By Laylan Connelly and Jeff Rowe
Irvine World News
Amy Knowland picked up a three-inch piece of a vertebra with slender ribs still perfectly in place. The 11-year-old girl shyly asked the tour guide what it was.
The guide told her she was holding the frame of a snake, probably at one time two or three feet long.
She asked her father if she should keep it. After debating it for a second, she decided to leave it at the side of the trail.
It was just one small treasure found on a recent six-mile hike along the Agua Chinon Trail, a new Irvine entrance point into the Sinks, Bolero Springs and Limestone Canyon that now allows residents access to their own wildland backyard.
And Round Canyon, an easier, three-mile trail previously closed, is now open for public use.
The Agua Chinon and Round Canyon trails both opened on May 31, unlocking the gates to two previously closed-off fire trails that lead hikers and horseback riders away from the urban sprawl and into nature’s own time capsule.
The longer, uphill hike leads up Agua Chinon and into an area where freeways can no longer be seen or heard. At the peak of the trip, a group can make its way to the Sinks, which has been dubbed the mini-Grand Canyon and is defined by large cliffs that have eroded over time – red in color because of iron deposits.
Another trail forking off leads into Bolero Springs, an area distinct by its sprawling greenery –mostly among sycamore trees, which require up to 400-500 gallons of water a day to survive. The springs is also home to mature oak trees, cattails and sage. During the wetter months, rain creates a waterfall and a stream that drains into the Sinks area.
Before the opening of the Irvine entrance point, the only way into the Sinks, Bolero Springs and Limestone Canyon was from Santiago Canyon Road.
“I’d say Irvine has the best backyard of any neighborhood,” said Joel Robinson, guide for the Nature Conservancy and overall nature buff.
The Nature Conservancy is managing about 34,000 acres of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve.
Irvine has about 13,000 acres of open space and sits in the center of the reserve, according to Kathi Crowley, senior director of conservation management.
For both of the new trails, hikers meet at a staging area where Portola Parkway dead ends near the 241 freeway.
After about two hours hiking up the Agua Chinon Trail, a look back shows city developments between two hillsides, a quick reminder that Irvine is not too far behind.
More than half of the Irvine Ranch has been set aside as open space by the Irvine Co. through land sales, donations, development agreements and ballot measures.
The original Irvine Ranch Master Plan in 1973 envisioned 10,400 acres, or about 11 percent, to be dedicated to open space. Over the years, however, that has grown to about 50,000 acres.
The area, under the name Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, is unique not only because of its vastness, but it has also been named a bio-diversity hot spot. The list is shared with only 25 other places in the world, such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Amazon Rain Forest.
The area is studied and managed by the Nature Conservancy, which monitors plant species and animal activity to ensure the habitat can stand public use. The conservancy wants people familiar with the area, so the land can one day be turned over and cared for by public ownership, the county, cities or non-profit groups.
Until then, hikes are coordinated by the Nature Conservancy.
The outing would simply be admiring the scenery without the vast knowledge shared by one of the 130 docents who volunteer their time to lead the hikes. Robinson, along the way, answers questions and spews out history and facts to make the hikes not only entertaining but a valuable learning experience.
Robinson is quick to tell the tales of the native inhabitants who once roamed the area. Indians, who normally migrated, usually stayed all year long in this area and were considered “lazy, because they had it so good,” Robinson said. They had it all – plenty of plants, great weather, abundant medicinal plants and seafood from the nearby ocean. This, he said, was vacation land for the natives.
Throughout the hike, Robinson points out various plants that were used by Indians, both for food and survival.
California sagebrush, for instance, was also commonly known as cowboy cologne. Robinson showed the hikers how to rub sage branches between their fingers to release the pleasant odor. Sage was used by Indians as an insect repellant and also to line food storage areas.
Robinson recognizes almost every plant on the trail and can relate the information to a lay person while throwing in useful, or not-so-useful, facts.
He pointed out a ricin plant, more commonly known as castor bean, which he said has potential to kill a person if just two of the shiny seeds are digested, a dangerous enough plant that the U.S. government put out a warning about it after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In Russia, he said, political enemies often were assassinated by pricking them with a needle soaked in the ricin. Castor bean plants can be found throughout the county.
Robinson has more than a botanical expertise.
On a recent hike up Round Canyon, three miles round-trip up an easy, shady path, Robinson stopped in his tracks and looked down to investigate evidence of animal presence.
“Scat,” he told the hikers, showing extreme excitement with his finding.
He picked it up and broke it apart, carefully inspecting the droppings. He noticed hair within the scat, a clue that told him that the animal probably ate some sort of rodent. It could have been a coyote, or even a mountain lion, he said after the examination.
Even the most experienced of the guides, like Robinson with about three years under his belt, has to be vigilant about the creatures and poisonous hazards found on the trail. Near the end of the Agua Chinon trail, he accidentally stepped on a baby rattlesnake, jumping out of harm’s way when he felt it under his foot.His docent training, which requires six to eight weeks in a course that includes CPR and first aid training, taught him enough to know that the baby rattlesnake was extremely dangerous.
As the snake slithered up the hill, he told the group the dire effects of a rattlesnake bite. He also went on to tell the group why a baby rattlesnake can be more lethal than a grown snake. While the adult may preserve its venom when it strikes, a baby rattlesnake tends to unleash all of its venom because it is inexperienced. Robinson also explained that rattlesnakes can not hear, but can feel vibrations through the ground and smell with their tongues.
The moment was a favorite for many in the group.
“Cool, I’ve never seen a rattlesnake before,” said 14-year-old Daniel Knowland, who just moments before looked exhausted from the hike, but was quick to perk up at the sight of the snake.
Other creatures found along the trails become irritated by humans traipsing through their land. On the Round Canyon trail, two red tail hawks hovered in the area, screeching as they left a sycamore tree. As they circled, a baby hawk left a nest in the tree.
“Yeah, they’re really upset,” Robinson said.
Turkey vultures could be seen in the distance, circling over a landfill area. The stench from the landfill is the only sign of urban life and a signal to Robinson to announce the end of the trail.
For more information about the hikes: (714) 832-7478 or www.irvineranchlandreserve.com or nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california.
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