sekihiker's Journal

In 2016, I observed the densest stand of Lewisia leeana I had ever seen.¹ It was on the north flank of Spanish Mountain and the purpose of this trip was to revisit it in hopes I could see it in bloom. It wasn't in bloom because the snow had recently melted off of it. The gully to the west was choked with snow and an easy way up Spanish Mountain was not evident. I saw western anemone nearby which I had seen in fruit a year earlier. I returned north and walked on the north side of the divide between Geraldine Lake and the Rancheria Creek Drainage, making a number of observations in the process.²

1 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3991112
2 https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2017/7/26

With a huge snowpack, my first trip to Sierra National Forest where I am studying the distribution of Lewisia leeana was delayed until mid-July. The trip was not disappointing. The ridge east of Duck Lake hosts the densest stand of L. leeana I have ever seen. The plants were healthy and in full bloom.¹

1 https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2017/7/18

This was not a great year for exploration. I spent a total of less than two weeks in the field. The only trip I took to a new area was a disappointment. Even though we had better than normal precipitation, the mountains were still dry after the previous three years of drought.

13-14 June My first trip was a bust because the first night out, I realized that our wedding anniversary was two days away. I failed to see any Lewisia leeana on the trip.

See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2016/6/13

12-15 July The second trip in mid-July to Woodchuck Lake was productive. I went down the creek toward Upper Box, climbed the hill north of the lake and explored the ridge east of it. I made 49 observations of L. leeana. See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2016/7/12

27-28 July The third trip in late July was to an area I had never visited. I originally planned to hike to Bear Mountain. After crossing from Nelson Lakes to Chinquapin Lakes I changed my mind. It was so dry, barely anything was still in bloom. I saw no L. leeana at the higher elevations which was very discouraging. I turned around after one night and went home. See:https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2016/7/27

24-27 August My last trip was a return to Spanish Mountain. I explored the area surrounding Upper Geraldine Lake. L. leeana was not in bloom and the plants were very dry. A highlight of the trip was a climb up Spanish Mountain where I saw one of the densest stands of L. leeana I have ever seen. Unfortunately, they were not blooming. I made 36 observations of L. leeana. Not a single plant was blooming.
See: https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2016/8/24

At Dinkey Creek, I turned east toward Courtright Reservoir where I was to start a four day trip to Bench Valley. Smoke began to fill the air and I wondered if I would be able to hike. It dissipated as I approached the turnoff to Courtright and hope returned. I left the Maxson Trailhead and my nose started running and my eyes burned. By the time I reached the head of Long Meadow, I had decided to turn around. In 60 years of hiking, it is the first time I have ever quit a hike. In addition to the thick smoke, three years of drought had left the country dry and unattractive.

On the return from Long Meadow, I managed to make five observations, despite my dismal mood.

Storms brought in by Tropical Storm Dolores soaked the mountains in mid July. I hit the trail just as the storms were dissipating. Lighting is often beautiful when clouds are overhead, but lighting for photos of flowers can be a problem. Plants needed the drenching during this third year of drought. For some of them it was too late. Lupines never really had much of a chance unless they were close to the ground. Brewer's red heather and Labrador tea bloomed well in only a few places. Mountain pride lived up to its name and didn't seem to mind that it has been dry this summer. The plant I have been following, Lewisia leeana, bloomed in June but only a few flowers remained past mid-July. The high point of this trip was to be a visit of the highest elevation observation of L. leeana in eastern Fresno County, in the Blackcap Basin.

It wasn't raining but the sky was filling with clouds when I left Rancheria Trailhead at about 8:30. I got to the wilderness boundary and saw the first of many fields of corn lily in bloom. I have never seen so many, quite a few topping straggly and sickly looking stalks. Have I never been out when they are in bloom, or is this an exceptional year? Were all these blossoms the result of the nice rain we had in June? I have no idea, but I saw exceptional blooms through out the trip.

