Hillsides Cloaked in Spring Colors Draw Hikers

By LESLIE EARNEST and FRANK MESSINA

April 16, 1995 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Organizers of a fund-raiser that charges hikers $20 for a trek into a picturesque section of Laguna Canyon have hoisted the sold-out sign, saying they were overwhelmed by the public’s response.

“I can’t handle any more,” said Mary Fegraus, director of the nonprofit Laguna Canyon Foundation, which is overseeing the three-hour tours into Little Sycamore Canyon, located at the edge of Laguna Beach.

The foundation, which is raising money to buy land in the canyon, expects to net about $6,000 from the “March for Parks” hikes this month. “The response is amazing,” Fegraus said.

County residents are being lured to parks and open spaces by eye-popping wildflowers that have blossomed from heavy rains this winter.

Free docent-led tours into Laurel Canyon, near Little Sycamore Canyon, also are full for April, but reservations are available for May.

“Between fund-raising hikes and normal hikes, we’re using almost all the docents that are trained and healthy enough to be out there on the trails,” Fegraus said. “All of a sudden it’s nice--it’s green and beautiful. People want to get out.”

While brash bouquets bloom throughout the county, the greatest explosion of color can be seen at parks seared by the 1993 firestorms, which blackened thousands of acres of wilderness around Laguna Beach and in east Orange County.

“This is absolutely prime time for wildflowers and this is one of the best years I can remember,” said Mike Brajdic, a ranger at Ronald W. Caspers Regional Park, a county park located about 2 1/2 miles east of San Juan Capistrano, off Ortega Highway. “We’ve got whole hillsides of 20 acres virtually covered with flowers. Our burn areas in particular are just full of wildflowers.”

Some varieties are from seeds that germinate only after a fire, Brajdic said.

“Right now, we have mariposa tulips, a pretty pink flower, and whole hillsides of evening primrose,” he said. “We’re also seeing large amounts of a flower people call the Lord’s candle, a large, white, football-shaped flower about a foot or two in length.

Interest in wildflowers at Caspers has been so high that rangers have scheduled a special nature tour today at 2 p.m. They plan to continue offering the wildflower walks until the flowers disappear, but ask that visitors call ahead of time for scheduling.

Due to storm damage, some popular parks remain closed.

Mike Eaton, supervising ranger at Crystal Cove State Park, said he gets several dozen calls daily from hikers and mountain bikers anxious to get back into the park. Eaton said the park--a rectangle of wilderness wedged between Irvine, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach--won’t reopen until at least June or July.

Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park near Lake Forest also suffered extensive storm damage this winter, said ranger John Gannaway.

With the reopening stalled until at least mid-May, Gannaway said some callers have even offered to help repair the roads to accelerate the process.

Mark Sanderson, docent coordinator for the Nature Conservancy, said one area being overlooked this spring is the “fantastically rugged” Limestone Canyon near the city of Orange, a preserve that has exposed cliff walls rising 200 feet.

Hikers also are welcome at the Jim Dilley Greenbelt Preserve in Laguna Canyon on the third Saturday of each month.

Different types of blooms will continue cropping up throughout the wildflower season, which generally lasts through May.

“All these flowers have different seasons, different responses to moisture in the soil,” Brajdic said. “To really see all of them, you need to come every two weeks over a period of about two months.

“There’s a lot more to come. There’ll be a lot of blooming going on.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Take a Hike

Irvine Co. Open Space Reserve * What: Docent-led hiking, cycling and equestrian tours

* Where: In and around Anaheim, Orange, Irvine, Laguna Beach and unincorporated areas

* Information: (714) 832-7478, Monday through Friday, 3-5 p.m.

Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy * What: Nature hike

* When: April 30

* Information, reservations: (714) 489-9778

Jim Dilley Greenbelt Preserve * What: Self-guided nature walks

* Where: Laguna Canyon

* When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., third Saturday of the month; reservations not needed