Once again, John Muir had said it best and I must give credit where credit is due (the title is part of a John Muir quote).

Week 7 of my 26 stint on the West coast has ended, and since my last post I now feel like a seasoned Californian. Aside from work related endeavors which I will get to momentarily, I have done some exploring in and outside of the Sierra’s. Camping in the high desert of the Eastern Sierra’s, evening hot spring dips near Mammoth Lakes, traversing through an abandoned boom town, roaming the Serengeti-like landscape of Bidwell Park, touring the brisk and diverse megalopolis of San Francisco, and much more. I have now realized in order to get a full grasp of California, 6 months time is not nearly enough.

Now to the good stuff, WORK! Being surrounded by the forest, plants and trees while in the field has not only left my body and soul feeling at its peak but allowed me to immerse myself in my studies.  Grad school will be a walk in the park compared to some of the hikes my partner and I have had to do to reach a known occurrence of a fire sensitive plant species. For the past month we’ve really focused on two main species (due to their phenologies): Mimulus filicaulis and pulchellus (Hetch Hetchy monkeyflower and Pansy monkeyflower) and Cypripedium montanum (Mountain Lady’s slipper). Though both the Mimulus populations seem to be rebounding well, it is another story with the Cypripedium. More often then not the occurrences which we are visiting have one individual or no individuals present, it’s quite the somber scene. Be that as it may, my colleague and I stumbled onto a population of more than 200 C. momtanum‘s in a 20×20 foot plot! Needless to say we were very excited. As a side note when I told that story to my roommates later that day (who are archaeologists), they found it entertaining how a person could get so excited over a plant.

Never forget how fortunate we are and, may fortune and knowledge smile upon you all,

Mi-Wuk Ranger Station

Forest Service

Jake

  Eastern side of the Sierra’s Abandoned boom town of Bodie, CA Golden Gate Bridge  80” DBH Douglas Fir

Taking lunch by the South Branch of the Tuolumne River

Massive stump hole

Cypripedium montanum

Walking in to the quarters I will be living in for the next 6 months hangs a John Muir quote which states “Going to the mountains is going home.” For a weary traveler 2,827 miles from what has been “home” for a better part of my life (unfortunately), I couldn’t ask for a more appropriate welcome. Though I am no where close to the man John Muir was (and still is in many ways), the title to this blog seems more than fitting.

California living, where do I even begin? Week 3 of my 26 week stint on the west coast has just ended, and each day that passes I seem to fall in love with this place even more! Having traveled here from northeast New Jersey, the arm pit of the United States, (I apologize to whom ever might get offended by this, but it’s kind of true), life and work has never been better. I’m located in the little community of Mi-Wuk Village at around 4,200′ elevation. The nearest “town” is about 10 miles away, and in between that is forest for as far as the eye can see. No light pollution, airplanes flying over, and barely any car/truck/motorcycle noise (aside for a distant logging truck roar); is this paradise?

Now those of you who have ever been on the east coast will understand this, but the trees here are enormous! Ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa) and Sugar (Pinus lambertiana) pines, along with Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) appear to be scratching the underside of clouds. The diameter of these trees is immense as well and though they are no Sequoia sempervirens or Sequoiadendron giganteum; to someone who has never seen these arboreal sentinels before and is used to the flora of the northeast, I tend to be left in awe and speechless at every corner. I am truly thankful for this experience.

Having graduated from college with a forest biology and ecological forest management degree my “job/position” here is a little out of my element but I am a human being, I ADAPT to my surroundings as well as any flora or fauna. Everyday (aside for the office days) I journey with my crew leader, Pat, into the California wilderness to monitor for fire sensitive plant species within the Rim Fire boundary. For those who might not know what fire sensitive species is, it is a species with a “relatively high” probability of being injured or killed by fire (McPherson and others 1990) as defined by the U.S Forest Service.

In my three weeks here not only have I learned of new species rare and native to California such as: Allium tribracteatum (Three-bracted onion), Balsamorhiza macrolepis (Big-scale balsamroot), Erythronium tuolumnense (Tuolumne fawnlily), Mimulus filicaulis and pulchellus (Hetch Hetchy monkeyflower and Pansy monkeyflower) and many more but I now realize I have taken “fire” for granted. Not until you walk through “a forest necropolis”, gazing upon the shell of what used to be a living and breathing ecosystem, thriving and teaming with life will one comprehend the power of fire.

If one was to tell me that I was to be paid for hiking the California countryside while learning about native flora and fire ecology, I would never believe them. We botanists, naturalists, ecologists, foresters, etc. are truly blessed.  If by some happenstance this internship was to end tomorrow I would walk away with years of experience/knowledge I would have never gained anywhere else. Never forget how fortunate we are.

Until our paths cross again, may fortune and knowledge smile upon you all,

Mi-Wuk Ranger Station

Forest Service

Jake

 California poppies (Eschscholzia californica)

Sonora Pass (~9,500′ elevation)

Effects of fire

Fallen over trees due to the fire

Fields of Lupin where a fire had gone through

Pansy Monkeyflower (Mimulus ppulchellus)

Effects of fire on a slope