2016 Field Trips
April 15th 5:30 pm - Red Hill, Reno. A short mid- week trip to Red Hills to see early spring flowers on the slopes of altered andesite. Our Leaders for this trip will be Rose Strickland and Dennis Ghiglieri. The destination is on the west end of Dandini Road in north Reno directions are in the following link https://goo.gl/maps/veoyMSzMWx22 We will meet in the gravel parking lot just northeast of the roundabout. Contact rosenreno@sbcglobal.net (775) 329-6118 dnnevada@sbcglobal.net. Delayed due to muddy conditions.
April 16th 10:00 am Jacks Valley Wildlife Management Area, Carson City. Celebrate national Citizen Science day with the second annual Great Monkey Flower Hunt. It’s been a good year for monkey-flowers and they are already starting to bloom in late March. This year’s monkey-flower search will be at Jack’s Valley at 10 am in the area south of the elementary school. Park in the dirt lot on the west side of the Jack’s Valley Elementary School on Jack’s Valley Road (south end of Carson City). We will walk east and south from the parking area toward the city wells (large concrete boxes.)
April 23rd - Peavine Mountain, Reno. Trip to summit of Peavine Mountain to see Claytonia umbellatum. This tiny succulent grows in the sharp broken basalt scree veins near the summit blooming just as the snow leaves. Our leader for this trip will be John Weiser.
Those traveling from the Carson area should meet at the Save Mart at the corner of College and Carson Streets, in Carson City at 9:00 a.m. to carpool. Our final meeting place will be at the McDonalds Restaurant parking lot located at 120 Lemmon Drive in North Reno at 10:00 a.m. After meeting up, we will carpool to Peavine. The road to the summit is generally a good one and four-wheel drive vehicles should not be required. Contact johnpweiser@yahoo.com (775) 331-4485
April 24thth 10:00am – 6:00pm Idlewild Park, Reno. Earth Day If you would like to help out, please email Sarah Kulpa at vicepresident@nvnps.org.
April 30th-May 1st open
May 5th 5:30 pm - UNR, Reno. Pot Luck Picnic at Pollinator Garden, located north of the Max Fleischmann Agricultural Building on the UNR campus. Due to the forecast for bad weather and construction in the garden, we will be meeting in the usual classroom upstairs. Contact John Weiser johnpweiser@yahoo.com 775-331-4485 or Sarah Kulpa vicepresident@nvnps.org 775-861-6340.
May 5th - 7:00 pm - Moana Nursery, Reno. We have been invited to attend a presentation sponsored by the Orchid Society of Northern Nevada at Moana Nursery Landscape and Design Center located at 1100 W Moana Ln, Reno, NV (NW corner of parking lot). The talk will be an overview of orchid species native to the Sierra Nevada Range.
May 7th open
May 8th Mother’s Day
May 12th - 6:30 pm Wilbur D. May Museum, Reno, NV. Nevada Bugs and Butterflies and the UNR Museum of Natural History are sponsoring a talk entitled "Getting to Know the Bees in your Backyard" by Dr. Joseph Wilson. Dr. Wilson is an assistant professor of biology at Utah State University and author of the newly published (and beautiful) book The bees in your backyard: A guide to North America's bees. Copies of the book will be for sale and Dr. Wilson will be signing books following the talk. Located at the Wilbur D. May Museum which is inside Rancho San Rafael Park at 1596 North Sierra St., Reno. Please visit http://nevadabugs.org/ for more informaton.
May 22nd 10 am-3:00 pm - Sparks. Open house at the John Weiser’s dry land native garden. Located at 485 O’Brien Way, Sparks NV. Contact johnpweiser@yahoo.com (775) 331-4485
May 26th 5:30pm - Red Hill, Reno. A short mid- week trip to Red Hills to see six species of Eriogonum in bloom on the slopes of altered andesite. Our Leaders for this trip will be Rose Strickland and Dennis Ghiglieri. The destination is on the west end of Dandini Road in north Reno directions are in the following link https://goo.gl/maps/veoyMSzMWx22 We will meet in the gravel parking lot just northeast of the roundabout. Steep rocky slopes and narrow trails. Please wear sturdy shoes. Contact rosenreno@sbcglobal.net (775) 329-6118 dnnevada@sbcglobal.net.
