Condor Peak 2008

Here are recent photos of a yours truly hike. The spring is nice and flowering extensive. This sylvan forest often has scrubby oak, ceanothus, poison oak, dwarf oak, big cone spruce, bay leaf, and dense chaparral throughout.
If you were here in 1900, you might see huge vultures called condors circling the left hogback mountain (left of the two steep triangular peaks). This bird had close to a 10 foot wingspan and would search for dead animals or animal kills...seeking carrion. Also at one time, the grizzly lived up here and would frequent Big Tujunga Canyon nearby. Probably to eat the common trout in the river. The smaller black bear was supposedly imported in the early 1900s. Now there are officially 500 bears...many of them nestling in the Mt. Baldy area.