The Water : Hobson Creek
Hobson Creek runs year around, though many outsiders don't know it. The water annually dries up for the stretch of the creek running through the big redwoods down to the Russian River, so unless you walked up as far as the Skyline Bridge, you wouldn't know the water was running. Invasive plants, such as Himalayan blackberry and periwinkle along some stretches of Hobson Creek make it harder for wildlife to come down to the water, but if you look closely there are active game trails down to many of the pools.
Anyone who walks Hobson Creek regularly knows that for the winter of 2014-2015, the entire active channel changed dramatically. After the big December storm that threatened flooding of Hobson and raised the River's levels, entire gravel banks shifted and moved. Huge logs and seemingly unmovable snags were pushed around with ease down the banks to make new barriers. Some of our biggest water holes remain (like the one at the base of this bay laurel stump on the right), but others were formed during this time. In the spring following, many baby fish were seen in these pools including steelhead trout and sculpin.
The severe drought has impacted the water levels in Hobson. The location where the water stops running moved back about fifty yards and the amount, though still moving, was much lower. Its main branch dried up in the late summer which had never happened, although the east branch (generically called Spring Creek on the old maps) kept running. Neighbors say there are huge pools on private property along Spring Creek that did and still could foster a whole host of young fish until winter.
Anyone who walks Hobson Creek regularly knows that for the winter of 2014-2015, the entire active channel changed dramatically. After the big December storm that threatened flooding of Hobson and raised the River's levels, entire gravel banks shifted and moved. Huge logs and seemingly unmovable snags were pushed around with ease down the banks to make new barriers. Some of our biggest water holes remain (like the one at the base of this bay laurel stump on the right), but others were formed during this time. In the spring following, many baby fish were seen in these pools including steelhead trout and sculpin.
The severe drought has impacted the water levels in Hobson. The location where the water stops running moved back about fifty yards and the amount, though still moving, was much lower. Its main branch dried up in the late summer which had never happened, although the east branch (generically called Spring Creek on the old maps) kept running. Neighbors say there are huge pools on private property along Spring Creek that did and still could foster a whole host of young fish until winter.