Hello Hikers!

Happy Leap Day! I don’t know about you, but I think that if we have to have an extra day, it should be a holiday, especially when the weather’s this nice. It looks like we have more warm weather to look forward to, but possibly some patchy fog in the mornings. Long-range forecasts are predicting a chance of rain next week, but I refuse to get my hopes up too much.

Since it’s practically March, we have some good things to look forward to. Daylight Savings is just a couple of weeks away on Sunday, March 13th. We’ll have an extra hour of daylight to enjoy some post-work hikes in the afternoons. And March 20th is the Vernal Equinox, or First Day of Spring. I’m already seeing signs of wildflowers starting to bloom, so hopefully the advent of spring will bring some fantastic displays.

Next Saturday you can join the Friends of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve for a Wildflower Hike on Doug Hill. Join Native Plant Society member Beth Mather for this wildflower hike on the biologically diverse Doug Hill in Black Mtn. Open Space Park. Hike is about half a mile and involves one good hill, but will be slow paced. Meet in the northeast corner of Black Mtn. Ranch Community Park on Black Mtn. Park Way at 14700 Carmel Valley Rd., Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego 92129. Visit their web page for more information, or check out our Events Page to find even more upcoming hikes and events.

I’m still seeing lots of reports of rattlesnake sightings on trails throughout the county, so make sure you stay alert while hiking! Keep your dogs on leash and young children nearby as well.

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Have a good week!