Wilderness Park closed October 15-16, 2018

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

From the City of Claremont:

Claremont_logo_sm

RED FLAG WARNING

CLAREMONT HILLS WILDERNESS PARK

CHWP_announcement

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Red Flag Warning for Los Angeles County. The Claremont Hills Wilderness Park (CHWP) will be closed on Monday, October 15 and Tuesday, October 16, 2018. The CHWP will reopen on Wednesday, October 17, 2018.

The National Weather Service may further extend the warning if critical weather conditions continue. Please plan accordingly. Updates will be posted on the City Website at http://www.ci.claremont.ca.us or the National Weather Service at http://www.weather.gov/.

_____________________________________________________________

CHWP Information: CLICK HERE.

For additional information, please contact Claremont Human Services at
(909) 399-5490 or via email at parks@ci.claremont.ca.us.

October is the perfect time to volunteer!

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

Please join our team Saturday October 13th 2018 at the Claremont Wilderness Park!

Our Second Saturday of month volunteers will greet visitors to the park, provide maps/directions and reinforce desirable park behavior.

Hike the Loop! Volunteers are welcome to hike the loop, pick up trash and assist park visitors with information along the way.

  • Two shifts (6:30-8:30 AM and 8:30-10:30 AM) at the Main Gate.
  • We meet for a brief information and safety training session at the Euro Café (Mills and Baseline) at 6:15 or 8:15 and then carpool to the entrance.
  • Volunteers will receive free T-shirts on the second day they volunteer!

Please email Vicki Salazar (vickisalazar01@gmail.com) to let us know which shift you are available to volunteer on October 13th and if you are interested in future opportunities.  We look forward to hearing from you!

For more Volunteer Information, please contact:

Vicki Salazar – vickisalazar01@gmail.com

or Meg Mathies – mmathies@scrippscollege.edu

Invasive plant mapping underway

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark
Vicki Salazar records an invasive plant occurrence with the CalFlora Observer Pro iPhone app. ©Nancy Hamlett.
Vicki Salazar checks out an unknown grass. ©Nancy Hamlett.

The Friends are currently mapping invasive plants in the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park, and Saturday morning we mapped invasives along the first section of the Cobal Canyon Trail.  This is what the resulting map on CalFlora looks like:

Invasive plants Cobal Canyon

If you go the actual CalFlora page, you can click on a dot and see details of each observation, including photos and number of plants.  There are a lot of invasive plants along the Cobal Canyon trail, and in fact the Master Plan noted that Cobal Canyon had the highest number of different invasive species.

If you would like to help with the mapping effort, please contact us at info@friendsofthewildernesspark.org, and we’ll contact you to sign you up for instruction and mapping.

Some Saturday sightings

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

California mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus californicus) resting in the shade. ©Nancy Hamlett.
California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum subsp. canum). ©Nancy Hamlett.
A Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) nectaring on California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Mouse over images to see captions; click on image to see full size.

It was a hot day (96°F) in the Wilderness Park Saturday, and along the Cobal Canyon trail animals as well as hikers were seeking refuge from the heat. A couple of mule deer were lying quietly in the shade of the oak trees, and a large Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) disappeared into a cool spot under a large fallen log converted into a bench. (We didn’t get a photo of the snake – we were too busy getting up off the bench – but you can see a similar one here.)

We also noticed red trumpets of California Fuchsia. (Epilobium canum subsp. canum) – a favorite fall flower – blooming on the slopes next to the trail and a Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) nectaring on another fall flower – California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia).