Beith Creek Ridge Route

Arcata Community Forest

(Map link.)

I decided to do another loop around Beith Creek with the camera since it has a rather different selection of plants to contrast with the nearby azalea reserve. For one thing, the Rhododendrons are marcrophyllum rather than occidentale. They're a little later blooming, but I hoped to see one or two around. Right now, it's irises doing the showing off.

 

I didn't really have to go all the way to Prairie Creek to find wild ginger. I just needed to know to look.

Didn't need to go far to find a rhododendron, either. It is way down below the trail, though. This is at full 25x zoom.

The irises are much more friendly and grow right next to the path.

Right at the start, the thimbleberries were really full of flowers, but that's something that can be found in both places. I'm not certain why the ginger and irises aren't found near the azaleas. Perhaps I just missed them. I turned to follow the Beith Creek Loop counterclockwise, because that's my preferred direction. I quickly found the second blooming rhododendron. It could also accurately be called the other rhododendron. They're not ready yet.

The manroot (wild cucumber) has a simple flower, but I should have a better look at them some time. They are either male or female. These in a cluster are probably male.

The other rhododendron sits at the top of a 20 foot shrub above the trail, so also a challenge to have a look at it.

The white blurs are more thimbleberries.

The tiny, but interesting flowers of youth-on-age.

Tiny western star flowers. (Common to both areas.)

Clockwise does mean up a very steep trail. I eyed the ribbons, starting to fall off, marking the potential 2-4 switchbacks planned to replace the ridge edge trail. It is one of four trail adjustments planned for the area. The sooner the better as the old, too steep bit of old road now used gets scraped bare of anything organic and the ferns grow up on the old roads the better route will follow.

 

At the top of the hill, bleeding hearts that seem to stick around longer in bloom than most.

The redwood sorrel just keeps getting bigger.

Once things flatten out and turn into obvious road at the top, there's quite a lot of invasive plants. There's really quite the variety of invasive peas (legumes) in particular. Maybe it's just that peas are so very common in the first place.

 

There's a few lupine up top. It's a pea! Probably not an invasive, though.

There's lots of buttercups. It's not a pea, but it's invasive.

There's some peephole views of the bay.

An absolutely tiny flower: California bee plant.

Another tiny flower: white inside-out flowers.

I stuck to the road as it becomes the Ridge Route and then as it passed the future home of the Ridge Route. That is another trail change that I'd like sooner than later. I think all the various studies have been finished for it, but no idea for sure. They found remnants of a logging camp somewhere within 30 feet of the trail. I liked it better when it was signed "future home of the Ridge Route" rather than "no trespassing" as it is now.

 

I don't have to go way up the hill on the south fork of the Elk River to find the fetid adderstoungue either. There's a few right here to check in February.

Got some new benches up here, including this one next to the future Arcata Ridge Route. It has a tuft of irises beside it.

There seems to be a scattering of common vetch all along the road. It's a pea and invasive.

The irises continue in clumps along the road. Perhaps it can be considered invasive too, since it only comes to this specific area when it is disturbed to create sunnier areas.

A very lovely variegated broom. A very invasive pea indeed.

The pretty little geranium is also invasive.

The road vanishes under power lines in the sharp leaves of pampas grass, but trail turns to wind up the last few feet to Fickle Road. This part is unofficial, but has gotten a lot better defined than it was four years ago. At this point, bikes are likely to zip by from time to time.

 

The unofficial trail up on Fickle Hill. There is no legal parking anywhere nearby.

I headed back down the shorter and shadier way. Besides one wild ginger flower that didn't even need looking for, I didn't see many flowers on the lower section of the Ridge Route.

 

Come back later, say most of the rhododendrons.

The Andrews' clintonia is a little closer to blooming.

The narrow concrete stairway at the trailhead is another thing they want to change by adding a path for the bikes to climb. The fourth trail change is the addition of a route to Beverly so another neighborhood can be served directly by the forest. Good things coming, but it sure does take a long time.

*photo album*

 
©2021 Valerie Norton
Written 22 May 2021