A little after noon, I reached the Woodchuck/Little Rancheria Divide and began traveling cross country toward Indian Springs. I stayed high and saw lots of Lewisia leeana, as much as I've ever seen anywhere. I had to work to avoid stepping on them. I passed by a hidden and seldom visited pond south of Indian Springs and its outlet stream was still running despite the drought. As I crossed granite slabs, Lewisia leeana disappeared and then I entered dense undergrowth dominated by Brewer's red heather and Labrador tea without a trace of L. leeana. Thunder started to pick up but rain hadn't fallen yet. Finally, the rain began around 1:30 and it rained off and on for the rest of the day's hike.

As the steep trail began to level out with the approach to Chuck Pass, Lewisia leeana reappeared. I had planned to stay high and travel cross country to Crown Lake, but with the dark, rainy skies, I changed my plans. My search for L. leeana on the east flank of the ridge would have to wait. It irritated me that the trail dropped to the southeast moving me away from my goal of Crown Lake, but I knew it would be the safest and quickest way there. After passing through Large Meadow I hiked passed a familiar ridge of volcanics and up through swamps on Scepter Creek. A little past 5:30, I found L. leeana again but didn't see it for long because the trail took me into the dominion of Scepter Creek. Soon I climbed into the flat country that surrounds Crown Lake. I spent way more time than necessary looking for a decent campsite near the lake but finally settled on a spot with partial protection under the trees. Day one observations: http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/7/21

Rain continued through the night so I wiped the tent dry inside and out as best I could before putting it away. I hoped to be in the Blackcap Basin at the end of this my second day. I made it up and out of the Crown Lake basin and an hour or so later I was up on Crown Pass and looking forward to the descent to Half Moon Lake. I made several observations of L. leeana and other flowering plants on the way to the lake. A little after 10, I crossed the Half Moon Lake outlet stream and headed around the ridge toward the North Fork Kings River. To my delight, I encountered many L. leeana plants on the way there. It found it hard to believe that L. leeana has never been reported in this area considering how much of it there is along the trail.

By one o'clock I began the ascent up Kings River canyon . I would see no more L. leeana until I reached Portal Lake. The area next to the river is much too wet to support L. leeana, the cliffs above much too steep. The trail was sloppy in places, but that is not unusual. I arrived at Portal Lake before five. A strong wind whipped over the lake and dried up my soggy tent in a hurry. I managed to cook dinner through the windstorm and there was enough light left to do a little exploring. I focused on the area between Portal Lake and the little unnamed lake to the north. Imagine my delight when I found several Lewisia leeana plants as well as Shasta knotweed and dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush. Day 2 observations: http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/7/22

I was excited to be on my way the next morning. I was looking forward to visiting the only reported locality for L. leeana in the Blackcap Basin somewhere between Pearl and Division Lakes. Between Portal and Pearl Lakes, I saw several more L. leeana plants. The ascent to Pearl involves finding a way up a steep wall and I found a way that didn't involve trail until the last 100 feet or so. Even though I have been to Pearl Lake a couple of times before, it looked very different from what I remembered. The dry, gravelly area sloping east toward the lake was sparsely covered with flowers. One of them, granite mousetail, Ivesia muirii, was new to me. In addition there was abundant dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush and eriogonum. I crossed the outlet stream where I found some nice little elephant head, Pedicularis attollens, and continued to the north end of the large lake. It didn't take long to ascend to Division Lake but Lewisia leeana was nowhere to be found. I climbed all the way up to Regiment Lake. I returned to Pearl Lake, disappointed that I hadn't spotted any L. leeana. It was only later in the afternoon, long after I had left the Blackcap Basin, that I realized that I should have checked an area west of the small pond between Pearl and Division Lakes. I guess I'll have to visit again next year.

