My First Summer in the Sierra

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)