Sonora Pass Carcamp Trip Report (Aug 1-3, 2008)
by Carolyn Dorsch
Eighteen people, including trip leaders Stella Yang and Carolyn Dorsch headed up to the Sierras the first weekend of August. We camped off of Hwy 120, at 6,200 feet, near the Clark Fork of the Stanislaus River. The first day we stayed in the “lowlands,” and explored along the Clark Fork meadow and the Column of the Giants.
Day Two found us up near the top of Hwy 120, just a little west of Sonora Pass. We spent the day hiking up to St. Mary’s Pass (10,100 feet). The walk was steadily uphill, but with wildflowers all along the way, low 70s temperature, and nice breezes, the 1,200 foot climb from the trailhead was quite manageable. Along the way, and at the top of the pass we found many high-elevation flora blooming, including the following: Pursh’s wooly-pod (Astragalus purshii), Buckwheat (Eriogonum ovalifolium), Sierra Claytonia (Claytonia nevadensis), and Arctic Willow (Salix arctica). In fruit were two anemones: A. occidentalis and A. drummondii. All together, it was about a three-mile round trip. A couple people took the challenge offered by the mountains, and continued their hike up to Stanislaus Peak (11,233 feet) before rejoining the group back at the trailhead in the late afternoon.
Day Three, as a final stop before heading home, we drove down Herring Creek Road. While it can be stunning in June (elevation around 7,000 feet), we had to work harder to find the flowers. Following the water, we came across beautiful colonies of Alpine Lily (Lilium parvum) near Herring Creek. The trip was capped off with a short visit along the Trail of the Gargoyles, where we could admire the amazing geologic formations. Plans are already in motion for another trip up to the Sonora Pass area.
Late June/early July is the best time to see the flowers at the 6-7,000 feet elevation, but there is plenty to see in early August, so long as you go to the higher elevations. Look for this trip’s highlights at a Member’s Night meeting later in the year!
Co-leaders Patricia Evans and Joe Cernac took 17 hearty souls (including CNPS fellow Sally Casey, age 94) on a trip to the desert, despite forecasts of rain. After arriving in Anza Borrego on Sunday March 6, the trip started in the rain Monday with a stop at the visitor center. Two days of sunny hiking followed in Palm Canyon and Culp Valley. Many of the highlights were seeing the desert peach, desert apricot, and desert almond all on the same day. We also saw five bighorn sheep which the state park is partially named after, Borrego, and hundreds if not thousands of sphinx moth caterpillars of various instars (molting phases) devouring the brown-eyed primrose and sand verbenas. Dee Wong even saw one that was digging a hole in preparation for pupating.
The intention of having a three-part series of hikes to the same location over the course of the year was to see the changes of diversity of one particular area.
Hike #2 was to see the progression of drought effecting Stile Ranch. There were 11 attendees including the co-leaders Stella Yang and Dee Wong, and Ken Himes as sweep. As the weather heated up without much winter rains, the grasslands along the trail had already started drying out and turning gold and silvery in color. The native grasses such as Elymus glauca, Melica californica and Melica torreyana had begun to set seeds. With most spring wildflowers finished flowering, the summer flowering plants that were in bud (during hike #1) were now flowering, such as the Monardella douglasii, Streptanthus glandulosus var. glandulosus.
Dee Wong, Ken Himes, and with the help of Paul Heiple and his wife, Linda (who helped shepard the group to be keep the pace going) successfully co-led the Santa Clara Valley Chapter field trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park from Monday, July 14 through Thursday, July 17. We camped at Summit Lake South and Warner Valley to see geological and botanical wonders that are unique to this area. Including the co-leaders, there were 19 participating CNPS members mostly from our Chapter, along with Deanna Giuliano, president of the Santa Cruz Chapter who was also there, and made it all so fun.
