Trail Talk – May 2022

One would certainly hope that folks got out to enjoy our wildflower show in our local parks this spring. With our warm, dry February, hound’s tongue violets and manzanita brush were blooming early, heralding an early showing of our other wildland flowers. Shooting stars soon followed and fawn lilies were not far behind. Our red bells bloomed quickly as well, engaged in their yearly battle to get a flower raised toward the spring skies before a black-tailed deer or wild turkey nipped their buds off. If things seemed early, it’s because they were. By early April, trilliums had turned from white to pink, indicating a transition into late spring.

It was certainly a shock to one’s system to have encountered 20-30 inches of snow in areas of Forest Park in early January, to be followed by such an early accounting of our local flowers. As I write this, the temperature has already pushed above 80F, too warm for comfort in early April. The hillside grasses are drying quickly, promising another prolonged fire season. And yet, that 85F day was followed by snow showers just 4 days later. April never fails to impress. The moisture this year is certainly welcome after last Spring’s dry skies.

May brings a second wildflower show to our local hills. Sarah Zigler Trail becomes a snowy tunnel of ocean spray and mock orange, the aromatic bouquet quite intoxicating, a wonderful marriage of fragrance and elegance. The grassy slopes above Rail Trail in Forest Park sport a blanket of blushing ocean breeze and mirthful popcorn flowers, which soon give way to poorly-named tarweed, a spring and early summer aster whose bright yellow halos are miniatures of countless noontime suns. The waterways of upper Jackson Creek erupt in dogwood blooms, their radiant white a reflection of the heavy snows of just a few months ago.

In local trail news, hikers should have noticed the new layer of decomposed granite on Sarah Zigler Trail. Along with efforts to correct some drainage issues, our Public Works folks and the Jacksonville Woodlands Association (JWA) are hoping to eliminate the goopy slop that poses as a trail every winter. As this new surface is packed down, travel should be much more rewarding.

Our new Forest Park maps have been published. Along with updated information about the park, there have been a few adjustments to some of the trail designations to better accommodate safer flow of bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Trailside bench locations have been added. Also, an unauthorized trail that trespassed onto private property above Norling Mine has been eliminated by a revised route along an old motorcycle trail and historic mining ditch up to Arrowhead Pass. As before, folks with Smart Phone technology can download the map through the city’s Avenza portal. And, a Memorandum of Understanding with JWA will allow easier donations to the park with envelopes found in the map boxes at the kiosks.

So, a happy May Day to all, and may the trails rise up to greet you.