Early spring has arrived in the foothills! The daffodils are up, all the California buckeye have leafed out, and the other trees and shrubs are in various stages of bud and bloom. Even though it never gets cold enough here for me to have any real complaints, it hasn't actually felt like spring until this past weekend. A dry cold front moved through earlier in the week, sweeping the stagnant haze out of the valley and temperatures finally cracked the 70 degree mark, making it a warm and blissfully clear Saturday to go for a hike.
The last time we hiked Marble Falls was in June - the very first hike we went on after moving here. I was curious to see how different the trail would look in the very early stages of spring. There are no wildflowers in bloom yet, but still a variety of interesting signs of plant life to be seen.
The last time we hiked Marble Falls was in June - the very first hike we went on after moving here. I was curious to see how different the trail would look in the very early stages of spring. There are no wildflowers in bloom yet, but still a variety of interesting signs of plant life to be seen.
The trail switchbacks up the side of the mountain, following the stream-eroded topography, which means you weave in and out of exposed, hot dry chaparral and cool, damp green canyons. There are so many contrasts between these two habitats, which exist side-by-side: hot and cool, dry and damp, bare rock and moss, dust and streams.
Once you get higher up the mountain, you round a corner and finally see the entrance to the deepest part of Marble Canyon. The size, number and variety of trees increases with the cooler temperatures and greater moisture at higher elevation. The angle of the mountainside causes many of the trees to arch with the pull of gravity as they reach for sunlight. California bay laurel trees also become more plentiful and their leaves and flowers fill the air with a fresh sweet smell that makes you wish you could bottle up to take with you after you leave. The sound of the falls grows louder as you get closer. As my husband commented, hiking this trail really is an experience that makes all your senses ridiculously happy.
By the time you reach the falls you are walking on a floor of undulating gray and white banded marble, resulting from metamorphosed limestone during the formation of the mountains, and smoothed by countless years of flowing water. The contrast between the white rock and the shadow cast by the canyon wall is so great that it's difficult to take good pictures of the falls themselves. That being said, it's still a great place to take interesting pictures, and especially to sit and enjoy the powerful rush of water.
We hope to hike this trail again sometime in April to see how it evolves as spring continues. I'll be sure to post pictures of that hike so you can see the changes! If you'd like to see more pictures from this hike, you can view them here.
Since my last post, I've started working for the park as a Physical Science Technician doing data collection and instrument maintenance for the Air Resources program at the park. Once I take a few more photos, I'll be sure to post about that experience in more detail. I also owe you two more posts on our vacation to Hawai'i, which I'm sure I'll be happy to revisit as the rain and cold return to Three Rivers this week.