On my way out of Blackcap Basin, I spotted just one more L. leeana plant. Next up was Crown Basin. The trail to the basin was hard to follow, but I managed to get to a viewpoint where I could get a feel for the area. Getting into the basin would have involved significant elevation loss and of course gain to get back out. I decided to put off exploration of Crown Basin to a later date. I returned to the Blackcap Basin trail and dropped down canyon to the trail junction with the Half Moon Lake trail. The map shows two streams descending from the south, one from Maxson Basin and the other from Maxson Lake. The stream I chose to ascend curved westward and I soon knew I was not going to make it to Maxson Lake that evening. I returned to forest south of the Half Moon Lake trail and set up camp next to what I figured was the outlet stream from Maxson Basin. Day three observations: http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/7/23

The next morning, I hiked a short distance through forest until a steep, rocky section came into view. It became obvious that there were many more than two streams flowing from the south. By the time I figured that out, it became way more important to just find some kind of way up the steep section, not necessarily up just one of the two outlet streams. I didn't know it at the time, but I chose a drainage that was parallel and a little east of the outlet stream from Maxson Lake. A little after 8 o'clock, I spotted my first L. leeana and I saw many more all the way to the top. I wasn't sure exactly where my path would lead, but to my surprise I rounded a corner and there was lovely Maxson Lake. Even though I was unsure about descending next to the Maxson Lake outlet stream, I decided to risk it. It was probably a little more technically difficult than the ascent route, but I managed it, full pack and all. I was back at the Half Moon Lake trail by 11:30 and began my return on familiar ground.

I made just a few observations on the return to Crown Pass. My goal was to move cross country from Crown Pass toward Woodchuck Lake and maybe camp at one of the little ponds along the way. Instead, I made it all the way to a campsite at the south end of Woodchuck Lake. I saw lots of L. leeana along with the usual eriogonum, mountain pride, and the occasional lupine field. Day 4 observations: http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/7/24

Day five dawned with clear skies and I was eager to get home. I hiked cross country on a ridge west of the trail. Before long I was making my way toward Chimney Lake but before getting to the junction, I dropped down cross country to the south fork of Woodchuck Creek. As soon as I crossed the creek, I was back in Lewisia leeana country. I took a more westerly track than usual and soon ran out of L. leeana. By 9:30, I was on the Woodchuck/Little Rancheria divide and heading down toward the trailhead. I made a few more observations before reaching the Rancheria Trailhead at 1:15. Day 5 observations: http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/7/25

Overall, I was happy with the trip. The disappointment of not finding L. leeana between Pearl and Division Lakes was offset by all the observations north of Portal Lake. The abundance of L. leeana between Half Moon Lake and the North Fork Kings River was a pleasant surprise. The trip to Maxson Lake turned out to be fun and worthwhile. The cross country walk from Crown Pass to Woodchuck Lake was rewarding. Although is was wet the first couple of days, my equipment performed well and made the trip as pleasant as could be expected.

June is a busy month with an anniversary, a birthday, father's day, a long planned visit with friends and hopefully, some time enjoying the mountains and studying flowers. Somehow, I managed to squeeze in three trips, all out of the Rancheria Trailhead east of Wishon Reservoir. All of the trips were designed to hunt areas where Lewisia leeana might be present. It's disjunct population in Fresno County has become my study subject for the past couple of years.

On this three day trip, I returned to Crown Ridge above Chain Lakes. On my first trip of the year, I had been rained off the ridge. Day one took me to upper Chain Lake. On the way, I made several observations of L. leeana, starting on the moraine that dams middle Chain Lake to its west and including an observation within the blocky morainal debris that dams upper Chain Lake on its west. After a pleasant night's rest, I returned to where I had left off during my first trip. L. leeana was in full bloom and very abundant in granitic areas on the north slopes of high point 9900+ which is capped by volcanics. As I headed down the south facing slope, I searched in vain for L. leeana. I moved across a ridge to the east and still had no luck. The view to the south was not promising. Below was a prominence, 9774T, which looked to be entirely volcanic and almost entirely barren of understory. The ridge including point 9477T looked volcanic as well. I decided to descend the canyon north of this ridge instead of going to Crown Rock. There were plenty of flowers to be seen on the way down to the almost abandoned Chain Lakes Trail below. Lower parts of the canyon had excellent grazing so I saw lots of cattle. I picked my way south on faint trail littered with large deadfalls and reached the Crown Valley Trail a little before noon.

