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

[Hoy]

I like that canyon! Seems to be a place to use a lot of time just looking around and relaxing

It is also good to see that not all California is burnt.

[Robert]

Trond,

The day I went down to Rock Creek was very smoky, or more like extremely smoky. Since then the smoke has cleared away. The fires are still burning however now they are starting to find dead bodies and more burned out houses. It is a disaster, but of of a different nature than the tragedy in Chile or Syrian-Middle eastern refugees.

Once one arrives at the bottom of the canyon at Rock Creek the trail basically ends. If I had more time I would have explored around. The Poison Oak was thick in areas. It was possible to get around but the Poison Oak would have made the going very slow.

Right now I have no idea on the next outing.

[Maggi Young]

Sad, but not too surprising,  that there are more deaths being discovered as the fire subsides.
So many disasters, natural and man-made in the world today.

[hud357]

Sad, but not too surprising,  that there are more deaths being discovered as the fire subsides.
So many disasters, natural and man-made in the world today.

I think that one should remember that this area of the world has always been prone to many 'disasters'. I guess that is the price one pays for the good stuff and the region certainly has a lot of that. We here in our Islands complain about all kinds of things but not massive earth quakes, long droughts, forest fires etc etc.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'man-made' except that we put out the natural fires and so leave plenty of extra fuel for the next (inevitable) fire. The best those living in the region can hope for is that they are forewarned and can get out long before their lives are endangered.

That said... Incredible place to live ones life - risks and all.   

[Maggi Young]

By "man-made"  I meant all thos things like flooding which man causes by building in daft places,  covering run-off areas with paving etc - and the ghastly stuff that is "our fault"- wars, habitat destruction..... it could have been a long list.

[hud357]

By "man-made"  I meant all thos things like flooding which man causes by building in daft places,  covering run-off areas with paving etc - and the ghastly stuff that is "our fault"- wars, habitat destruction..... it could have been a long list.

I was really only looking at the current problems Robert identified. For sure, we could (mankind - globaly) do better but I'm a loathe to blame us for everything. These days I find that it is our desire to 'do good' that is often the problem. Quenching natural forest burn off and leaving twice as much fuel for the next fire. Destroying habitat in order to grow 'bio fuels' or shipping entire forests from the  Americas to Yorkshire in the name of 'carbon neutrality'.  We could do better.

Back to Roberts pictures though, I can't take any responsibility for a drought period in California. It is an area and climate that we Brits have so little to compare it with. Surrounded to the North by lush temperate forest and Desert to the South. Little wonder that they get 'weather' that we can hardly imagine.         

[Robert]

There are a few things to keep in mind when considering our fire situation here in California.

Once there has been a large buildup of fuel in the forest from 75 years or more of fire suppression one can not just start having controlled burns without removing much of the fuel buildup first. This is not as easy as it might sound for many, many reasons. Just letting the forest burn is not going back to the natural rhythm of nature. The type of fires we are having now are very destructive to the ecosystem. I visited some sites burned by the 2013 Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park that burned so hot that even the dormant seeds that would normally germinate after a fire had died! The land was a dead moonscape, even more so than after the Mount Saint Helen volcanic eruption.

I have also seen where the National Park System has conducted control burns in parts of Yosemite National Park. Where there have been control burns for decades, the forest is very healthy and also very different.

Simplistic solutions will not solve the highly complex fire situation here in California. Blaming only makes the situation worse. Most of our wild fires are caused by arsonist such as the highly destructive King Fire right here in El Dorado County where I live. It is important to acknowledge this and then move on to lasting solutions. Sadly, because of our dysfunctional political system finding and acting on beneficial solutions is very difficult.

[Robert]

ROCK CREEK

Monday, 12 October 2015

Weather: Clear
Temperature, High: 92 F (33 C),  Low: 55 F (13 C)

I finally had an opportunity to get out for a few hours on Monday. After a few light rain showers, the weather has turned very hot and dry again. Temperatures are at record or near record highs everyday.

Rock Creek is very close to the farm and is a very good place to check on the native flora. Not too many people either.



The road to Rock Creek is narrow and very sinuous as it follows the south facing canyon side of the South Fork of the American River. The road to Rock Creek starts at about 1,289 feet (393 meters) and follows the canyon side about half way between the river below and the top of the canyon rim. The canyon face is very steep with many cliffs and drop-offs down to the river far below.



There is a tremendous amount of drought stress on the native flora now. Many trees and shrubs are very stress or have given-up with this , hopefully, last heat wave.



The Ponderosa Pine, Pinus ponderosa, show the most stress, however they are not the only species drought stressed.



Even very tough species such as White Leaf Manzanita, Arctostaphylos viscida, are very stressed.



A close-up of the stressed leaves on White Leaf Manzanita. The leaves are very desiccated and pale.

[Robert]

This is what healthy, hydrated Manzanita foliage looks like. Through out the area there is a patch work of drought stressed trees and shrubs. While traveling the road, I found that some areas show very few signs of major drought stress, while other areas look like a disaster.



On dry northeast facing slopes, Dryopteris arguta is in good condition. 98% of the plants observed were still green despite being a dryland species.



In these same areas, Iris macrosiphon is looking good too.



There still has not been enough rain to bring the Goldback Ferns out of dormancy.



Where there is riparian habitat the plants seem to be thriving. Here the White Alders, Alnus rhombifolia, are blanketed with Vitis californica, our native wild grape.

[Robert]

And the grapes are ripe and very tasty! 



In one of the many side canyons this spring fed creek is still flowing well. Over the last 4 years, I have seen no decrease in the flow rate of the springs in this area.



