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Forest Mushroom Class Pairings

October 17, 2021 by Backcountry Press 2 Comments

Part 1: Kombucha In The Mist We’re kicking it off by pairing Part 1 with a beverage that you can watch develop with a culture of your very own — or just pick up a bottle from your neighborhood market: Kombucha! For best effect, pour yourself a sparkling glass and sit outside on a misty autumnal evening listening […]

The Vivid View of Ken Jarvela

September 17, 2021 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

Once you get on a roll with a painting, its like you have free license to be part of the mountains. It’s an odd feeling. Ken Jarvela is one of our favorite local artists. His work captures the wildest plants, rocks, sky and these are the subjects we love. He grew up in Bayside, California alongside […]

Forest Mushrooms of the Pacific Coast

August 28, 2021 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

A five-part fall webinar series Join Maria Morrow and Christian Schwarz for a comprehensive introduction to the forest mushrooms of California and the Pacific Northwest. Over the course of this series we’ll cover foundational topics ranging from the fundamentals of mushroom identification to basic fungal biology. We’ll also discuss the fascinating complexities of the bigger […]

Franklin’s Bumble Bee

August 24, 2021 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) are an important group of North American wild pollinators. However, in the latter half of the 20th century, concern has arisen because of a noticeable declines in many species’ populations—due to a variety of factors including pesticides and diseases from managed bees. Decline of the world’s rarest bumble bee The Klamath […]

Cryptic Carnivores

August 9, 2021 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

Sticky trap carnivory discovered in western false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis) The botanical world is being rocked by a new lineage of carnivorous plants described by Qianshi Lin et al. (August 2021)! Previous to this discovery scientists have recognized only 11 independent origins of plant carnivory—and now there is a 12th. This cryptic carnivore secretes a digestive […]

Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains

May 9, 2021 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

AVAILABLE NOW! Including the Marble Mountain, Russian, and Trinity Alps Wilderness areas Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains features flowering plants found within one of the most biodiverse temperate mountain ranges on Earth. This photographic collection is representative of the most common, beautiful, and unique plants across this amazing region.• 629 species, subspecies, and varieties of wildflowers• […]

Botanical Tales of the Pacific Crest Trail

February 9, 2021 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

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 […]

Perfect Pairings For Klamath Natural History

January 5, 2021 by Backcountry Press 4 Comments

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 […]

Where are the Klamath Mountains?

December 5, 2020 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

I thought it was just the Klamath River? or… Are they in Klamath Falls? 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, […]

Humboldt’s flying squirrel

October 22, 2020 by Backcountry Press 2 Comments

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 […]

Late Summer Wildflowers

August 23, 2020 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

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 […]

Klamath National Forest restricts wilderness usage

July 30, 2020 by Backcountry Press 5 Comments

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. 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 […]

Backpacking in Conifer Country

July 5, 2020 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

Some of the best hiking trips in the West can be found in the Klamath Mountains. Get out and go backpacking in Conifer Country!

A Book Tour

July 1, 2020 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

Exploring the Berryessa Region: A Geology, Nature, and History Tour

12 Wonderful Humboldt County Hikes

June 20, 2020 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

Rees Hughes shares some of his favorite hikes from his book, Hiking Humboldt Volume 2. This was recorded in a ZOOM Webinar during sheltering in place for COVID-19.

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Trivia Challenge: Wildflowers of the Klamath Mountains

https://backcountrypress.com/podcast-player/21109/trivia-challenge-wildflowers-of-the-klamath-mountains.mp3

Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 19:11 | Recorded on July 8, 2022

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>> Papoose Lake Revisited << In November 2008, I >> Papoose Lake Revisited <<

In November 2008, I made my first trip to Papoose Lake in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. That trip inspired my first blog post, with much writing to follow.

This first post was more about geology than plants because of the unique geologic character of the Papoose Lake Basin.

This month, almost 15 years later, I returned to Papoose Lake to conduct vegetation surveys as part of our Klamath Mountains Vegetation Mapping Project.

In many ways the basin is the same but in others changes are afoot.

Keep reading at our LI N K for reflections on 15 years of blogging through the eyes of a Klamath Mountain lake basin.

- Michael @michael.kauffmann

“In all the years I have spent standing or sitting on the banks of this river, I have learned this: the more knowledge I have, the greater becomes the mystery of what holds that knowledge together, this reticulated miracle called an ecosystem.”

- Barry Lopez, The Naturalist

#foxtailpine #klamathmountains #trinityalps #californianativeplants #wilderness #changeistheonlyconstant
💥HOT OFF THE PRESS: Hiking Humboldt Vol. 1 (2nd 💥HOT OFF THE PRESS: Hiking Humboldt Vol. 1 (2nd edition)

58 DAY HIKES IN NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA

The 2nd edition of this favorite guide book is filled with Fresh Maps, Additional Hikes, & Stunning Photos:

• Primeval forests harboring the world’s tallest trees.

• Sea cliffs, pristine beaches, and towering coastal sand dunes.

• Mountain prairies, meadows, and vistas.

• Rivers, lakes, lagoons, and bays.

• Bears, elk, seals, otters, and birds galore.