The second half of day two proved to be just as interesting as the first. The trail to Crown Valley is heavily used and easy to follow. The country it passes through is generally dry and even dryer during this drought year. Variety improved near the meadows and streams I passed, but I wasn't tempted to explore much. I kept my eye open for L. leeana, but didn't really expect to see any because of the low elevation. Finally, I reached the turnoff to Spanish Mountain at about 12:45. The trail looked seldom used but there was one set of horse tracks that helped me to locate it. Deadfalls were a real problem, sometimes involving many trees. I lost track of the horse prints more than once, only to find them on the other side of the downed trees. I became jealous. It appeared that the horse had levitated over them. The trail passed near or through several meadows where it disappeared and was difficult to find on the other side.

A little before 2:30, I arrived at a shallow, grass fringed lake and found a trail sign at its south end. The sign didn't mention it, but Spanish Lake was only a half mile to the west. It pointed the way to Geraldine Lakes where I wanted to spend the night. I turned east, spending much of the time going cross country but, now and then, encountering a blaze, a duck, or worn ground. Finally, the path turned more southerly and I ascended an unnamed drainage toward Geraldine Lakes. A little before four, I encountered my first L. leeana in the area, a large plant in full bloom. I continued up a broad granitic ramp to an overlook of lower Geraldine Lake, encountering many more L. leeana and other flowers on the way. The route down to the lake looked steep but possible, but I decided I wanted to stay at upper Geraldine Lake. I turned west and tried to find the trail to upper Geraldine Lake. I guessed the wrong direction and flailed around through forest, then swamp until I finally found what looked like the trail.

The ascent to upper Geraldine Lake seemed endless, but I encountered L. leeana again and again on the way up, including a first, one growing in dark metamorphics. Finally, at six o'clock on the dot, I arrived at upper Geraldine Lake. I decided the trip had been worthwhile, considering how many L. leeana I had seen on the way up. Not only that, but it was a pretty little lake where after a few minutes I found a pretty good campsite.

The next morning, I followed the trail which eventually led to lower Geraldine Lake where I found a huge campsite. I guess that's where most people stay when they come to this area. Faint trail led back up to where I had missed the turnoff the day before. I headed west, looking for more L. leeana and was not disappointed. I was not surprised that I found none on south-facing slopes. I didn't make it to the location reported by York and Shevock in 1995(JEPS96202). I figured I'd seen enough L. leeana in the area and I didn't doubt that there would be a lot more plants in the direction of their location.

I headed back to the trailhead. Staying high in an attempt to skirt deadfalls, I overshot the trail, the first of many missteps on the way back to the Crown Valley Trail. It was more difficult than the trip in. I got lost several times, especially in meadows and in areas with dense deadfalls. For a while, I was on a trail that connects the Spanish Lake trail with the Geraldine Lakes trail, that one that starts near the old ranger station. Finally, I made it to the Crown Lakes Trail and it was almost three o'clock. Well, at least I knew I wouldn't have a hard time finding my way back to the trailhead. On my way back, I ran into a couple of fishermen that had spent time fly fishing Crown Creek and we talked for 20 minutes or so. They said the trail deteriorated beyond Crown Valley and had lots of deadfalls across it. A few minutes later, on the banks of Cabin Creek, I made my fourth observation of this trip (third of the day) of mitrewort, this time a new species to me, alpine mitrewort or Pectiantia pentandra. Even though the flowers are almost impossible to see unless you look closely, the leaves call attention to the plant.

I arrived at the junction with the cutoff heading to Rancheria Trailhead and saw the sign I had missed on my first trip of the season. It was new and fresh and located in a place that is easily missed if headed toward Crown Valley. The trail to the Crown Valley Trailhead looked unused. I wonder how long the Crown Valley trailhead will be used to get to Crown Valley? I guess it's still used to get to Statham Meadow.