In the seep area of the spring there are huge Woodwardia (fimbriata) ferns. This one was at least 2 meters tall.



Aralia californica grew in this seep area too. The leaves of this species can be huge, a meter long and maybe .6 meters wide. The foliage is always beat-up looking by this time each season, even plants growing at higher elevations. This is the first time I have seen this species in this area. I have explored this area for many decades and I am still finding species that I have never seen in this area before. Every trip is new and interesting.



Leaving the creek, the road soon cuts through a very steep SSE facing part of the canyon. It is very rocky and dry. A few Eriogonum nudum were still in bloom and looking extremely good. Others looked terrible, half dead.

[Robert]

Along the road bank there were still a few of the annual Madia gracilis in bloom. In this area the plants looked exactly like M. gracilis except that the phyllaries were not quite right. Maybe M. gracilis aff. is more appropriate. I like an enigma like this and will enjoy following up on this as I can.

After doing some follow-up investigation, the Madia gracilis is not a Madia at all, but Rosin Weed, Calycadenia truncata, another native annual.     



Lessingia leptoclada is another tough, drought tolerant annual. Here and there, there were wands of their tiny lavender-pink flowers blooming among the dry grasses. This species is easy to identify by the cottony webbing around the phyllaries.



High on the banks I found another species that I have overlooked over the years, Senecio flaccidus var. douglasii. This is a shrubby species, with a woody trunk and branches. Generally it grows to about 1 meter tall, and has attractive gray-green deeply cut linear foliage.



The flowers are attractive, with many plants blooming on and off from early summer to early autumn.



Down the road in shadier areas there where the dry pods of many of our native bulbs. These are dry pods of Calochortus albus. I think that they look very nice.

[Robert]

Closer to Rock Creek is this wonderful little waterfall. Its flow rate has not decreased either. I missed the bloom of the clump of Lilium pardalinum that grows on the upper left hand side of the falls. Now it is just a dried up clump waiting for next spring's new growth.



Nearby the dry seed heads of Clematis lasiantha could be seen draped over other shrubbery and small trees.



Finally I arrived at Rock Creek. It still contains a healthy flow of water. I have seen no change in its flow rate during the dry season, ever! Here I was about 2-3 miles down stream from where I explored on my last outing. Someday it would be fun to explore all the territory in between.  In the past, I have explored about 2/3 of the way to the waterfall up stream. Nobody goes up there and there are many interesting plants and lots of wild trout in the stream.

Now I was out of time and needed to return to the farm. Until the next adventure.......

[Hoy]

Still much of interest to see! I am also a bit curious of the water sources when you tell that the water level don't decrease even in this dry period. Is it underground sources?

Will the stressed plants like the ponderosa pine recover or are they doomed?

Another question is how frost hardy is Woodwardia fimbriata?


Do the wild grape and the white alder  get autumn colours?


The blackbirds have taken all the grapes of my plant!

[Robert]

Still much of interest to see! I am also a bit curious of the water sources when you tell that the water level don't decrease even in this dry period. Is it underground sources?

Will the stressed plants like the ponderosa pine recover or are they doomed?

Another question is how frost hardy is Woodwardia fimbriata?


Do the wild grape and the white alder  get autumn colours?

Trond,

The underground water hydrology is very complex and something that I do not understand very well. I have observed enough during the drought to understand that some underground water sources are more robust than others. Rock Creek is one of many examples of a spring fed water course that has a steady underground water source(s). In other areas I have seen indications of underground drying.

As far the drought stressed plants, at this time it is uncertain how they will respond. During previous droughts most stressed plants have recovered fairly well without a mass die-off. This may not be the case this time around. In Colorado, I have seen mass die-off of conifers due to drought stress (indirectly, bark beetles did the killing), so it is still wait and see around here.

Woodwardia fimbriata is a relatively low elevation fern. They are always found near abundant and reliable sources of water. My guess is that this species would be cold hardy to about -10 C to -15 C for short periods of times, at least without snow cover.

The autumn leaves of Alnus do not color for us here.

Some of our wild grapes, Vitis californica, can turn spectacular scarlet-red in the autumn. In our local (California) nursery trade there are names varieties based on outstanding fall colored foliage. I hope that I can get some good photographs of our better specimens of wild grapes when they turn color this fall.

In addition, in the Sacramento Valley there are still a few locations where the Wild Grapes form huge jungle-like stands vining up through the giant Valley Oaks (Quercus lobata). I know of one such location on the Sacramento River near Chico, California. It is an amazing site. This next year I will be able to get around more and visit such areas. I would like very much to share these sites on the forum and many more.

[Robert]

CAMERON PARK

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

Weather: Clear
Temperature, High: 77 F (25 C), Low: 46 F (8 C)



I took a short walk today in the Chaparral. The weather was pleasantly warm, a good day to be out for an hour or so.



I was hoping to find Ceanothus roderickii in this area. It is known from this area, however I never found any today. There was plenty of Ceanothus pumilus. This is a good evergreen xeric species that is very low mounding to flat spreading.



Most of the leaves on the Western Redbuds, Cercis occidentalis, had dried to brown without turning color at all.



Here and there, there were a few plants with bright red leaves. Generally, there are many more red leaves on the Redbuds and the chaparral is brightened in the autumn with their color.



I always appreciate the mats of Salvia sonomensis. To me, the foliage has a sweet sage odor that I greatly enjoy both in the chaparral and in the garden. This is a xeric species that will establish itself and thrive in the garden without any summer irrigation both from small seedlings or rooted cuttings planted out in the spring.