[pct-l] Section O California

[Nathan Miller]

>In the smoke of 08 it looked really dramatic.

I concur.  While I'm sure it had some effect on my breathing, it made for some interesting photos and some good sunlight diffusion both for photographic flowers and avoiding sunburn.  It also looked cool settling in the valleys in the evening.

>  From what I can tell, most people who were all paranoid of
> the  
> poison oak were mistaking squaw bush for poison oak. There
> is a lot  
> of poison oak, but there is also a lot of squaw bush.

I believe that would be Rhus trilobata, which grows along the trail on the flat near Burney Falls.  Poison oak used to assigned to that genus, but was moved to its own some years ago.  The former can be easily distinguished from P.O. by its glaucus leaves and red fruits.  P.O. never has glaucus leaves and has white fruits.

-Nate the Trail Zombie
Newberg, OR