2015 - Robert's adventures in the Northern Sierra Nevada - California

[Robert]

VAN VLECK COW CAMP

Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Weather: Clear
Temperature, High:85 F (29.5 C), Low:54 F (12 C)



This weekend is the last summer holiday of the season here in the U.S.A. It is also the season when the Gentians bloom in the high country and I did not want to miss them. My dilemma was how to avoid the crowds. The quickest and most direct route to the high country would most likely be extremely crowded. It appeared that I would have all day so Red Peak seemed a reasonable destination. I have found Gentiana calycosa in bloom in this area in the past and felt it would be possible to also find G. newberryi, a much more frequently seen species in our area. As it turned out I was delayed by 4 hours and needed to make some adjustments.

I started at my favorite trailhead near Van Vleck Cow Camp, 6,494 feet (1,979 meters). As usual the trailhead was deserted. This pleased me, so off I went through the Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta var. murrayana, forest.



Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta var. murrayana, is the dominant conifer species at this elevation, especially where the forest encroaches on moist meadows and other areas that are too moist for Jeffrey Pine, Pinus jeffreyi, and other conifer species. Often Lodgepole Pines grow in dense thickets, becoming tall, narrow, and straight, making them ideal for building traditional Native American dwellings. The Lodgepole Pine pictured is somewhat out of character growing by itself in a meadow.



Lodgepole Pine is an easy to identify two needle pine.



I needed to make good time if I was going to make it to the highest meadows below the peaks of the Crystal Range.



This is bear country and I frequently see bears during the summer and fall. I saw this fresh print on the trail, a good sign.

[Robert]

The land had dried considerably in the 3 week since I had last visited this area. This creek had some water and moisture three weeks ago. Now it was bone dry!



The native vegetation was very stressed. The signs were everywhere. This Spiraea densiflora was partly defoliated, a common sight this day. Many herbaceous species had dried into shrived masses of brown leaves. Some of this occurs every year, however this seemed extreme.



Despite the dry there were still a few blossoms here and there, such as this Sidalcea glaucescens.



At this elevation the forest trees seemed to be in fairly good condition. Red Fir, Abies magnifica, (center) is another frequently seen species at this elevation. On some mountainsides they can grow in pure stands.



The new growth of Red Fir is a very attractive and noticeable blue-green colour. The foliage of Red Fir tends to stand upright. The foliage of White Fir, Abies concolor our other fir species, tends to be flattened and has a 1/4 twist where it connects to the stem.

[Robert]

Generally the native currents and gooseberries are loaded with ripe fruit at this time of year. Some species had no fruit at all this year. A few plants of Ribes roelzii had fruit this year, as this one did, most had none. The fruit of Ribes roelzii is quite tasty if you can get around the spines on the skin of the fruit!



Ribes nevadensis had no fruit, however I could still enjoy the scent of its foliage. The scent is very subtle, but very pleasant.



In dry, rocky, sunny areas Pinemat Manzanita, Arctostaphylos nevadensis, is frequently seen. This species is well adapted to dry conditions and they were looking healthy.



Artemisia douglasiana is another drought tolerant species. Most of the colonies I saw today were highly stressed. This group was one of the few groups that were still looking good.



In this area there are a few Jeffrey Pine, Pinus jeffreyi. The species can be easily confused with Ponderosa Pine, Pinus ponderosa. Both are three-needle pines, however the needles of Jeffrey Pine are glaucous, the needles of Ponderosa Pine are never glaucous. Also, the cones of Jeffrey Pine have incurved prickles, those of Ponderosa Pine have outwardly projecting prickles. Unfortunately, at lower elevations where the two species overlap in range they sometimes hybridize with each other, making identification difficult.

[Robert]

Quickly it became clear to me that I was not going to have time to make it to the high county near Red Peak. This gave me an opportunity to explore the meadows in this area.



Conditions were extremely dry, however I did find a few blooming plants of Penstemon rydbergii.



There must have been a spectacular display earlier in the season as there were hundreds of colonies all loaded with many well seeded flowering stems.



There were excellent views of some of the high peaks. This is Tells Peak (left).



And Red Peak (center).

In the past I have spent many summer and fall seasons camping near Red Peak. For me it would be good to have a visit before this season is over.

[Hoy]

Robert,


At least some plants I know in person!

Pinus contorta is (or was) much used here in the forestry. Although possibly another variety.

Abies magnifica is used as an ornamental tree in gardens and parks.


The Ribes roezlii looks great!


Although we have bears in NorwayI have never seen any. Had been exciting to see a wild one once, but not too close

[Robert]

Exploring around the meadow I found Arnica latifolia. No flowers, but then I was not expecting to find much in the way of flowers this time of year. For me, it is good to be able to identify species at any season, under many different conditions. For me it is like tracking - you are always looking for the subtle clues.

I found enough clues to know that I will want to return here next spring during the peak of the blooming season. It could be spectacular.



Bisecting the meadow is a spring feed creek. The flow rate from the spring has not slowed much considering the drought, so there was still a good flow of ice cold water - many trout too.

The banks of the creek were colonized with Willows, Salix ssp. Salix lemmonii was the most common species, however I found S. boothii occasionally. In shaded areas Lady Fern, Anthyrium filix-femina (pictured), grew in the damp soil.



This toad was enjoying the moist conditions too.



Saltgrass, Distichlis spicata, is not at all common in the mountains, however it can be seen very infrequently in swampy, moist areas in mountainous areas.



This species has very distinctive foliage and is easy to identify.

[Robert]

The bloom season was clearly over, but I could still enjoy the last yellow and white flowers of Lotus unifoliolatus var. unifoliolatus.



