I was lucky and found this trip with the Bristlecone Chapter of the CNPS as I was nosing around the internet last spring. I signed up, and drove up to the Eastern Sierra Mountains, and pitched my tent on the grounds of The Sierra Adventure Center at Bernasconi Ranch. This location, just outside of Big Pine, CA served as our base of operations for three days of field trips to look at California native plants. Even though it was a drought year there turned out to be plenty to see! Thank you to all the people in the Bristlecone Chapter who put this on every three years. A few people I remember are: Edie Trimmer, Steve Matson, Sue Weis, and Jerry Zatorski. The first night we botanized around Bernasconi Ranch outside of Big Pine, followed by a super powerpoint show by Steve Matson. (THE Steve Matson who has many photos on Calflora.) The second day I went with Jerry Zatorski's group down to Owens Valley and river flood plain habitat. It was great to have birders in the group and some of the highlights were: LeConte's Thrasher, Sage Sparrow, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Along the eastern side of the valley we found beautiful Stanleya pinnata, Allenrolfea occidentalis, and Psorothamnus polydenius.
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The next day we went up to a completely different habitat in beautiful site along McGee Creek at around 7,800 feet in elevation. Sue Weis showed us many botanical wonders in this part of Inyo National Park. It was thrilling to see large stands of mule ears (Wyethia mollis) in a breathtaking setting of majestic snow-capped peaks and slopes of sagebrush scrub along riparian habitat and aspen trees. We didn't get much hiking in because there was so much to see--even in a drought year!
Some of the special plant species we saw were: Astragalus whitneyi var. whitneyi, Astragalus purshii, Balsamorhiza sagittata, Castilleja chromosa, Chaenactus douglasii, Crepsis intermedia, Dieteria canescens, Eriogonum umbellatum, Ipomopsis aggregata, Linanthus nuttallii, Lupinus argenteus, Mentzelia albicaulis, Phacelia humilis, Phacelia hastata, Phlox stansburyi, Prunus andersonii and Wyethia mollis. I also say several butterfly species nectaring on wildflowers: Variable Checkerspot, Henne's Variable Checkerspot, and Milbert's Tortoiseshell. Please enjoy!
