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Michael Kauffmann
Exploring and understanding wilderness brings me extreme joy. This blog is intended foster a greater understanding and stewardship for the place that is the Earth. One means to that end is understanding the native biota that have always lived in the regions we choose to visit. Our visits should ultimately be about them -- the other biota -- not us.
Field Notes From Plant Explorations
Juniperus occidentalis of the Yolla Bolly Explored | Papers w/ Robert Adams
Late in the summer of 2009 I re-visited an isolated population of junipers in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness. The visit was inspired
by Robert Adams after he read a blog post of my first visit to
the trees. At the time, the population was believed to be Juniperus grandis based on habitat type and other morphological characteristics. After collecting the specimens and
sending them to Baylor ...
As viewed from the ridgeline west of Mount Linn looking northward the populations of western juniper generally grow just east of the ridgelines on sandy soil. Notice the image names the trees as Sierra juniper, which Dr. Adams proved to be wrong.
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As viewed from the ridgeline west of Mount Linn looking northward the populations of western juniper generally grow just east of the ridgelines on sandy soil. Notice the image names the trees as Sierra juniper, which Dr. Adams proved to be wrong.
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Cedar Grove Botanical Area | Aldrich Mountains, Oregon
Alaska yellow-cedar (Callitropsis
nootkatensis) is common tree of Alaska and British Columbia south to northern Oregon. The species is represented by a few, small, isolated groves at the southern extent of its range in
California—only in the Siskiyou Mountains. However, in the arid mountains of central Oregon, several hundred miles east of the crest of the Cascade range, a 26 acre population has persisted
since the Pleistocene ...
Just below Aldrich Mountain Lookout, in a wet north-facing canyon which drains to the John Day River, Alaska yellow-cedar have endured an arid climate since the end of the Pleistocene.
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Just below Aldrich Mountain Lookout, in a wet north-facing canyon which drains to the John Day River, Alaska yellow-cedar have endured an arid climate since the end of the Pleistocene.
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Subalpine Fir in the Red Buttes Wilderness
In 1969 Dale Thornburgh and John Sawyer discovered the first subalpine fir in California and also in the Klamath Mountains. This discovery was made in the vicinity of Russian Peak in what is now the Russian Wilderness. Since that time the species has been found in a total of eight locations in California's
Klamath Mountains and twice in Oregon's Klamath. One of those ...
Looking east from Bolan Peak into the Red Buttes Wilderness.
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Looking east from Bolan Peak into the Red Buttes Wilderness.
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Foxtail Pines Across The Klamath Mountains
The last week of July I was on a mission to see foxtail and whitebark pines from north to south across the Klamath Mountains. I was doing
this for two reasons. The first was because I love the high elevation habitat where these two species are found—because of above average snow levels this winter I had not accessed the high
country much yet this summer. The second reason was to observe if climate change was effecting ...
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Walking the Lost Highway | The Siskiyou Wilderness' GO Road
I did not embark on a typical backpacking trip in late June—but it wasn't a typical spring. Snow lingered in the high country and
the big miles and long trails I had come to expect in June did not present the opportunities I expected. The landscape was set short and deep for foot travel as snow pack nourished the aquifers
of the Klamath Mountains. I knew I needed to start my summer in the Siskiyous because—besides ...
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Kalmiopsis leachiana | survival in a land of extremes
With the end of the school year in site, my calcifuge tendencies
had me running to the hills. Ever since our winter trip to Hawaii I have been pondering the Ericaceae family,
gaining a new found love for this diverse group of plants.I also knew that they, like me, had a propensity to 'flee from chalk' so to speak. Ericaceous plants generally prefer,
...
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Conifers of the Klamath Mountains | revised and updated
I have revised and updated five of the conifer treatments on Conifer Country. All revisions include newly crafted range maps and some have videos and other images I have collected from across Northwest California.
- Brewer spruce | Picea breweriana
- whitebark pine | Pinus albicaulis
- foxtail pine | Pinus balfouriana
- Port Orford-cedar | Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
- Alaska yellow-cedar | Callitropsis nootkatensis
whitebark and foxtail pine decorate a south-facing serpentine mountaintop high in the Trinity Alps (11.30.2008)
Hell's Half Acre | South Fork Trinity River
Surely one of the most beautiful rivers in the state of California, this wild and untraveled stretch of the South Fork Trinity River is a special place to
visit. South Fork Road ends 11 miles from where it begins at the junction of the South Fork and Main Fork, and for over 10 miles, runs wild and free from human disturbance—upstream to the
isolated hamlet of Hyampom. The entire
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Myrtle Creek Botanical Area | Six Rivers National Forest
Situated on the border of two major rock types, Myrtle Creek Botanical Area is floristically challenging as well as aesthetically arousing due to this unique geological architecture. Along the western slopes of the Myrtle Creek drainage, the North Coast Range meets the Klamath Mountains against an ancient island-arc accretion known as the Josephine Ophiolite. Plant communities are often defined by rock type, and this juncture creates unique plant assemblages. It is ...
Rarities and Ramblings | Horse Mountain Botanical Area ~ Six Rivers National Forest
Venturing east on Highway 299 from Humboldt Bay, a stark transition—rarely noticed by travelers—occurs at Berry Summit (2900 ft). Leaving the Coast Range and
entering the Klamath Mountains the landscape becomes defined by varied, complex rock types. One of these unusual rock types is known as ultramafic rock or more commonly as Serpentine.
In North America, serpentine rock appears at the Earth's surface most frequently in northwest California. The Horse
Mountain ...
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