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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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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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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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Lassen Country Hikes

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Updated Hiking Maps

The book’s trail guide showcases the geologic history of the Lassen country. We have selected hikes that provide examples of the Lassen Volcanic Center and regional geology. USGS 1:24,000 scale maps show the trails and parking locations. The guide is illustrated but watch for references to figures and tables in previous chapters. Also, important background information about the geology in each hiking guide is discussed.

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2019 Humboldt County Trails Updates

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Inland Mountains

Chris Valle-Riestra is an exceptional volunteer and trail steward–with a particular fondness for the Klamath Mountains. He has been spearheading trailwork in the Orleans Ranger District for many years and knows the trails well .

He has updated conditions of trails on the forest for fall 2019. Click through to the hiking descriptions and read his comments.

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Big Tree – Elk Prairie Loop

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Prairie Creek Redwoods National and State Parks

The most extensive accessible trail system in Humboldt County is in the Elk Prairie/Big Tree areas of Prairie Creek Redwood State Park and Redwood National Park. This trail system offers many ways to mix and match the trails that network this area. Included in the route are magnificent old growth redwoods, picturesque Prairie Creek, the open grasslands of Elk Prairie, a nature trail, and miles of accessible trail.

Big Tree – Elk Prairie Hiking Basics
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Bumpass Hell Trail

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Geology of the Lassen Country

Bumpass Hell Trail
Bumpass Hell Hike Map

The Bumpass Hell Trail is one of the most popular destinations in the Lassen Country. The trailhead is at the large parking area 0.25 mile (0.4 km) east of Lake Helen. The trail traverses the dacite of Bumpass Mountain for the majority of the hike. Also, note the well-preserved glacial polish and striae in the dacite alongside the first few hundred yards of the trail. They were created by the glacier that started from the Lake Helen cirque. At the viewpoint where the trail turns east, about 0.5 mile (0.8 km) from the trailhead, it crosses briefly into andesite of Mount Diller. Here a National Park Service trailside interpretive display shows a model of Brokeoff Volcano before erosion.

Trailhead: Bumpass Hell trailhead parking lot
Distance: 3.0 miles (4.8 km) round trip
Key Geologic Features: Hot springs, clay-altered bedrock

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Drury – Chaney Groves Trail

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From Hiking Humboldt V2 by Rees Hughes

Drury – Chaney Map by Jason Barnes

In the massive flood of 1964, the once bustling community of Pepperwood was inundated by 30 feet of water. What remains on this floodplain of the Eel River are a few homes and farms, some vegetable stands, and a robust redwood forest. The Drury-Chaney Groves trail bisects the flat alluvial bench populated with redwoods that lie between the Avenue of the Giants and US 101. It is a flat walk and an accessible trail through several extensive groves of towering redwoods.

Ralph Works Chaney Memorial Grove

It was Berkeley paleontologist Ralph Chaney who first brought back ‘dawn redwood’ seedlings with him from China in the late 1940s. This deciduous sequoia joins the coast redwood and the giant sequoia as the three conifers known as redwoods.

Peaceful trail along the Eel River floodplain.

Getting there: Drive south on US 101 for 32.5 miles taking Exit 674 (Avenue of the Giants/Pepperwood). Turn left onto the Avenue of the Giants for 2.7 miles. The road passes through what remains of the community of Pepperwood taking a bend to the south, quickly reaching the parking area for the Drury-Chaney Groves trailhead. Parking is available on both sides of the Avenue of the Giants. Approximate driving time, 40 minutes.

Evergreen [Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)] and deciduous ferns [Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)] abound.

The route: From the parking area, the trail crosses a small open space and enters the redwood forest for the remainder of the walk. The level trail crosses the old Barkdull Road (0.6) — a right turn here will take you to another access point from the Avenue of the Giants in half a mile; a left turn leads to the general location of the old Barkdull Ranch (0.1). After crossing the Barkdull Road, the trail reaches the loop trail (0.7). The loop is 0.9 mile long (1.6). The return to the parking area necessitates retracing your steps (2.4).

Extras. Once located between Pepperwood and Stafford, the town of Elinor had a railroad stop, hotel, post office, and logging camp on the east side of the Eel River and a collection of homes, store, and school on the west side. A ferry plied the river connecting the two sides of the town. However, when the 1964 floodwaters receded there was little of Elinor left. Just after you turn left onto the Avenue of the Giants from Exit 674, turn left again on Elinor Road and drive 150 yards to the concrete barriers that block old US 101. You can follow the old road for a short distance to the bridge (dated 1938) crossing Jordan Creek. During periods of low water, it is possible to wander east to the Eel River.

