2013 - 2014: What a Day - Fire Lookouts & Wild Flowers Galore

Hiking is not always just fun and frolic-sometimes we have to use our brains. The hike of the week, although only 5 miles long, after a 65 mile windy mountain road drive, was extremely educational. Not only did we see a myriad of stunning wildflowers that covered large areas, (when we normally see only a few of many of these varieties in small groups), we learned about the Osborne Fire Finder while visiting Duncan Peak Lookout http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_Fire_Finder This impressive device is used by fire lookout personnel to identify the exact location of distant plumes of smoke so spotter planes can observe the situation and call in the required fire fighters.

As you may know, with the past four year drought and minimal snow fall this past winter, we in CA are very concerned about the forecast for the worst forest fire season ever in our state!!

On a happier note, we spotted some tiny new flowers we had never seen before, and upon returning home, Marilyn and I did some research and found that Kellogg’s Lewisia is known from just one occurrence in the southern Sierra Nevada Range. It is very rare and has an extremely short blooming period, sometimes just days. Weren’t we lucky to see these stunning tiny flowers, blooming in profusion along the decomposed granite volcanic gravel trail for more than a mile as we hiked along the 7000’ high ridge that is part of the Robinson Flat/Bald Mt Loop Trail. This flower resembles Bitteroot, Lewisia redivia, which is more common!!! Yes, it was our lucky day.

Upon arriving home, I found a deer lying down resting near Rider’s old dog house, and I thought for sure he was there to eat my wild Tiger Lilies (which they love and devour a day or two after they bloom). He wasn’t even startled when I drove up…, lazily getting up, she scratched and stretched prior to wandering away from my wire encircled Tiger Lilies!!! Incidentally, I dug these up from the forest and transplanted them as babies near the house so I could guard them from the deer. A very tiny plant has a long tap root so they are hard to transplant, without killing them - I did this about 18 years ago and it takes them about 7 years to grow large enough to bloom - if the deer don't eat them...