the evening as the heat wave made me hike late for the past ten days in order to enjoy some cooler weather .  A couple I hiked late into the night . 9 and 10 PM>

Cerro Alto and Hking with dogs

Hot weather on Cerro Alto 

For the last three days ( 18, 19 20 th ) it has been hotter than hell on Ceeo Alto  , yesterday at 6 PM it was 92 degrees at the trail.head . I spent more time letting Sierra play in the water than I did hiking . She loves the water , the heat not so much . We started up the canyon trail at 6 pm and took our time reaching the four way intersection  ( 1.7 miles ) one hour passed and the temp dropped 10 degrees making the balance of the hike bearable for Sierra . Remember that dogs can't take the heat like humans can . At this  hour the shadows are long and Sierra was in the shade most of the time . Remember that Sierra and I hike seven days a week so she is in good shape .  If you are new at hiking with a dog , please read the suggestions I have posted on the subject listed on the right column under " Labels " , ( hiking with dogs ) there you will find advice on water needs for warmer temperatures , over heating symptoms for dogs and proper care .

Cerro Alto

Wednesday 6-16-16

Hiking With Film Cameras

I really enjoyed my hike on Cerro Alto today as I found some sweet peas and met some interesting hikers that included a couple of Cal Poly Students who were using film cameras .

 view from a resting bench on the ATT trail

Sweet Peas along the Boy Scout Trail