Pine Canyon Wildflower Tour

Outings Report

April 17, 2005

Co-leaders: Dick Kniepkamp & Rick Adams

written by Dick Kniepkamp

It was a beautiful sunny morning when 19 riders including two tandems gathered at the Quail Lake parking lot a few miles Southeast of Gorman. One of the riders had called the Poppy Reserve a few days prior and was told that the poppies were past their peak, but that there were still many in area, so our hopes were high for a truly wildflower adventure.

After the usual Sierra Club Outings introduction we headed East on Hwy 138 for a couple of miles and turned right on the Old Ridge Route Road. After climbing for a little over two miles we came to the intersection with Pine Canyon Road. There was a gate across the continuation of the Old Ridge Route because of the winter storm damage to the road. While we were regrouping at this intersection, a friendly dog from a neighboring ranch came over and grabbed a camera case that Marlene had set on the ground. The dog headed straight for home with the case in his mouth. It was quite a sight to see the pursuit right up to the dog's owner who cheerfully retrieved the case and handed it back to the Marlene.

The Pine Canyon area had experienced a major forest fire about a year ago and the charred evidence could be seen on some of the hillsides. There was lots of new growth already and also quite a few mud slide areas that had been cleared off the roadway. From some of the overlooks into the valleys you could see many types of wildflowers blooming in the rolling pastureland. Great mixtures of purple, yellow, orange, and white. Pine Canyon has lots of ups and downs, but is a fun road to bicycle on and there's almost no automobile traffic.

After we regrouped at Three Points, we continued down Pine Canyon to Lake Hughes where we bought lunch goodies for a picnic at Elizabeth Lake. From there it was less than a mile to our left turn onto Munz Ranch Road - a very short climb and then 4 miles of down hill with a tailwind. I hit 48 miles per hour, just couldn't hit that 50 mph mark.

At the intersection with Lancaster Road we turned left and pedaled to the California Poppy Reserve. The poppies were in full bloom along this part of the road and of course there were many cars to look out for. We stopped along the road and filled our cameras with scenes of poppies. A few riders went up the dirt road to the visitor center to refill their water bottles.

The prevailing headwind provided a test of our stamina the last 25 miles back to the parking lot. One of the tandems had a tire problem, but fortunately he had a spare with him. We all persevered and arrived at our cars with smiles of enjoyment and chatter about the beautiful flowers we had seen today.

Thanks to Matthew Lax and Fran Fredella for planning and scheduling this ride, sorry neither of you could join us for this fun day.

List of attendees: Dick K., Rick A., Linda G., Kathy S., Roberta V., Claire B., Ann T., Gary F., Larry M., Janice B., Karl D., Mike G. & Letti (tandem), Vic & Ann (tandem), Melissa A., Marlene, Jerry T., and ???