Monday, April 15. The Vicente Flat Trailhead, opposite the Kirk Creek Campground on Hwy 1. (The sign incorrectly spells the trail, and its namesake. Señor Avila, for whom this is named, used "Vicente".)

Flowery coast scrub on the way up: lots of paintbrush and morning glory, plus (not shown), broom.

Higher now, with views north to Lopez Point.

Coastal chaparral blooms: lupines, paintbrush (Castilleja sp.), monkey flower (Diplacus), and pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea).

Some sections of the trail were just over open hillside.

Lupinus sp. at the ridge top as the trail turns the corner into Hare Canyon.

Mirabilis laevis. California four o'clock. This was a new one for me.

Cirsium occidentale. Western thistle ... graced by checker.

Lupinus bicolor or L. nanus.

Delphinium sp. Larkspur. Big, robust flowers on this plant.

After turning the corner, the trail mixed oak woodland and open grass. Here, in the oaks, is the lower of the two Espinosa Camp sites.

In places, the trail cover changes to redwood forest.

Iris douglasiana. Douglas Iris. Lots and lots of these in the redwood forests.

Maianthemum racemosum. I've always called this "false Solomon's seal" but Calflora likes "feathery false lily of the valley".

Pholistoma auritum (fiesta flower) with woodland star. Lot and lots of unruly fiesta flower clumps in the shadows.

Collinsia heterophylla (Chinese Houses ) were locally common in the shady spots.

Sometimes the trail traversed steep chaparral-covered hillsides. In view: Cone Peak, Hare Canyon, and (yes) a large bird.

Castilleja exserta (common owl's clover). The narrow, lobed leaves clearly separate this from the generally similar C. densiflora.

Vicente Flat.

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood) at my Vicente Flat campsite. I *think* this is where I stayed on that rainy Thanksgiving 1981 trip with the Sierra Club that was my introduction to the Ventana.

My bedsite.

Lysimachia latifolia. Western star flower. Previously Trientalis latifolia.

Tuesday, April 16. Today I'm off on this trail.

A little grassy flat part way up the wall of Hare Canyon.

In places, the trail was perched on a steep hillside ... with a view to the equally steep wall on the other side.