With the last bits of moisture Mimulus primuloides still had a few flowers. This perennial Monkeyflower can bloom all summer into the autumn when there is adequate precipitation. So far, I can not get the same results with the specimens growing at the farm. Each heat wave brings an end to their bloom cycle. With cooler weather they will start blooming again.

There is never enough time for me in the mountains, and it was now time to return to the farm. I never made it to the highest meadows where the Gentians grow, but now I have a good reason to return soon. I never saw the bear either. 

For me, this was another excellent and productive outing, with over 85 species identified.

And now until the next adventure.......

[Robert]

Robert,


At least some plants I know in person!

Pinus contorta is (or was) much used here in the forestry. Although possibly another variety.

Abies magnifica is used as an ornamental tree in gardens and parks.


The Ribes roezlii looks great!


Although we have bears in NorwayI have never seen any. Had been exciting to see a wild one once, but not too close

Trond,

I wonder if the pine species grown in Norway is Shore Pine, Pinus contorta var. contorta. I have seen this species frequently along the coast of Oregon. The Oregon coast might have climatic conditions somewhat similar to those in Norway.

I like Red Fir!    I would like to gather seed and get some started here at the farm. They are so beautiful and for me they would be worth the extra effort to give them the summer irrigation they would need to survive here.

Ribes roelzii is great. Some of our other Ribes species are great too. So far, I have not grown any of them in the garden. This will have to change.

We have black bears here in California. They are much easier to deal with than brown bears, which can be extremely dangerous. At one time there were brown bears in California but they are all gone now. A brown bear is even on the flag of the state of California. The wolves have now returned to California!          Maybe brown bears will return too.

[Hoy]

Robert,

We have only brown bears in Norway but I think they usually are much smaller than the American ones. From old times bears were regarded as more dangerous than wolves for the livestock and shepherds (usually young boys/girls).

I think you are right about the pine. It is var contorta I am pretty sure of that.

I have planted two red firs at the summerhouse and they grow well. I collected them from a roadside in Hardanger where red fir self seeds.

[Robert]

Trond,

Having wolves return to California is a recent development. The first wolf returned to the state 2-3 years ago. This summer it has been confirmed that there is now a small wolf pack. All of there activity is in Siskiyou County in the far north part of the state. At this point it is unknown how far south the wolves will spread in the state.

I am not surprised that Abies magnifica grows well for you. They are such beautiful conifers! They are mountain trees here in California and slow growing, however there are still ancient giants in the forest that are very tall. Lightning seems to be attracted to this species. One frequently sees tall firs with their tops blasted off by lightning strikes.

As I said earlier, I am going to try to get Abies magnifica going down here at the farm. Their "cones" are produced high in the tree and fall apart when the seed is ripe. It will take some good luck to find good seed on the ground.

[Hoy]

A pack of wolves has established a territory near Oslo, in fact some of their area is inside the city border. Everybody is not happy with that.

[Robert]

Trond,

Are wolves common in Norway?

I know that there are those who are not pleased about the wolves in California. Having wolves in California is a recent development. At this time it seems unknown what the outcome of their presence will be.

Wolves within the Oslo city border sounds a little bit like the coyotes and mountain loins in Los Angeles. I think that the most comical animal story is about the bear that walked into a supermarket in Alaska (middle of the day during shopping hours). Much of the action was caught on film. As I remember it went straight to the produce section. I thought that it might prefer the fish section of the store. I bet that the film footage is something that one could find on the internet. 

[Hoy]

Robert,

I can't say wolves are common here but they have been more common now than 30 years ago. I and other biologists think it is too few, only about 30-35 in Norway and about 400 in Scandinavia. Many are killed illegally each year.

I have not heard of bears in supermarkets here but polar bears in Svalbard often visit camps and cabins. Not all encounters end well. (both people and bears can be killed).

[Robert]

2014 turned out to be the warmest year in our modern weather history here in California. My understanding is that the whole west coast of North American experienced their warmest temperatures in their modern weather history in 2014 and I have been told this is true for the whole planet too.

June 2015 was our warmest June ever, by far, here at the farm and the whole west coast of the U.S.A. July and August had average summertime temperatures here at the farm and it appeared that the summer would not be too onerous. I was hoping that we could slide into the rainy season without another major heat wave. If the weather forecast pans-out, it looks like we are in for another record to near record breaking heat wave. Temperatures are excepted to peak Friday in the 41 C range, and then cool only slightly.



The last 40 C heat wave took its toll on our native oak woodlands. If you look closely you can see the browning of many of the tree, especially toward the upper center part of the hillside.



This is another photograph showing the browning of the leaves on the native oaks. At the lower elevations this patch work of highly stressed oaks is consistent, except were the ground has been stripped of the vegetation by over grazing or other human activities.



A large California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii, going into early dormancy. This species generally has attractive fall foliage. Many will not have any fall colors this year.



Valley Oak, Quercus lobata, shedding leaves to survive the drought and heat.



Blue Oak, Quercus douglasii, is our toughest oak species, generally enduring drought and heat rooted into the rockiest, shallow, and poor soils. You can see how stressed this small Blue Oak is!

[Robert]

The July 2014 to June 2015 rainfall season was our driest since the 1976-1977 season. Our average annual precipitation is 35 inches (889 mm). During the 2014 - 2015 season we had 20.82 inches (529 mm) of precipitation. Here in California we are all hoping that the four years of drought will end with this coming rainfall season. Our first autumn rains generally arrive about mid-October.



To survive the summer dry season California Buckeye, Aesculus californica, usually goes dormant some time in the late summer. Trees like this with dry leaves are not unusual this time of year.



Even with dry leaves the seeds will continue to ripen.



Even during these dry times some plant manage to produce fruit. Chaparral Honeysuckle, Lonicera interrupta, can have very attractive berries.