101 Hikes in Southern California. Jerry Schad
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Название: 101 Hikes in Southern California
Автор: Jerry Schad
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Книги о Путешествиях
Серия: 101 Hikes
isbn: 9780899977171
isbn:
Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes are common everywhere in Southern California below an elevation of about 7,000 feet. Seldom seen in either cold or very hot weather, they favor temperatures in the 75°–90° range—spring and fall in the desert and coastal areas and summer in the mountains. Most rattlesnakes are as interested in avoiding contact with you as you are with them.
Watch carefully where you put your feet and especially your hands during the warmer months. In brushy or rocky areas where you cannot see as far, try to make your presence known. Tread with heavy footfalls, or bang a stick against rocks or bushes. Rattlesnakes will pick up the vibrations through their skin and will usually buzz (an unmistakable sound) before you get too close for comfort. Most bad encounters between rattlesnakes and hikers occur in April and May, when snakes are irritable and hungry after their long hibernation period.
Red diamond rattlesnake
Mountain Lions
Mountain-lion attacks, although statistically rare, have been increasing all over California in the past three decades. This trend may continue as the natural habitat for these carnivorous cats becomes more and more fragmented by suburban and rural development. Several attacks and many more incidents of threatening behavior by mountain lions toward humans have taken place in urban-edge park and national-forest lands, such as those covered in this book.
Here are some basic tips for dealing with this potential hazard:
• Hike with one or more companions.
• Keep children close at hand.
• Never run from a mountain lion. This may trigger an instinct to attack.
• Make yourself large: face the animal, maintain eye contact with it, shout, blow a whistle, and do not act fearful. Do anything you can to convince the animal that you are not its prey.
Ticks
Ticks can be the scourge of overgrown trails in the coastal foothills and lower mountain slopes, particularly during the first warm spells of the year, when they climb to the tips of shrub branches and lie in wait for warm-blooded hosts. If you can’t avoid brushing against vegetation along the trail, be sure to check yourself for ticks frequently. Upon finding a host, a tick will usually crawl upward in search of a protected spot, where it will try to attach itself. If you are aware of the slightest irritation on your body, you’ll usually intercept ticks long before they attempt to bite. Ticks would be of relatively minor concern here, except that tick-borne Lyme disease, which can have serious health effects, has been reported within Southern California.
Poison Oak
Poison oak grows profusely along many of the coastal and mountain canyons below 5,000 feet in elevation. It is often found on the banks of streamcourses in the form of a bush or vine, where it prefers semi-shady habitats. Quite often, it’s seen beside or encroaching on well-used trails. Learn to recognize its distinctive three-leafed structure, and avoid touching it with skin or clothing. Since poison oak loses its leaves during the winter months (and sometimes during summer and fall drought), but still retains some of the toxic oil in its stems, it can be extra hazardous at that time because it is harder to identify and avoid. Mid-weight pants, like blue jeans, and a long-sleeve shirt will serve as a fair barrier against the toxic oil of the poison oak plant. Do, of course, remove these clothes as soon as the hike is over, and make sure they are washed carefully afterward.
Other Safety Concerns
Deer-hunting season in Southern California usually runs through the middle part of the autumn. Although conflicts between hunters and hikers are rare, you may want to confine your autumn explorations to state and county parks, as well as wilderness areas where hunting is prohibited.
Poison oak leaves
There is always some risk in leaving a vehicle unattended at a trailhead. It may be worthwhile to disable your car’s ignition or attach an antitheft device to your steering wheel. Never leave valuable property visible in an automobile, so as to be an invitation for a break-in. Report all theft and vandalism of personal or public property to the local county sheriff or the appropriate park or forest agency.
Permits and Camping
Some trails on national-forest lands (Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland National Forests) are at present subject to the National Forest Adventure Pass program. This applies only to vehicles parked on national forest land and not to users who arrive on foot or by bicycle. Adventure passes are available at all national-forest offices, ranger stations, and fire stations. They are also sold through hundreds of vendors—typically sport shops throughout the region, gas stations and markets near the principal national-forest entry roads, and small businesses within national-forest borders. Adventure passes cost $5 per day or $30 for a year. The adventure pass must be prominently displayed on your parked car—otherwise your car will likely be ticketed and fined.
If you plan to visit national-forest territory more than two or three times a year, it is time-efficient at the very least to purchase the $30 yearly pass instead of worrying about obtaining one each day you come up for a visit. Rules for the adventure pass program tend to change rapidly; in fact, the program may be rescinded in the future. Another option is the $80 Interagency Annual Pass, which also covers national parks and many other federal lands.
If you are planning an overnight trip of some type into the Southern California backcountry, be aware that camping in roadside campgrounds is not always a restful experience. Off-season camping (late fall through early spring) offers relief from crowds, but not from chilly nighttime weather. Most national forest campgrounds are less well supervised than those in state and county parks, which means that they sometimes attract a noisy crowd. In my experience, facilities with a campground host promise a quieter clientele and a better night’s sleep.
The nice advantage of a developed campground is that you can always have a campfire there—unless the facility is closed. On trails where backpacking is allowed, fire regulations vary. Most jurisdictions prohibit campfires all or part of the year. Others permit fires, as long as you have the necessary free permit.
Some national forest areas allow remote, primitive-style camping: you are not always restricted to staying at a developed campground or designated trail camp. For sanitation reasons, you must locate your camp well away from the nearest source of water. And, of course, you must observe the fire regulations stated earlier. Always check with the US Forest Service to confirm these rules if you intend to do any remote camping.
Most federally managed wilderness areas around the state require special wilderness permits for entry. Many in Southern California have self-registering permits at trailheads; others require permits only for overnight visits. The San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Wildernesses are so popular that their managing agencies sometimes implement trailhead quotas.
Trail Courtesy
Whenever you travel the backcountry, you take on a burden of responsibility—keeping the wilderness as you found it. Aside from commonsense prohibitions against littering, СКАЧАТЬ