Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Jeffrey Pine & Mt Russell partner

I expect to be back in the area east of the crest and west of the Owens Valley around the 10th of August. I would like to do some car camping (hopefully free) in stands of Jeffrey Pine, and also just head out and explore some stands of Jeffrey Pine. I know it won't be like it is here near Flagstaff in the Ponderosa where I can literally walk out my door and start walking for about 200 miles and never leave the rolling ponderosa woodlands that cover the south end of the Colorado Plateau. Will I be able to find areas that have extensive stands of Jeffrey Pine, are reasonable accessible by a Honda Civic, and may offer some car camping (primitive and free preferred)? I hate to pay, and I never have a fire when camping alone. One thing I hate about fee and developed camping are all the campfires.

I plan to hit Agassiz off of Bishop Pass. I couldn't be sure, but elevations and the appearance of the satellite image suggested that there weren't all that many stands of Jeffrey in the area, or it wasn't continuous. The other areas I am set on are the Portal, the Meysan Lakes area, and possibly the White Mts, and I know what they offer.

I am open to traveling further north to find what I am looking for, out there, amongst those trees. I know its a weird fetish, but as former forester I like to explore the different forest types of the region and Jeffrey Pine is one that holds a special interest for me. Thanks for any info.

Also, to keep this in a climbing Mountaineering frame of mind, I am looking for a partner to do the East Ridge of Russell on or about 8-10-09. Its mostly social, but also for safety concerns.

Sorry to say, I think you are looking in the wrong area. While you will find Jeffrey's on the eastside, you will not find huge forests of them, as you will on the western slope of the Sierra.
You've probably seen this, but it contains a map of distribution of the Jeffrey:

http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/extension/JEFFPINE.HTM

you will see the dense forests on the western slopes. You usually don't see large stands over around 7k, and they are pretty much not found over 9k. You will do much better around Tahoe or Yosemite.

Don't know if that helps, but good luck. I love those "gentle jeffreys", myself.

At the higher elevations around Whitney it is foxtail pine and lodgepole pine. Around Agassiz, the foxtail pine is replaced by whitebark pine. I think there is some jeffrey pine at lower elevations around South Lake, and a few around Whitney Portal. You can drive right up to both of those locations. Jeffrey pine is usually found in the 6000-9000' range.

Jeffrey pine is also common on the western slopes of the sierras.

Are you looking for some with unusual smelling sap? I have found a whole range of jeffrey pine - some that smelled like lemon, some like pineapple, some like most other pines, and even a few that smelled like vanilla.

The other area which I believe is mostly Jeffrey Pine is the Kennedy meadows / blackrock / casa vieja meadows / monache meadows area. Car camping available (ie. fish creek) but not quite free. If you're willing to backpack into wilderness area, you'll be in very unpopulated area with lots of trees.

Good luck with the "free" camping. Everything I know of in the Sierra is improved "fee" camping, with campfire pits etc. California has a much higher population pressure than Arizona, and I am sure that plays a big part. I do believe there is some free space in BLM land around the Alabama Hills out of Lone Pine and places east of Hwy 395 up around Mammoth. But all of those places are more sage brushy and dry -- more hospitable maybe spring and fall.

Ah, Matt, good suggestion, although I'm not sure about the trees. However, free dispersed camping is definitely available up in this area in the forest, away from the developed camps. For example, just south of the Kennedy Meadows improved campground, there are a lot of free rustic individual campsites along the river.

edit: yes! extensive Jeffrey stands in the middle elevations of this area.

The forest service (Sequoia NF) campsite website says:
"In addition, almost all National Forest System land is available for you to choose your own camping spot."

This page lists trailhead with what I believe to be free campsites right there, free:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/recreation/forest_trails.html

Blackrock Mtn trailhead may be what you are looking for.

We've got the OG JPs you are looking for in Mono County: Owens River Headwaters area, Glass Mtns. Plenty of easy driving and free camping in the latter. If you need specific camping/walking advice, please send me a message which I can pass on to the Jeffrey Pine experts at Friends of the Inyo.

Thanks for the assistance everyone. If you ever want to know about the Mogollon Rim, you know who to ask.

I had looked at aerial/ satellite images of the road from the town of Bishop to the Pass and Mt Agassiz. The mountains come up very quickly to 10,000' and elevations below 8000' in most spots looked devoid of any forest cover, so I had written that off for Jeffrey.
I do like the foxtails, too, and I look forward to seeing those and the whitebark pines around Agassiz. I don't expect to have the time to get west of the crest into the forest cover on the west slopes. One thing I do want to point out is that th stands need not be old growth (but I do like it if they exhibit old growth dynamics) and the overall size of the area need not be very large. Even a few hundred acres of quality forest cover could fit the bill.

I had noticed that Mammoth Lakes seems to sit in a low area that appears to be next to Inyo NF land. I can't be 100% sure, but from the elevations my map gave me and the tree cover and road networking it appears that I might find some accessible Jeffrey around there. I think this is the Owens River headwater that was mentioned? If it is, I'll have to explore that area.

How far up into Mono do I have to go? It is not bad to explore further, and it might be worth an extra 200 miles. Then I suppose why not just head to the west?

Heading north on the 395 as far as Mono Lake is well worth the miles if you have never seen it.

...and that reminds me.... is the Whoa Nellie Deli open yet? Yum!

jhodlof:

Here is your answer:

These crags are located in a dense Jeffrey Pine Forest on the east side of U.S. 395 just north of Mammoth. The cliffs are eroded outcrops of welded volcanic tuff. This area receives a large amount of snowfall in winter, so climbing is often not possible until summer. The roads in this area, although graded, are narrow and roughly washboarded.

To get to the Big Springs area start at the junction of Hwy. 203 and Hwy. 395 and drive north on 395. About five miles is the Crestview rest area. Just past the bottom of the hill turn right (east) on the paved Owens River Road (2S07). Follow this road a few miles to a left turn at Big Springs campground 2S04). This road heads north past the campground turns to dirt and begins winding up a grade to the Indiana Summit Natural Area. The following descriptions all begin at this point -

from here:

http://www.mammothlakes.us/activities/big_springs.shtml

you can easily find a place to park and be among this gargantuan stand of Jeffreys just off 395. Tony

I see you are at the top of the last chute as you approach the summit. Everything got really wind scoured up there since the last storm on the 9th.

The forest need not be like that. Especially since you're looking at about half a million acres in the picture, and most of the stuff close to you is spruce-fir.

Hi jhod Like your sales pitch on hiking north out of town , now how about going east into the bring a tree and water country, Making another trip past your town on the 12/13 March and returning the 16/17 .


Arkansas State park did a film about the forest growth and over time how the shift was west and then would receed, but then again without that no rock trees, laying along I 40, Do you recall when the locals started moving the rocks along 40 that was at least 30 years ago and now they look like natural outcroppings.


I like the drive on 120 , go North from Bishop on 395 pass Mammoth and take the 120 East you will see a very large stand of Jeffrey touch the South shore of Mono Lake and out into the high plains and up into a stand of Black Pine and pass thru several Playas and pass a small climbing area local call Benton Crags , be at the base of the White Mountains and HWY 6 that takes you South to Bishop 35 miles or North into the wilds of Nevada very remote country and a glimpse why it is still not populated, this trip takes about 3 hours but a part of California not many see. Thanks Doug

jhodlof:

Are you doing a research project? I can point you to individual Jeffrey's at above-average elevations, though all on the west side of the Crest in Sequoia Kings Parks.

George

No research, just person curiosity. Thanks, though.