May 28th open
May 30th - Beckwourth, CA. Annual Memorial Day Foray with Bill and Nancy Harnach along the Feather River in Plumas County, CA . They conduct this event for the local public so this will not be a typical NNPS field trip. The plan is to explore the edges of the Feather River as it passes through Sierra Valley. We will meet the group under the bridge at the intersection of Hwy 70 and Co. Rd. A23; our goal is to be on site by 10:00 am. Those traveling from the Carson area should meet at the Save Mart at the corner of College and Carson Streets, in Carson City at 7:50 am to carpool. Plan on heading to the McDonalds Restaurant located at 120 Lemon Drive in north Reno by 8:00 am. Those traveling from Reno will meet at the Lemon Drive McDonalds at 9:00 am to await the arrival of the southern contingent. We will leave the second meeting point at 9:15 am traveling north on Hwy 395 to Hwy 70 (Quincy turnoff). Just past the town of Beckwourth is the Calpine turnoff (Co. Rd. A23). Turn left, cross over the Bridge and promptly turn left at the end of the bridge, traveling downhill into the parking lot. Contact billh@digitalpath.net (530) 944 3464 or John Weiser at johnpweiser@yahoo.com 775-331-4485
June 4th 8am to noon - Reno. May Arboretum Society annual plant sale.
June 5th - Plumas County, CA. Trip to see the vernal pool areas of Sierra Valley. This will be a joint field trip in conjunction with the CNPS Council meeting. The Leader for this trip will be Bill Harnach. Our goal is to be on site by 10:00 am. Those traveling from the Carson area should meet at the Save Mart at the corner of College and Carson Streets, in Carson City at 7:50 am to carpool to Reno, meeting Reno members at the McDonalds Restaurant located at 120 Lemon Drive in north Reno by 9:00 am. We will leave at 9:15 am traveling north on Hwy 395 to Hwy 70 (Quincy turnoff). Just past the town of Beckwourth is the Calpine turnoff (Co. Rd. A23). Turn left, heading south 9.8 miles to Calpine Rd., turn right travel 1.3 miles to Calpine--turn right onto Hwy 89--left onto Main Street--right on to County Road the Post Office Park will be .2 miles ahead on the left.
June 10th-12th Sunflower Flat, Wild Horse, NV. Canceled due to injury. Contact Janel for more info.
Sunflower Flat is located in Elko County on the Mountain City Ranger District north of Wild Horse Reservoir. There are several rare plants species found in this area including meadow pussytoes, Owyhee sagebrush, least Phacelia, and Sunflower Flat buckwheat.
There are three camping options and one lodging option.
-Dispersed camping is allowed up to 16 days per site on Forest Service land. No amenities, no fees, please use pre-existing campsites within 100 feet of a road and more than 100 feet from water.
-The nearest campground is at Big Bend campground, which can accommodate tents and small trailers/campers. There are pit toilets and picnic tables, no water available, $8 per night. This campground will be our meeting spot and we will leave announcements about our planned activities here.
-Wild Horse State Park is about 35 minutes south at Wild Horse Reservoir. It can accommodate large RVs, offers toilets and showers, and is $14 per night.
-Dunn’s Wild Horse Ranch and Resort is about 45 minutes south and offers rooms, an RV park, restaurant, convenience store, and gas. Call 775-758-6472 for reservations. More lodging and dining options are available in Mountain City, about an hour west of Big Bend.
The main roads in the area of Sunflower Flat are dirt and gravel, easily navigated by Subarus and mid-clearance vehicles. Some of the side trips may require higher clearance vehicles. A Forest Service District map is highly recommended to reference road numbers for navigation.
Janel will be working in the area from the afternoon of June 9th until the morning of June 12th, check at Big Bend campground for daily activities. Meet at Big Bend Campground at 8 am each morning to discuss sites to visit during the day.
Map Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-f34WXvgPG2Oehnz7o9B4WC14Wg&usp=sharing
Contact Janel Johnson if you have questions: jdjohnson@heritage.nv.gov, 775-684-2911.
