Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/04/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]For those of you near the Merced River, El Portal and east, it's apparently a good year for poppies and redbuds. Per Michael Frye: "I agree with Barbara that the redbud are at peak now in the Merced River Canyon west of Yosemite. But I don't agree about the poppies. This is one of the best poppy displays I've seen there, comparable to the great 2009 show, which was easily the best I'd ever witnessed in over 25 years in the area. Perhaps Barbara didn't see them when they were fully open, which makes a big difference. The flowers about 3 miles east of Briceburg, across the river from 140, are spectacular, though you can only photograph them from across the river unless you want to make a six mile roundtrip hike from Briceburg. Grandy's Hill, another mile or two further east , but on the south (road) side of the river, seems muted, and is maybe not quite in full bloom yet, but some patches just west of there are brilliant. The beginning of the Hite's Cove trail looks great, with lots of poppies. Further east the poppies seem to be just getting started, so those areas may get better over the next couple of weeks. Despite the fact that this is all public land, and unfenced, and some of the best poppy displays are on the road side of the river, access to the flowers is very difficult. The hillsides are extremely steep. Not fall-off-and-you'll die steep (at least in most places), but it requires a lot of agility, stamina, and sure-footedness to climb up many of these hills, and a slip could cause injury. Most people are going to be limited to telephoto views from the road. The one spot with relatively easy access to close-up views of poppies is the beginning of the Hite's Cove trail. - Michael Michael Frye Michael Frye Photography" -- Bob Adler Redwood City, CA http://www.rgaphoto.com