The Pine Cones September 3, 2017

California finds itself in the throes of a heat-wave.  Yesterday Point Reyes reached 100^oF, yet I had the folly of taking an 8-mile hike with my friend Carl in the National Seashore.

As we headed westward on Muddy Hollow Trail toward White Gate, a crackling sound caught Carl’s attention.  I had assumed it came from birds chomping on a few seeds, but Carl realized the popping emanated from bishop pine cones bursting open under the searing heat.  It was relentless and amazing.  Several times we stopped to catch the cones in the act of opening, but failed in our attempts.  Carl wondered whether their scales unfurled with cooperativity and mused about the Hill coefficient that might describe the process. This is why geeks should always hike together.

All of this was quite wonderful, but as we emerged from the shading pines to the coastal scrub, where we met the Estero Trail, I realized that my body was heating up. As I struggled to keep breathing and walking, I began to worry that I might not be able to make it back to the trailhead.  Despite our packing three bottles of water each, I knew that if I didn’t find some shade, things could get ugly.  We had no phone service, and understandably, no one else was foolish enough to be out hiking so remotely in this heat.

Of course, since I am writing these words, I did make it back, thanks to the periodicity of a few pines, the occasional breeze, and Carl’s sacrificing some water to keep me as cool as possible.  I have now learned that bishop pine cones are serotinous, which means that the cones’ opening depends on fire.  This should have been a clue, had I known it!