June 18th open
June 19th - Peavine Mountain, Reno. Base of Peavine Mountain to see the only known population of Lilium kelleyanumin in NV. Meet at the McDonalds on Lemmon Valley Drive at 10:00. Bring water and lunch. The road is too rough for sedans. Need something with a high clearance. No sedans. Our leader will be Gary Monroe. Contact g.monroe@att.net (775) 359-4863
June 25th open
June 26th open
June 23rd-27th Penstemon Society meeting in Fairmont, MT
July 2nd - Peavine Mountain, Reno. Trip to summit of Peavine Mountain to see Phlox condensata and numerous other flowers in bloom. With the extra moisture we had this winter we should have a great show on Peavine this season Our leader will be John Weiser. Those traveling from the Carson area should meet at the Save Mart at the corner of College and Carson Streets, in Carson City at 9:00 a.m. to carpool. Our final meeting place will be at the McDonalds Restaurant parking lot located at 120 Lemmon Drive in North Reno at 10:00 a.m. After meeting up, we will carpool to Peavine. The road to the summit is generally a good one and four-wheel drive vehicles should not be required. Contact johnpweiser@yahoo.com (775) 331 4485
July 3rd-4th Independence Day weekend
July 9th-10th open
July 16th-17th open
July 23rd open
July 24th - Reno. Bioblitz Idelwild Park, organized by the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation.
July 30th - Squaw Valley, California 10:40am-2pm/6pm. WILDFLOWER HIKE AT SQUAW VALLEY HIGH CAMP AND OPTIONAL SHIRLEY CANYON TRAIL Joint venture of Tahoe Institute of Natural Science and Nevada Native Plant Society – Public attendance welcome
Trip leader: Tom Schuster (Dipl.-Ing.)
This trip will focus primarily on wildflowers but may also include some observations of birds, insects and mammals. Hopefully we will encounter the following in bloom: Buckwheats, Beardtongues, Jewelflowers, Monkeyflowers, Columbines, Orchids, Monkshoods, Lilies, Lupines, Paintbrushes, Larkspurs, Ferns and many more. This shall be a magnificent day!
Meet at the tram lobby at 10.15am to catch the first tram at 10:40am (Park at the main parking lot of the Village at Squaw Valley). Tram cost: $44; $10 discount for anyone purchasing their ticket at a minimum of 24 hours in advance online directly through the following Squaw’s website:
(Please make sure to obtain tickets in time to not jeopardize your ride of the first tram.)
Those traveling from the Reno/Carson area should meet in North West Reno at
the IHOP parking lot at the corner of I-80 and West McCarran at 9:15 a.m. sharp to
carpool – carpool with people with the same interest in trip choice!
Hike details:
First part: Our starting point will be High Camp (Elev.: 8,200’) from where we will hike and explore the gentle trail of the High Camp Loop. Approximately 1.3miles round trip. This part of the hike will be easy to moderate and probably will last 2 hours. This should be lots of fun seeing many flowers without a great effort to get to a high elevation and great views.
Subsequent lunch around High Camp (starting point). Attendees who do not want to / cannot hike down the Shirley Canyon Trail can opt to end their trip at this time, sign out and descend via tram.
Second part: From High Camp we will descend (via a short section of Solitude Trail) the Shirley Canyon Trail. Elev. loss 2,100‘; length 3.6miles. This part of the trip is very well-known for its abundance and diversity of habitats and wildflowers, spectacular granite boulders and waterfalls. However, we will traverse some technical steep granite boulder and rock areas (see below hiking equipment). Assumed duration for this part approximately 4 hours. Since descending is faster/easier than ascending I believe we have more time to focus on wildflowers than breathing. J
Bring sufficient water and food (depending on your choice of parts of trip), sunscreen, good hiking boots (and maybe walking sticks) and your favorite wildflower guide, hand lenses, binoculars and dress appropriately for alpine hiking in general.
I would be thrilled to have you join me on this trip.
Further general information: http://squawalpine.com/
Check our websites before trip date in case of cancellations due to inclement mountain weather!
Trip leader: Tom Schuster (Dipl.-Ing), tom-mail@sbcglobal.net / (775) 247-9312.
Additional contacts: John Weiser, johnpweiser@yahoo.com, (775)-331-4485 and T. Will Richardson, Ph.D., will@tinsweb.org, (530)-587-6895.
Aug 6th-7th open
Aug 13th-14th or Aug 20th -21st - Truckee, CA. Trip to Castle Peak to find Lewisia longipetala. Canceled. If you would like to volunteer to lead this trip in Gary's place, please contact John Weiser, johnpweiser@yahoo.com, (775) 331 4485.
Aug 27th - Tahoe City, CA. Barker Pass southwest of Tahoe City. We hope to see Primula suffrutescens, Epilobium canum ssp. Latifolium and Gentiana calycosa. We will have great vistas of the Desolation Wilderness to the west and Lake Tahoe to the east. This is a moderate hike on established trails and ridge tops.
Sep. 3rd - 4th open
Sep.9th - 10th open
Sep 17th -18th open
Sep 15th-19th Eriogonum Society Annual Meeting in Baker, CA