On Sunday I joined the California Native Plant Society along with the Botanist for the Sequoia National Forest and Wildlife Biologist for the Tule River & Hot Springs Ranger Districts for a hike up to Slate Mountain. There were 14 people who went on the hike and we met at Quaking Aspen Campground at noon. It was an amazingly beautiful day, there were big fluffy clouds in the sky and it was warm but there was a cool breeze a blowin.
Slate Mountain is a prominent landmark as viewed from Camp Nelson; I always thought it looked like it guarded over the community. The Summit Trail is an old one, before there were roads Forest Service rangers road over it by horseback to reach places like Quaking Aspen. Now it is a National Recreation Trail. It's not a heavily used trail, however, and in parts it looked like the bitter cherry and mountain whitethorn were going to take back the trail.
The thing that is most special about Slate Mountain is it is within the Slate Mountain Botanical Area. Most of the high Sierra is composed of granitic rock. Well, as you can guess, Slate Mountain is composed of slate and other metamorphic rock. Different rock and mineral types create different soil and thus growing on the slopes of Slate Mountain are three rare plants - Purple Mountain Parsley, Twisselman's Buckwheat, and Unexpected Larkspur. In fact, Twisselman's buckwheat only grows in two small populations, one on Slate Mountain and the other near the Needles.
The hike to the top of Slate Mountain is about 4 miles one way and you gain around 2,000 feet. The trailhead is near site 23 in Quaking Aspen Campground. After 1/4 mile you reach an old road and you must turn right on this road and walk about 300 yards and then you'll see the trail take off to the left again.
It is wonderful to watch the transformation in the forest as you hike from 7,000 to 9,000 feet. The trees and understory plants change. White fir gives way to red fir. Sugar pine gives way to western white pine. Where it is dry manzanita and kinnick kinnick are the main understory plants. Where it is moist pyrola and spotted coral root orchid grow.
After about mile 2 and a series of switchbacks you reach a small saddle and some nice big logs to sit on and take a break. The trail then contours up the south side of the ridge and soon becomes quite rocky. This is where all three of the rare plants that we were seeking grow. The parsley had already bloomed and fruited but we found its seed balls that kind of look like dandelion heads. The larkspur had faded but was still quite pretty. The buckwheat was in full bloom.
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