I descended down to Little Rancheria where I took a break at about six o'clock before finishing the day at the trailhead at about 7:30. It had been a big day and I saw a lot. My first impression of the Spanish Mountain area, a bad one, had been clouded by the difficult trip in from the Crown Valley trail and the hard climb to upper Geraldine Lake. My impression of the area started to change during the final day and by the time I started looking at the photos of the trip, I realized the area was worthy of many return trips (especially if I can find a better trail to Geraldine Lakes).

My plans for this trip were far too ambitious. I planned to take a cross country route on day one but stayed on trail instead. I wanted to visit Upper Box and Lower Box in the Upper and Lower Box Watershed then go cross country to Old Pipe Lake. I made it to Old Pipe Lake all right, but didn't even make it to either box canyon. The country looked too rough, so on day two after descending toward Upper Box, I returned to Woodchuck Lake and took trail to Crown Pass. There I descended Nichols Canyon via abandoned trail and reached Old Pipe Lake. I expected my last day to be a simple trip home but saw much more than I expected. This was a trip of surprises and I really can't complain.

This summer, I'm trying to figure out how extensively Lewisia leeana grows in eastern Fresno County. Calflora, the comprehensive database for California flora, indicates it can be found in three isolated areas; in the Dinkey Lakes area, near Crown Pass, and on the flanks of Spanish Mountain. Two other observations can be found in CalPhotos, one on Eagle Peak near Dinkey Lakes and the other far to the east in the Blackcap Basin. My observations in the Woodchuck and Little Rancheria Creek watersheds are not yet in any database.

On the first day of the trip, I observed L. leeana south of the Woodchuck/Little Rancheria Creek divide. I took it as a good omen until I descended the trail toward Lacy Camp and didn't see any more. By the time I got to Lacy Camp, I figured I would probably make better time on trail than trying a cross country route. I managed to see a number of familiar plants and couple of new ones on my way to Woodchuck Lake. [http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/6/16]

The next morning, I slept in and didn't leave Woodchuck Lake until 10am. I headed north cross country and into the Upper and Lower Box Watershed. An hour later, I found L. leeana, the first time it's been observed in this watershed. I walked out on a point, looked down at Upper Box, looked over to the ridge separating it from Old Pipe Lake and had an immediate change in plans. The descent to Upper Box looked difficult and I figured it would be a very long day to go around the ridge to the lake, much less to hike over to Lower Box and back before that. I left the trip to Lower Box for another day and decided to head cross country east of Woodchuck Lake where I would hopefully find more L. leeana. I wasn't disappointed. I found plenty of L. leeana on my way to the trail and more on my way to Crown Pass. Finding the trail down Nichols Canyon to Old Pipe Lake was a different matter. I would guess it has been many years, probably over a decade, since the trail has been maintained and it showed few signs of use. Most blazes on trees had grown shut. A duck here and there showed where someone thought the trail might be. It was basically cross country down a steep canyon toward Old Pipe Lake. I found plenty of L. leeana, first observations in the Meadow Brook Watershed. Old Pipe Lake looked seldom visited and considering lack of trail, that is completely understandable, but it was not a disappointing day. [http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/6/17]

On day three, I was hopeful I might find some L. leeana north of Old Pipe Lake, but the area was dominated by pinemat manzanita and I couldn't find any. I headed up Nichols Canyon and parts of the old trail seemed a little easier to find than the day before. At Crown Pass, I decided to climb over the ridge instead of taking the trail I had used the day before. It turned out I followed trail anyway. The old, somewhat abandoned, but well ducked trail joins the new trail not too far from a small pond south of the main trail, and there I enjoyed lunch. After lunch I headed down one of the ridges that separates Woodchuck Lake from Marsh and Chimney Lakes. I saw plenty of L. leeana on the ridge and a number of other sightings, including a beautiful and unusual white Sierra shooting star, before making camp at Chimney Lake. [http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/6/18]

I convinced myself that final days are useful for returning to the trailhead and not meant for lots of observations. On day four, I was surprised at how much I found on the way back. I discoverd a new locality for pine fritillary south of the location where I made observations in 2012 and 2013 and I saw a few species new to me, also. [http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2015/6/19]

In all, it was a great trip with 141 observations, a couple of new watersheds visited, and a few more cross country transects completed.

