Monday, April 13. I began at the Santa Lucia Memorial Campground. The no-longer-used Indians Guard Station is adjacent. A big oak is in front. On the sides, planted incense cedars and one Santa Lucia fir.

I hiked from Memorial Campground to Escondido Campground on the Indians Road. It's open to traffic when dry but is still a quiet road. I met one van (a camper at Escondido) and two bicyclists. Nice mix of trees here: live oaks, big-leaf maples, a sycamore, and a Coulter pine in the distance. Other spots showed more damage from the 2008 fire.

This part of the Los Padres forest has lots of sandstone, here with monkey flower (Diplacus sp.) growing in the cracks.

Quercus lobata (valley oak) leaves from another forested section.

As I approach Escondido, the road is in open chaparral.

Escondido Camp is an ordinary drive-in forest service campground, even if the drive in is a slow one. I was happy to see the 2008 fires spared the oaks here. Still, it seems an odd spot for a backpacker to land after a three mile walk.

The camp's water supply is this piped spring. Unfortunately (or maybe fortuitously) I didn't see it right away, so I walked down the trail in search of a spring or a nearby creek for water ...

I walked all the way down to Arroyo Seco ... about a mile each way and 500' feet down! Longer than I expected, but pretty.

A sample of the the trail: good tread with a few flowers on the side, here paintbrush and larkspurs.

Dudleya lanceolata (lance-leaved dudleya) is possible. Maybe this is the familiar D. cymosa, but those long leaves also suggest the former. D. cymosa doesn't grow on granite and I think that white rock is quartz.

Helianthus gracilentus (slender sunflower). Another interesting thing on trail between Escondido and Arroyo Seco.

Helianthus gracilentus (slender sunflower). Interesting disk flowers.

Tuesday, April 14. The horse meadow at Escondido. At the very far right beyond the big oak -- look real closely -- is the tractor that cut the grass.

On the trail now, heading down to Arroyo Seco again. A glorious bright but crisp morning. The trail zig-zaging up to the saddle at the to left is quite apparent.

Calystegia malacophylla (woolly morning glory). A familiar plant, but not one I've seen in Big Sur before.

Arroyo Seco. This pool is just upstream from the crossing.

The crossing itself, viewed from the far (west) bank. The trail from Escondido is at the top right. A more sure-footed person would take the long steps from rock to rock. I waded.

The next mile is through rich forest. For the most part the trail is excellent, but there are a few downed trees. Three were easy crawl-unders.

The the trail pops into the chaparral on the cut that was visible from near Escondido. A little paintbrush livens the scene.

So too does a horny toad ... or, in polite company, a coast horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum).

Male western orangetip (Anthocharis sara). These are In the same family with all the whites and sulphurs (Pieridae). Orangetips were common on this trip, but they rarely land to pose.

Clematis lasiantha (chaparral clematis) seed heads developing, but not quite ripe yet.

Getting close to the top now. Lots of bare, gravelly soil up there, But seven rainy seasons after the Basin Fire, the next generation of knobcone pines forest is on the way.

Just over the crest of the saddle. This area still feels like the fire was recent. I had lunch here.

Pothole Slide Falls. Only a little water on the "slide", but the pothole is pretty.