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Botanical Tales of the Pacific Crest Trail

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The Making of a “Super-Naturalist”

by Matt Berger

Over two PCT thru hikes I took tens of thousands of plant photos, figured out each plants’ identity, and uploaded these observations to citizen science websites. Getting to this point was a process that I took one step a time. Now, I’m ready to share what I’ve learned with others who walk in these same steps along the PCT and are wondering what all the plants are along the way – the tall and the small, the showy and the “wallflowers,” the commonplace and the rare. Let me share a bit with you about how I got here…

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Perfect Pairings For Klamath Natural History

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Since we could certainly all use a bit more fun in our lives, it was recommended to us that each session in the Klamath Mountains Natural History winter webinar series feature its own pairing — food and/or bev.

Brilliant. And why not.

So what pairs well with endemic salamanders, limestone caverns, or the last glacier in the Klamath Mountains?

I don’t know either, and that’s why I asked our presenters for their expert recommendations.

Part 1: Intro to the Klamath Mountains + The Last Glacier

The Glaciertini (Photo credit: Mike van Hattem)

I present to you the Glaciertini: a fine drink to accompany the first session in this 10-part series where Justin Garwood tells the story of the Klamath Mountains’ Last “tini” Glacier. It also happens to be the signature cocktail of his research team. Per his and colleague Mike van Hattem’s instructions:

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Where are the Klamath Mountains?

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I thought it was just the Klamath River?

or…

Are they in Klamath Falls?

Where are the Klamath Mountains
Klamath Mountain Geomorphic Province

These are common questions we hear and we understand the confusion. The name “Klamath Mountains” may not be part of your everyday speak, but if you love all those spectacular mountains and rivers between Ashland and Crescent City, Redding and Eureka, Mount Shasta and Brookings, then it turns out you LOVE the The Klamath Mountains.

The Klamath Mountains are one of the Earth’s most important temperate mountain ranges. These mountains are a hotspot for biodiversity due to the complex interactions, across millions of years, of biotic and abiotic factors. The area has a central location and continuity with other mountain ranges along the Pacific Slope of western North America. Across this landscape, a mosaic of habitats mix at a crossroads of five biotic regions including the Cascades, Coast Ranges, Great Basin, Central Valley, and Sierra Nevada. Many major rivers of the region also connect the ranges aquatic ecosystems to the productive Pacific Ocean.

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Humboldt’s flying squirrel

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Glaucomys oregonensis

Until recently, mammalogists classified two species of flying squirrels in North America. But, in 2017, a third was added with the formal description of the Humboldt’s flying squirrel (Glaucomys oregonensis). Though slightly smaller and darker, this cryptic species was once considered to be part of the northern flying squirrel (G. sabrinus) group but genetic studies and an in depth look at the penis bone changed that. Northern flying squirrels inhabit the boreal coniferous forests of the northeastern U.S., Canada, and Alaska as well as relictual habitat in the higher elevations of the Appalachian and Rocky mountains. The Humboldt’s flying squirrel is a specialist of the Pacific Slope’s coastal forests from southern California’s sky islands, north through the Sierra Nevada, Klamath Mountains, Coast Ranges, and Cascades in conifer and mixed-conifer forests.

Range of the North American flying squirrel species from National Geographic.
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Late Summer Wildflowers

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Of The Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains are vast and encompass many ecological zones and elevations. Geology, ranges in altitude, and variable weather conditions make the region variable for wildflower blooms depending on species and region. Wildflower season can begin as early as mid-December in the lower elevations and continue into late October or even November in the high country.

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Klamath National Forest restricts wilderness usage

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New backcountry restrictions have been put in place to limit environmental impacts in the wilderness, including two high-use, sensitive areas in the Siskiyou and Trinity Alps wilderness areas.

Photo-documentation of the regionally rare yellow-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis) being cut for firewood in the Devil’s Punchbowl in the Klamath National Forest.

In a move that has been a long time in the making, the Klamath National forest has enacted restrictions in two of the most visited backcountry destinations on the forest. This action could not have been more timely, as more people are visiting the backcountry this year than ever before. Signs are going to be posted immediately — though in a recent informal survey few visitors to the Siskiyou Wilderness even read the signs at the trailhead.

There have been numerous reports of people behaving poorly in the wilderness this summer including graffiti on mountain summits, beer bottles being smashed on rocks riverside, and groups of over 25 people gathering to play Frisbee on sensitive meadow systems. We need to continue to work with the forest service to provide outreach and education about Leave No Trace in these places we love.

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Backpacking in Conifer Country

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‘Tis the summer for backpacking. We have seen more people in the backcountry this year than ever before. We have also had more requests from friends and family as to where they should go backpacking that ever before. In this post we explore some epic destinations to get out, walk, and learn about ancient conifers.

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Eruption of Lassen Peak

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105 year anniversary

Active Norcal interviewed Forrest Hopson, author of Geology of the Lassen Country, about the May 22, 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in honor of the 105th anniversary of that eruption.

Forrest Hopson joins Active NorCal to discuss the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak.
Plinian eruption column of May 22, 1915, as viewed from Red Bluff about 45 miles southwest of the volcano. This eruption column rose to approximately 30,000 feet. Photograph by R.E. Stinson, courtesy of National Park Service.

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Nature Programs

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May 2020 Free ZOOM Presentations

The following free programs do require registration. They are supported by the North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.

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Robert Childs

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The Watercolor-Butterfly-Nature-Loving-Guy

Robert Childs recently retired from 30 years of teaching science including nine in rural Missouri and the rest at Eureka High School. His life-long goal is connecting kids and adults to the natural world and, when not doing that, he spends his time studying the sciences and exploring other countries. His wife Delores Haskamp, who also loves these interests and activities, is also a huge part of his life.    

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Zig Zag Trail

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Prairie Creek Redwoods National and State Parks

Map from Conifer Country

This area of California contains some of the largest redwoods on Earth and holds extensive old-growth forests, protected as a national park in 1968. This particular walk, using the Zig Zag Trails and Prairie Creek Trail, is entirely in old growth. It offers an enigmatic temporal departure into a rare forest type. In addition to redwoods, other conifer specimens like Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce are coupled with clandestine western redcedar and Port-Orford cedar—be sure to look carefully and learn your conifers well. Watch for grand firs that occur infrequently along the road, particularly at the south end of Elk Prairie.

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Trillium Falls Trail

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Trillium Falls Trail Map from Hiking Humboldt Volume 1. Map by Jason Barnes.

Description: It is amazing that, just a stone’s throw from Arcata Redwood Company’s Mill B, these old-growth redwood groves would survive. Much of the credit must go to the efforts of the Save the Redwoods League. A number of the leaders and benefactors are memorialized on the plaques on this walk. This trail passes 10-foot Trillium Falls and spends more time in the forest before gradually dropping back toward the wetlands along Prairie Creek. These wetlands are one of the most dependable locations for viewing Roosevelt elk. As interpretative displays in the Elk Meadow Day Use Area illustrate, from 1948 until restoration in the 1990s this was the location of Arcata Redwood Company’s Mill B and its massive 8-acre asphalt-covered log deck.

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