Jade Cove

Monday 26 Feb 2018: Big Sur revealed its different faces today as a morning overcast sky gave way to drizzle, rain by early afternoon, and finally brilliant winter sun and crisp wind. Tonight clouds pass over a nearly full moon rising before sunset from the east, the short storm having now moved on. The bright stars of the Big Dipper are visible to the northeast. It is quiet in southern Big Sur, the temporary end of highway 1 just a few miles more to the south. The road closure and winter perhaps isolate this area a bit more than usual.

Jade Cove and the southern Big Sur coastline.

The low intertidal kelp, Laminaria setchellii with surfgrass,
Phyllospadix, in the background.

The low tide this afternoon was good, uncovering the kelps, surfgrass, coralline algae, and invertebrates of the rocky coastline of Big Sur. I was wet due to rain from above and surges of surf from below, but excited as a climbed over boulders to explore a new site. This was the area of Jade Cove – picked over by divers for the heavy nephrite jade – though I was there principally for the seaweed gems. The little cove was accessed by a steep and unstable trail from the bluffs south of Sand Dollar Beach.

At the lower tides, a cluster of large rocks towards the center of the cove were accessible by hopping like steppingstones across several slippery boulders covered in emerald surfgrass. Inshore of these rocks in an area somewhat protected from the full impacts of the incoming surf, there was a small population of a large brown seaweed Stephanocystis osmundacea (not a kelp, but typically growing with them) inhabiting the low intertidal and shallow subtidal zones. Despite the relentless pounding of surf here, some of these rocks were jagged and sharp with deep crevices, sort of like a geologically young mountain range thrust boldly into the sky, ignorant of erosive forces that will eventually smooth them.

Black abalone.

In these crevices I found several dozen black abalone, their smooth dark shells pressed against the rocks protecting a soft body beneath. They were wedged as far away from surf or predators as possible. The abs were of various sizes from a few centimeters long to about the size of my hand. There was also a lone red abalone of similar cryptic disposition in the low intertidal.

Across the cove, the kelps Laminaria setchellii and Egregia menziesii were the dominant large brown algae of the low intertidal, the blades of former species like little golden brown flags drooping from short flagpoles. Patches of purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) and the general dominance of pink coralline algae in the low intertidal suggested a harsh world for the fleshy red seaweeds which can otherwise dominate the low intertidal at other sites in central and northern California. There were some specimens of Chondracanthus corymbiferus and Prionitis but the lacy red seaweeds of the Delesseriaceae seemed generally missing from the algal community.

Offshore some large floats of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) rolled with each incoming well. These plants are last year’s stragglers since this species is usually an annual. Farther offshore still, signaling perhaps the presence of a shallow reef hundreds of meters from shore, was evidence of a canopy of giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera. I counted perhaps 10 individuals of this same species in the low intertidal and shallow subtidal along the shore, separated from their offshore family.

Some sea caves in Jade Cove. Stooping, I walked through the one on the right.

As the rain of the early afternoon let up and the sky began to clear, there was a band of puffy white cumulus clouds bunched together low on the horizon over the sea. The sun broke through with the rising tide and being quite wet and very cold I was decidedly done exploring the intertidal. I had enough coordination left to climb the steep muddy trail back up to the bluff some 200 feet above. I walked around the bluffs for a time slowly warming in the sun. The wind kept up all afternoon and was especially strong at the crest of the bluffs which afford the most incredible views of a majestic unrepentantly wild coastline. 

An early California spring

The last week has been rather warm in California, and today was exceptionally so. I admit that the warmth is very pleasant, but it is way too early for 70°F highs in northern California. Indications are that this warmth may persist for some time with California and the rest of the Southwest remaining quite dry for the month.

Weather of course is not climate, but as spring conditions trend towards occurring earlier year over year, this is a strong indicator of climate change in action. Out here in the western US, the exceptional warmth coupled with low rainfall may exacerbate drought conditions. California traditionally has highly variable rain patterns (of all states in the US it has the greatest year-to-year variation in precipitation), so swings from last winter (when precipitation was well above average) to this year (where we are rather below average) are to be expected.

I wanted to take advantage of the pleasant weekend and went on a short hike today to the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve in the coast range near Winters, California. Unsurprisingly a lot of other people had the same idea. Few plants were in bloom yet, but ferns and shrubs were thriving. A little ways up the trail into the canyon, there was a small amount of cool water in the creek, perhaps soon to dry up if February remains dry. I photographed water striders which posed on the surface tension of the water, active in the warm sun, leaving oversized shadows on the smooth rocks in the creek bed. 

Water strider shadows in the shallow creek.  

One of my newest favorite trees, the California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) was in bloom along the trail! At the base of its spatulate leaves there were small clusters of yellow flowers. The flowers had a pleasant smell, different from the equally pleasant smell one obtains by rubbing the leaves of the plant through one’s fingers.

Blooming bay laurel.

It remains to be seen if an early spring is really here in California. If so perhaps we will begin to see blooms in short order on the almonds, peaches and other stone fruits prevalent in orchards of the central valley. Typically almonds will begin to bloom in mid February, shortly before my birthday, followed by other Prunus species. In the foothills, an assortment of wildflowers may soon be on display.

This coming April I’m hoping to take a road trip through the southwest, another version of the really memorable trip I completed in April of 2017 that took me to some exceptional national parks and monuments. If conditions are much drier this coming spring than last year, it will be interesting to see if the effect is noticeable. For example, last year I recalled seeing snow on the transverse ranges through central eastern Nevada, and a greener than expected landscape in that state. I experienced rain showers as I camped in Moab, Utah and backpacked in the Petrified Forest in eastern Arizona. 

One of the few blooming species at the reserve.
It superficially resembles a paintbrush, but I'm not sure
what this species is.