This was the second of my recent San Gabriels excursions intended as much as anything else to collect samples of Gilia species. Since Steve Boyd has thirteen taxa of Gilias in his Flora of the Liebre Mountains, I had every expectation of at least finding a few different ones, and I was not disappointed. It had been at least seven years since I was last on this trail and I didn't remember it very well. It has got to be one of the most scenic trails in the San Gabriels with fantastic views of the Antelope Valley and the Tehachapi Range to the north and of Fish and Cienaga Canyons to the south. The trail was historically called Horse Trail but is now part of the Pacific Crest Trail, and is botanically interesting because of such species as gray pine, black oak, poodle-dog bush and the California buckeye which lines many sections. The Pine Fire swept through here in 2004, and blackened pines and other trees are still very much in evidence. Once summer approaches, the hiker should be sure to take plenty of water as it is warm and dry. To reach the trailhead for this trail, exit from I-5 and head east on CA-138 passing Quail Lake, then turning right in about 4 miles onto the Old Ridge Route and left after another 2.5 miles onto County N2. Drive about 4 miles to a local high spot where there is an unmarked dirt road going off to the right. It's easy to miss. The small parking area is a few hundred yards up that road. A few of these photographs were taken along the N2, and those are marked with an +. As always, an upside-down V next to the common name indicates a taxon that was new to me when I photographed it on this field trip, and an asterisk denotes a non-native species.

Large-flowered collomia
Collomia grandiflora
Polemonaiaceae

Pygmy linanthus
Leptosiphon pygmaeus ssp. continentalis
Polemoniaceae

Whisker brush
Leptosiphon ciliatus
Polemoniaceae

Bitter cherry
Prunus emarginata
Rosaceae

Diamond-petalled clarkia
Clarkia rhomboidea
Onagraceae
[Named with William Clark, 1770-1838]

Thickleaf yerba santa
Eriodictyon crassifolium var. nigrescens
Hydrophyllaceae

Speckled clarkia
Clarkia cylindrica
Onagraceae

Rattlesnake weed
Chamaesyce albomarginata
Euphorbiaceae

False-lupine
Thermopsis macrophylla
Fabaceae