Winter in a redwood canyon

Last week Brooke and I hiked up Soberanes Canyon in Garrapata State Park. This is a beautiful spot, with notable contrasts as you move up the canyon. Right at the beginning of the hike you pass through a large field of prickly pear cactus, something straight out of Arizona. There is no clue as to what lies ahead as the canyon is steep and winds sharply through the coastal mountains, but about 20 minutes or so after the cactus, you begin to encounter redwoods, and in no time at all they pervade the scene, cool and stately. At intervals sunrays spike downward through the forest, lending an ethereal effect to the scene.

Soberanes Creek gurgles through the canyon, nourishing the trees. The redwoods are found only in the bottom of the canyon and a little way up the north side; farther from the water you're back in dry chaparral on the steep hillsides.

The ground cover in the forest is varied and beautiful. Fields of clover thrive in the shady spots, as do ferns. This is an area where the rainfall is sufficient to nurture lush vegetation in areas near the water and usually in the shade, but adequate only for scrub vegetation on sunny slopes. Thus you travel from virtual rainforest to semidesert in just a few yards. It's like this along most of the Big Sur coast. Don't know how many areas of the world have such diversity in the vegetation; a few, but not many, I reckon.