• And solitude – lots and lots of solitude.

Humboldt County offers all this and much more to the intrepid hiker.

Hiking Humboldt Volume 1 by Kenneth M. Burton presents descriptions, directions, accurate maps (including elevation profiles), and photos of hikes that are 5-15 miles in length throughout Humboldt County, CA.

• • • • •
SALE ENDS 9/10: get the eBook for free with your paperback purchase from @backcountrypress 🙌
• • • • •

In the seven years since we published the first edition of “HHV1,” we have heard from all sorts of Humboldtians who use the book as a hiking challenge — a checklist to complete them all. We hope this 2nd new & improved edition inspires even more people to do the same. We’d love to hear about your adventures —  tag #hikinghumboldt!

Have fun out there,
Michael & Allison

📘 Pick up your copy at our L I N K or find it at your favorite local shop: @eurekabooks @booklegger_eureka @northtownbooks @eurekanaturalfoods @northcoastcoop @blakesbooksmckinleyville

(Be in touch if your shop would like to carry this title as well!)

#humboldtmade #madeinhumboldt #humboldt #humboldtcounty #eurekaca #arcata #trinidadca #ferndale #sohum #lostcoast #northerncalifornia
FRUIT FLY TRAP TEST (🪰couldn’t not nerd out o FRUIT FLY TRAP TEST
(🪰couldn’t not nerd out on this fruit season outbreak)

Was really rooting for the Pinguicula!!

(Just trying to protect the peaches, @neukomfamilyfarm! 🙏❤️)

#fruitflytrap #scienceiseverywhere #carnivourousplant #pinguicula #harvestseason
🏆 Champion Klamath Foxtail Pine! (🌲 Pinus b 🏆 Champion Klamath Foxtail Pine!

(🌲 Pinus balfouriana subspecies balfouriana)

In 2010, I first found this tree while backpacking through the Trinity Alps Wilderness in far northern California.

Just last week, thirteen years later, my 11 year old son Sylas and I returned with tools to officially measure and nominate this tree.

While points fell just short of the overall champion, it is the second largest foxtail pine known and the largest of the subspecies of the Klamath foxtail pine.

It measures 24’ circumference 84’ tall 44’ crown spread for 383 AF points.

(I know what you’re thinking, but that actually stands for American Forest points. 🙃)

Tap our L I N K for the full story and learn how to measure a tree.

Klamath foxtail pines exist above 6500’ in the Klamath Mountains, often on serpentine soils. Find the one spot in this region you can actually drive to one in our book Conifer Country.

Foxtail pines are relatives of the Great Basin bristlecone (Pinus longaeva) and Rocky Mountain bristlecone (Pinus aristata). However, foxtail pines are endemic to California’s Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains. 

The best way to see this species is to hike to them. This particular tree required my son and I to do a 30 mile backpacking trip. It was full of wonder and beauty!

- @michael.kauffmann 

#foxtailpine #pinusbalfouriana #klamathmountains #conifers #conifercountry #californianativeplants #endemic #serpentine #pnw #pnwonderland #backpacking #trinityalps #wilderness #likefatherlikeson #treemagic #bigtree
🤩🎉🤩 You’re looking at the @northcoastjo 🤩🎉🤩 You’re looking at the @northcoastjournal’s pick for Best Local Author with the proprietor of the Best Bookstore @booklegger_eureka: @michael.kauffmann & Jen McFadden!

Such an honor, thank you all for your support! I know creating an account to vote was an annoying little hurdle, so extra thanks for leaping over it to cast yours! 💙

Also, how about the @cityofeureka’s Friday Night Market?! Talk about a vibrant little city by the sea!

#thankyou #iloveeureka #eurekacalifornia #independentbookstore #independentpublishing #humboldtcounty #humboldt #madeinhumboldt #humboldtmade
💎Orchid garden along the Smith River’s South 💎Orchid garden along the Smith River’s South Fork💎

The Smith is the most undeveloped and protected river remaining in California, and the largest completely undammed river from source to sea in the state. Much of the watershed features serpentine formations of the Josephine Ophiolite, and large areas are suited to rare plant life that thrives in harsh settings and in soils containing metals and minerals that are not conducive to typical forest growth.

The South Fork comes from higher elevations of the Siskiyou Wilderness where snow melt lingers and contributes to the basin’s highest flows through the spring.

Much of the Smith’s quality is attributed to nearly all the watershed being in public ownership as the Smith River National Recreation Area with legislated priorities on land and water protection. In addition, all of the 18 mile main stem and 320 miles of tributaries were designated as National Wild and Scenic Rivers in 1981.

This marked the first time that the streams of virtually an entire river basin were together designated in the National Wild and Scenic Ricer System as part of a watershed-wide approach.

💎 Stream Orchid, AKA Chatterbox (Epipactis gigantea)

Where have you found these stunning (and well camouflaged!) orchids blooming this summer? They’re surprisingly common, though often go unnoticed because they blend in so well with their surroundings. 

Featured 📕: Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains

#wildandscenic #orchid #californianativeplants #serpentine #smithriver #klamathmountains #wilderness #wildcalifornia #delnortecounty #northerncalifornia
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