Cascading Creek

Cascading Creek, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Another creek shot from last weekend in Las Trampas.

Right now California is being pounded by yet another strong rainstorm, and this one has dropped a few inches of rain in places. As the storm heads inland tomorrow, it will leave behind showery weather for what appears to be the remainder of the week.

All the while, the rain has caused the wildflowers to start growing and budding with high intensity, as evidenced by the poppies coming up all over the hillsides. On a recent hike, you could see that the poppies had flower buds...yes!

In the Forest

In the Forest, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

A small, lacy waterfall on a creek in Las Trampas Regional Park. The heavy rains brought water back to the creeks - and mud to the trails - in most of the parks in the Bay Area.

Las Trampas Cascade

Cascade, Las Trampas, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

One of the multiple cascades to be found along an unnamed creek in Las Trampas. There are still colorful red leaves on the ground from fall...and spring is here!

Falling in the Woods

Falling in the Woods, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The recent heavy rains have filled up the creeks with water. This small waterfall is in Las Trampas Regional Park, a 5300-acre wilderness close by. It's amazing how green and lush it is up in the wooded canyons of the park...ferns and mosses coat every surface!

The Rain Returns...

The rain has returned here in northern California, with nearly constant precipitation for the past week. To the south, the Santa Cruz Mountains have received over 8 inches of rain in the past 24 hours in some places! Creeks are flowing (in fact, flooding) and the rain just keeps coming. And as for the drought, at least in some places: busted.

Donner Creek

Donner Creek, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Donner Creek in Mt. Diablo State Park. To get this photo, I got down into the rushing creek with my tripod in the water. It really is an amazing creek, exciting and interesting. Upstream, in the canyons, there are several large waterfalls.

Cascade on Big Pine Creek

Cascade on Big Pine Creek, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

This cascade is on the North Fork of Big Pine Creek in the Eastern Sierras of California.

The creek, fed by glaciers high in the mountains, flows down through the camp of Glacier Lodge and continues into the town of Big Pine. It really is an amazing creek, rushing and cascading over waterfalls and boulders.

Verdant Cascade

Verdant Cascade, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

I came across this small waterfall while hiking in the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness. I was amazed at how green and vivid the boulders were.

All of Las Trampas is filled with interesting sights and habitats. There are hot, dusty, chaparral-covered ridges, dark, fern-filled forests, and wildflower-dotted grasslands.

These waterfalls, however, are the park's crown jewels. Hidden away in the forest, they are visited by few and known by even fewer.

Las Trampas Cascade

Rushing Down the Mountain, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

I hiked to this little waterfall back in February. It's amazing what a few inches can do to transform dry hillsides into lush, waterfall-filled forests.

When the winter rains finally start here in Northern California, all these waterfalls will fill up again. We haven't had rain since the last week of February, so any water from the sky will be appreciated.

Heck, most Californians I know love the rain and look forward to its return.

I am one of those Californians.

Mossy Cascade

A very green and mossy cascade in Las Trampas. I hiked to this green cascade in January, 2008.

Las Trampas Waterfall

A rushing waterfall in Las Trampas Regional Park the day of a heavy rainstorm.

Redwood Waters

A small stream tumbles through a redwood forest.