The first trip of the year was preceded by the usual anxiety, especially since I knew I would be traveling in an area with dicey trails. It was anything but typical and became interesting early on. I was so concerned about travel in this mostly forested area that I decided to check out the trail connecting the Little Rancheria trail and the Crown Valley trail. I turned south and took a break at the Little Rancheria Creek crossing. At around 11 that morning, I hiked south in order to locate the junction with the Crown Valley trail. Long past the time I expected to reach it, I realized that I was ON the Crown Valley trail and that I had missed the junction, or perhaps the old trail to the Crown Valley Trailhead no longer exists. Not wanting to back track, I decided to continue on the trail and do the trip in reverse. At 11:25, I met a beautiful bear on the trail and got a pretty good photo. By 11:50, I had reached the John Muir Wilderness boundary and became certain of my location. I crossed Cabin Creek and its east tributary and reached the trail to Chain Lakes at 1:05. There was no trail sign but the GPS showed that this was the turnoff. I headed north on the seldom used trail until losing it in a meadow. I wandered cross county for about a mile before finding the trail again. At 3:20, I reached the Chain Lakes turnoff and headed east through familiar territory. The trip to lower Chain Lake was pretty easy except for an area of thick deadfall just west of it. The ascent to middle Chain Lake was difficult though large granite boulders that dam middle Chain Lake to the east. The trail to upper Chain Lake eluded me but I managed to find my way there with the help of the GPS. I stayed at a nice campsite at the north end of the lake. It rained much of the night.

I wish I could say the air was clear the next morning, but low clouds blocked a view of the sky most of the day. It made navigating on Crown Ridge difficult if not dangerous. Without visible landmarks, I had to rely on GPS to find my way around. Finally, at 10:25 I turned around and headed back to the lake, worried about the storm and about getting lost in the clouds. It rained or hailed most of the way back to the trailhead but my trusty umbrella kept me dry most of the way. I did manage to post quite a few observations on iNaturalist; 27 for June 9 and 26 for June 10 including a new species for me, California valerian (Valeriana californica).

Sierra Foothill Conservancy is sponsoring a California Naturalist class this Spring. I'm one of the lucky participants in this six week course. So far we have had four two hour classes and four field trips. I'm really enjoying the company of fellow naturalists and our instructors have been top notch. For my capstone project, I plan on continuing my survey of plants, animals, fungi, and geology of the foothills and mountains of the Sierra. I will be focusing on the area west of the LeConte/White Divide and east of Courtright and Wishon Reservoirs in the Sierra National Forest, an area ripe for exploration. For an idea of what I have done so far, see previous iNat journal entries. It amazes me that I am responsible for one third (82 of 252) of iNat first observations in Sierra National Forest. I couldn't have done it without help from fellow iNat members. (http://www.inaturalist.org/places/sierra-national-forest)

I hiked to the summit of Bald Mountain east of Shaver Lake and west of Dinkey Creek, Fresno County, CA. Hall and Chandler observed Lewisia leeana in 1900 in "region of Dinkey Creek (Bald Mt.); Sierra Nevada Mountains, Bald Mt."¹ It appears that it wasn't this Bald Mountain. I carefully observed the summit area and flanks of Bald Mountain where L. leeana would likely be found and saw none. The summit of Bald Mountain (7,826) is almost 1,000 feet lower than than the lowest known elevation for L. leeana anywhere else in Fresno County (8,713'GPS, 8,720'map)². I did see a few other plants during the trip as well as quite a few jeeps and ATVs. For a list of the plants seen on the trip go to http://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/sekihiker/2014/8/9.

1 http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_consort.pl?taxon_name=Lewisia+leeana&county=06019
2 http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/819752