TimeOut

Traipsing Through Tecolote

We decided to do some exploring today on a sunny Monday morning, and walked a stretch of canyon we'd never visited before. We started late in the morning, yet in 2 hours on the trail we saw only 5 mountain bikers, and 5 hikers. No dogs. No children, no lizards, no snakes, no mammals! What did we see, you ask? Some of the most beautiful oak-shaded country we have ever walked.

It turned out there were plenty of interesting sights, starting with a quick view of the Tecolote Public Golf Course (Greens fees run $15-35; $100 less than Torrey Pines!)

After crossing a wooden plank bridge, the path plunged right into the woods.

The path was well trodden and dry, despite some light rain on Saturday night which did get the creek flowing gently.

California natives who know the backcountry will attest how rare this kind of quiet, cool live oak forest is nowadays...

Soon we had reached the end of the driving range, where some comedian had marked the point on the trail with a golf ball. ...

Occasionally we broke out of the trees into a brief clearing.

Then it was back into the woods and water.

We crossed another clearing, this time for the high voltage wires, an access road, and an underground gas pipeline (marked by the yellow poles).

About a half-hour into the walk and NO wildlife. I was getting desperate for action.

Nice reflecting pond, eh? No fish though.

We kept walking.

I finally spotted a massive spider web on the ground, and as I drew nearer to take a photo, the spider charged out to attack.

When he sensed how big I was he turned and ran back into the hole. But not before some great photos (thanks!).

We had to ford the creek about 10 times as the path wandered back and forth across the (admittedly shallow) water.

Luckily, no feet were soaked, though I had one close call and it caused another hiker who was watching us to turn around and go back.

Not Again!

At the widest point of Tecolote Creek the city had brought down its Erector Set (Meccano to the Brits) and built a proper foot / bike / maintenance bridge. Can you see the cyclist charging right at me?

After "all this activity" we turned off the main path and took the alternative route through the smaller trees.

It was beginning to get a bit creepy, sort of Halloween feel with the twisted branches dripping with lichen and moss.

We kept moving...

After about an hour of walking, we came to the end of the trail, where a major road crosses the canyon. We could have climbed up and crossed over, but there's not much on the other side.

So we turned around and suddenly the action started. The world's fastest hummingbird eluded the camera, but I captured this nice blue-headed bird. My wife says it's a scrub jay.

A prickly-pear cactus fruit.

An aeroplane!

We stayed on the northern bank of the creek going back to the west, having come east mostly on the southern bank.

Once in awhile we could see homes on the hills above us.

This is some extremely dangerous, long-spined native chollas cactus (Cylindropuntia). When I was growing up in San Diego, our neighborhood was known as Chollas Heights, and for good reason. We learned early on to stay well clear of these terrors.

Fluffy fronds of pampas grass (outsiders in this region)

Pyracantha berries

Another nifty spider web, sans spider.

A loud and cheerful red-headed woodpecker doing his thing on a tree stump.

The footpath on this side was a bit drier, and higher than the southern side, so we could see more of the canyon.

The brush and oaks are about 20-30 feet here, which is quite high for San Diego, and they were laden with acorns, berries and fruit.

It's no wonder groups of local people settled right here hundreds of years before the Spanish arrived.

All too soon we were back in civilization. We tiptoed across the swaying plank bridge (visions of Peachy falling to his death in The Man Who Would Be King were in my mind)...