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Friday, 21 September 2007 |
East Side Nature Notes
By Michelle Pettit
 : Native Elk thistle (Cirsium scariosum) is found throughout the grasslands.PHOTOS COURTESY FRIENDS OF THE INYO
This summer I’ve spent a few weekends in Cottonwood Basin and, in contrast to the steeper, more dramatic Sierra landscape across the valley, I am enchanted by the gentle terrain, rocky outcroppings, open meadows and lush streams.
It’s the kind of place that lulls you into a sense of security and relaxation, egged on by the wind tickling through the aspens, the sound of the creek rushing over rocks and the grasses waving in the breeze.
Cotton candy clouds ease the sun’s glare for an early September outing, and friends and I start heading up a small pass toward Granite Meadow. Aspens bordering the meadow are just barely starting to change, and the meandering stream cuts a lazy path along the springy, grassy floor. Curves dominate the landscape here, not sharp edges. Even the quartz manzanite rocks take on soft, cartoon-like animal forms.
The terrain stays fairly open as we encounter the north fork of Cottonwood Creek and turn east to follow it downstream. There are lots of thorny rosebushes covered with red rose hips to remind us we are in a wet area—this is a trail for long pants. The rim of the Tres Plumas Flat is in the distance, and, nearer, thousands of chicken heads, a bulbous rock formation, freckle the rock. Endangered Paiute Cutthroat Trout effortlessly face upstream awaiting their next meal.
The trail leads us through a narrow section, and then again, turning south, we encounter another open meadow surrounded by lumpy rock outcroppings. Trees dot the perimeter: Pinyon Pine, Limber Pine, Bristlecone Pine and the grand Sierra Juniper. Rivaling Bristlecones in age, Sierra Junipers can be thousands of years old. Their thick reddish trunks are unmistakable on the rocky hills—majestic and timeless.
Soon we near our last landmark of the five-mile loop as we approach the site of McCloud Camp: three run-down, rough-hewn log buildings. They have a very abandoned look; mattresses are piled haphazardly in a corner and the makeshift table still features the odd kitchen remnant. The ranchers who tended cattle on this leased allotment in the basin used these cabins. I later learn that more than five years ago, the Forest Service halted the lease to allow the area to heal from impacts of cattle, and then put in hundreds of restoration hours to establish the trail and to repair stream bank erosion.
The Forest Service’s restoration efforts have transformed these remote high-elevation meadows and streams back to a magical, gentle place—a place where Goshawks nest, Moonwort grows and one goes to soothe the soul.
Join us on Sept. 29, National Public Lands Day, to take part in some restoration work of your own—visit the calendar section on www.friendsoftheinyo.org for a slate of options.
To get to Cottonwood Basin, take White Mountain Peak Road to Crooked Creek, and after 2.8 miles, take the left fork (signed) to a parking area. From there on, it's four-wheel drive only, but two-wheel drives can park and walk down the road about 1.5 miles to Cottonwood Creek. If you hurry you can make it in time for the aspens to turn.
East Side Nature Notes is a bi-monthly column surveying the natural happenings on our public lands written by the friends and staff of Friends of the Inyo. Friends of the Inyo is a local, membership-supported organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the Eastern Sierra’s wealth of public lands and wildlife. Learn more at www.friendsoftheinyo.org.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 28 September 2007 )
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