Pipes Canyon Trail

We had a nice ranger lead hike though the 25,500 acre preserve today. No, we did not see it all, only 4 miles on the Pipes Canyon Trail.

Paleo Indian metate. 

The surface is very smooth where they ground their nuts and acorns

California Fucus

Our knowledgeable guide talking about the little understood petroglyphs.

They were created about 800 to 900 years ago.

Mr. Olsen was an early Swedish miner who settled here. He and partners worked an onyx mine about 7 miles up the canyon.

The remains of his home

Willows grow where there is water.

This large, smart car size boulder, was carried 9 miles down the canyon by flash floods. It was calculated this required a flood of 200,000 second feet of water. This means 200,000 cubic feet of water passing a point every second.