Orleans Ranger District Trails Update

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Spring 2019

Chris Valle-Riestra

Chris Valle-Riestra is an exceptional volunteer and trail steward–with a particular fondness for the Klamath Mountains. He has been spearheading trailwork in the Orleans Ranger District for many years and knows the trails well . He has updated conditions of trails on the forest for summer 2018.

The Orleans Ranger District has administrative responsibility for recreational trails in three designated ranger districts. These include portions of the Marble Mountain Wilderness, the Trinity Alps  Wilderness, and the Siskiyou Wilderness.

Chris’ Trail Updates:

West’s Best Fall Hikes

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Quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides) in the Blackrock-High Rock Desert.

Fall in the West

A time of rejuvenation. With the shift of the California Current, rains begin to fall in California after a summer of drought. The high country along the Pacific Slope finds snow returning. While we retreat inside our homes, native plants and animals must adjust to the changes. Some birds migrate, mammals might hibernate, and some plants shed their leaves and “hibernate” for winter in their own way.

What follows is a journey across the Pacific Slope to four locations that are excellent for viewing fall color.
  1. Siskiyou Wilderness
  2. Pasayten Wilderness
  3. San Gabriel River National Monument
  4. Blackrock-High Rock Desert National Conservation Area

Siskiyou Wilderness

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Low elevations of the Siskiyou Wilderness with dense moss-mats and Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum).

I’ll start by admitting that my son’s middle name is Siskiyou. This wilderness was my first destination upon moving to Humboldt County and I’ve been back many times since–and learned something new each trip. The wilderness represents the mystery and intrigue of Conifer Country and holds within its boundaries at least 16 species of conifers – making it second to the Russian Wilderness in diversity within the Klamath Mountains. A few other regional highlights include the success story of the GO Road, the epic Bigfoot Trail along the crest, and a stay at Bear Basin Butte on the edge of the wilderness. Once you visit, you will never forget this place.

Fall Highlights:
  • Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum)
  • Vine maple (Acer circinatum)
  • Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)
  • Umbrella plant (Darmera peltata)
  • Dwarf huckleberry (Vaccinium caespitosum var. caespitosum)
  • Cascade bilberry (Vaccinium deliciosum)
  • Blue or thin-leaved huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum)

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Higher elevations offer fields of color from Bilberries (Vaccinium sp.)

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Under-story of Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)

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Umbrella plant (Darmera peltata)

Pasayten Wilderness

The alpine tundra of the Pasayten Wilderness is characterized by small hummocks decorated with diminutive heaths and grasses with the much taller conifers surviving on only the fringes of this landscape. Subalpine larch (Larix lyallii) has a range restricted to the North Cascades and Northern Rockies where they are locally common on exposed rocky areas as well as pioneers on disturbed sites and more recently in snowfields.

FALL HIGHLIGHTS:
  • Alpine Bearberry (Arctous alpinus)
  • Creeping dogwood (Cornus canadensis)
  • Subalpine larch (Larix lyallii)

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Subalpine larch (Larix lyallii) on the edge of hummocky meadows.

San Gabriel Mountains National Monument

leaf-bwThe 346,177 acre San Gabriel Mountains National Monument was dedicated in October 2014 by a proclamation by President Obama after nearly 10 years of work to get it established.  It contains the Sheep Mountain Wilderness, the San Gabriel Wilderness, and Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness as well as most of the major peaks including Mount San Antonio, Mount Baden-Powell, and Throop Peak.

FALL HIGHLIGHTS
  • Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum)
  • Black oak (Quercus kelloggii)

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Black oak (Quercus kelloggii) in the Sierra Pelona Mountains.

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Listen for the fall rut when the male bighorn sheep battle in the high country.

Blackrock Desert-High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Want to visit a newly-designated wilderness area in the llitteral middle-of-nowhere? Then the Pine Forest Range is the place for you. Nearby is Nevada’s Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area with loads of places to adventure. There are only a few plants that grow to any noticeable height, including rare conifers and the iconic quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) which offers epic fall color.

Fall Highlights
  • Quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides)

Quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides) below the pine belt in the Pine Forest Range.
Quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides) below the pine belt in the Pine Forest Range.

Aspens in fall -- Black Rock Desert
Holy WOW! Aspens in fall — High Rock Canyon