Photo by Kathy Urlie
Article by Laurie and Don Burk
Nine enthusiastic hikers showed up for the joint Shasta Chapter CNPS–Shasta Environmental Alliance field trip along Clear Creek on what turned out to be a very warm mid-November afternoon.
We hiked upcreek along a portion of the trail that Shasta Environmental Alliance has adopted and recently cleaned up a bit. Good thing, too, because some of the encroaching star-thistle was head high!
We hiked for a couple of miles upstream, crossing Clear Creek Road at one point, and veering off to the northwest to see some silverback fern (Pentagramma pallida), which is very uncommon in Shasta County. To get to the fern, we passed by some gold-mining equipment that is apparently still in use, despite its derelict appearance.
David stopped along the trail now and then to point out and discuss various botanical wonders: oracle oaks, common vs. whiteleaf manzanita, galls on sandbar willow, and much more. We were fortunate to have retired wildlife biologist Paula Crumpton along, who really knows her birds! She identified a black phoebe by sight, and an American dipper in the creek riffles by its canary-song, but we all could identify the turkey vultures circling above—over 16 of them! Paula was also able to explain the grating on an adit: to protect a good roosting place for bats.
Back at the trailhead, we were treated to the spectacle of salmon creating and protecting their redds, the males vying for dominance, sometimes locking jaws in battle. Such excitement!