Afoot and Afield: Orange County. Jerry Schad

in the preserve, including coastal strand, native grassland, alluvial woodland, and wetland vegetation, are identified by means of trailside interpretive plaques. Thus, the preserve serves as a native botanical garden, refuge for wildlife, and educational and recreational resource.

      From the restrooms near the main entrance to Fairview Park, walk a short distance west, and turn right on the asphalt bike path. Follow the path north and then west down a hill. At the base of the hill where you pass a staircase on the left and a wetlands trail on the right, continue straight to reach the signed Talbert Nature Preserve entrance on the left, 0.5 mile from the start. (The paved path itself continues west to tie-in with the Santa Ana River bike path, another way to reach Talbert’s entrance if you are arriving by bicycle.)

      A wide, flat, decomposed-granite path suitable for hikers, cyclists, and horses runs toward the south from the entrance for a mile, beneath the brow of a steep bluff. It then connects with a segment of paved bike path leading to Victoria Street. Short of that juncture, there are opportunities to branch west and loop back to the entrance using unimproved trails. Those alternate trails may turn muddy after significant rainfall.

      Talbert Nature Preserve is an extraordinarily quiet place, screened from traffic noise by the bluff rising on the east and levees on the west, which effectively deaden the din from the surrounding cityscape.

      Fairview Park has many other points of interest worthy of exploration while you are in the area. A Tongva village was once situated atop the bluff, and the countless shards of shellfish provide a reminder of their coastal lifestyle. Five rare vernal pools that fill up during spring rains can be found here. Some support fairy shrimp, which lay their eggs in the mud, and which then hatch the next year when the rainy season begins again. The shrimp can complete their lifecycle in only 16 days, growing to maturity, mating, and laying their eggs in the mud before their ephemeral ponds evaporate.

      At the north end of the park, a system of ponds has been established to naturally treat water from the Greenville-Banning Channel before it enters the Santa Ana River. A mazelike trail network through the wetlands provides good views of the waterfowl and wildflowers.

      The Harbor Soaring Society flies an impressive array of remote-control aircraft at a dirt strip on the south side of Fairview Park. On the east side of Placentia, the Orange County Model Engineers operate a miniature railroad and offer rides to the public on the third weekend of each month.

      VARIATION

      South Talbert Preserve is most conveniently accessed from a gate on the corner of Balboa Avenue and Discovery Drive. The section includes a major stand of willows and mulefat. Naturalists are removing invasive species, especially pampas grass, and planting native vegetation. Various 2-mile strolls are possible, and the northwest and southwest corners also connect to the Santa Ana River Trail. In the center of the preserve is the incongruous but fascinating Sheep Hills BMX course, where you may see riders testing their skills on epic jumps.

      Matalija poppies resemble fried eggs.

      chapter 2

      Upper Newport Bay

      The marshes surrounding Upper Newport Bay represent tiny remnants of a much more extensive wetland that once stretched inland to the present city of Tustin. The Portolà expedition of 1769 (led by Gaspar de Portolà) and subsequent travelers passing up or down the coast avoided this soggy region and stuck to the base of the foothills, where the firm ground more than made up for the inconvenience of traversing ridges and ravines.

      During the past 100,000 years or more, the Santa Ana River has wandered across the surface of the Los Angeles Basin, changing course many times in response to flooding and silt deposition. Around 30,000 years ago, the river (which at that time carried more runoff because of a wetter climate) carved out the basic form of the troughlike structure now occupied by Upper Newport Bay. Sediment carried by the river and dropped at the mouth of the trough formed a barrier island, today’s Balboa Peninsula, enclosing (lower) Newport Bay.

      The most recent natural shift in the Santa Ana River’s course occurred in 1825, when a large flood redirected the flow west from Upper Newport Bay to essentially the place where it now reaches the ocean via artificial channel. Today the bay is fed by San Diego Creek, a small former tributary of the river.

      For many millennia, decayed marsh vegetation (peat) accumulated along the upper bay shores. This material, mixed with fine silt washed down from the surrounding slopes and bluffs, has created soil conditions conducive to self-sustaining wetlands.

      Hemmed in by bustling traffic arteries, high-rise office buildings, residential areas, and the Irvine campus of the University of California, Upper Newport Bay exists in a kind of time warp. Coyotes and mule deer still roam the periphery, while myriads of migratory birds use the productive marshes as a stopover or winter home.

      Birds love saltwater wetlands.

      The future of the wetlands around Upper Newport Bay has been assured by the establishment of three protected areas. One of them, the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve, encompasses most of the bay’s saltwater marshes. Just upstream along the channelized San Diego Creek are two more areas, protecting only a fraction of the freshwater marsh that once extended inland for several miles. Some 200 acres of the marsh became UC Irvine’s San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve in 1970, now managed as a research reserve accessible only to qualified researchers. The adjacent and newer San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, on the other hand, has been designed for extensive use by recreationalists and amateur naturalists. An amazing 10 miles of wide, smoothly graded trails crisscross the wildlife sanctuary, which covers 300 acres of diked ponds, natural riparian habitat, and artificially created native habitats.

      Buck Gully is part of the Newport Beach trail system. Although it doesn’t really fit in with the other waterfront trails, the lovely trail is included in this chapter for lack of a more suitable home.

      trip 2.1 Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve

      

      Distance 2.7 miles (loop)

      Hiking Time 1½ hours

      Elevation Gain 200’

      Difficulty Easy

      Trail Use Cyclists, dogs, good for kids

      Best Times All year

      Agency OC Parks: UNBNP

      DIRECTIONS To reach Upper Newport Bay’s Muth Interpretive Center, exit the Costa Mesa Freeway (Highway 55) at Del Mar Avenue in Costa Mesa, and go east toward the bay. In 0.5 mile, Del Mar becomes University Drive. Continue 0.4 mile to reach the interpretive center parking lot just past Irvine Avenue.

      Were it not for public protest in the 1960s and ’70s, Upper Newport Bay would surely have become yet another of Orange County’s residential harbor communities. Instead, the State of California purchased 752 acres of Irvine Company land in 1975, thus establishing the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. An astounding 100 species of coastal and mudflat fish, as well as some 200 species of birds, frequent the shallow waters of the bay.

      The well-designed Muth Interpretive Center offers exhibits explaining the significance of the estuary. Naturalists organize a variety of activities, including Tideland Tykes, birding, kayak tours, and service projects. Register for free in advance at letsgooutside.org.

      The west side of the preserve is laced with a spiderweb of trails squeezed between the wetlands and Irvine Avenue. The longest, most interesting walk