2017 Field Trips
April 8 – Caughlin Ranch area west side of Reno. We should have the opportunity to see Beckwith violets, and Ranunculus glaberrimus var. glaberrimus. Also found on this alluvial fan are Astragalus purshii var. tinctus, Lewisia rediviva var. minor, Erigeron bloomeri var. bloomer, Eriogonum douglasii var. meridionale, Allium parvum, Toxicoscordion venenosum, Lithophragma glabrum, Trifolium macrocephalum, and several Lomatiums. Add Delphinium andersonii and Fritillaria atropurpurea to the list if we climb to base of the hills that skirt the fan.
We will not car pool for this trip since it is on the outskirts of Reno. We will start at 10:00 am and meet at the intersection of Sierra Pine Drive and Pinehaven Road in Reno. Map to location: https://goo.gl/maps/Gj8NSAyc45k Contact John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
April 23 – Hot Spring Mountain. The Carson Valley monkeyflower is blooming again! Join us for the second annual great monkeyflower hunt. This year we will be surveying the area on the east side of Hot Spring Mountain in northern Carson Valley.
Meet at in the northeast corner of the Target parking lot (910 Jacks Valley Road) at 10:00 am. Contact Janel Johnson: jdjohnson@heritage.nv.gov, 775-684-2911.
May 6 – Deadman’s Creek Trail. The trail is located at the south east corner of Washoe State Park and winds its way up the drainage of Deadman’s Creek to a scenic lookout atop the bluff. Along the slopes we should find riparian and steppe vegetative communities. Plants of interest include Phlox diffusa, Ranunculus andersonii, Erigeron glacialis, Phacelia curvipes, Prunus andersonii, and Lupinus arbustus to name a few.
There is a pull-off that can handle four or five vehicles at the trail head. Those who wish to carpool from Carson should meet at meet at the Save Mart at the corner of College and Carson Streets in Carson City at 9:45 am. Those wishing to carpool from Reno meet at the Doughboy’s Donuts shop located in the South Town Shopping Center at 57 Damonte Ranch Parkway by 9:45 am. We should be on site by 10:00 am. Map to location: https://goo.gl/maps/HE6kq7jUdvA2. Contact John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
May 7 - Pine Nut Foothills and Mountains. Join us for an opportunity to visit a private residence on 5 acres in the foothills and follow Pine Nut Creek towards towards Sugar Loaf mountain. This region includes several soil and habitat types, so we are hoping to see a plethora of spring bloomers! To those who wish to carpool from Reno, meet at the Doughboy's Donuts shop located in the South Town shopping center at 57 Damonte Ranch Parkway by 8:30 am to meet at the residence at 9:30 am. Those interested in carpooling from Carson should meet at the Save Mart on the corner of College and Carson Street at 9:00 am to join us at 9:30 am on site. There will be parking at the residence (1266 Jo Lane, Gardnerville 89410) and for those who wish to travel further upwards can group in the high clearance vehicles. Contact John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485 orAlison Agneray: aagneray@gmail.com, 775-501-4159
May 11 – Annual Garden Party. Join John Weiser at his dry land rock garden in Sparks, Nevada. The garden features many native species of desert, mountain, and steppe plants from across the west with extensive collections of Eriogonum, Penstemon, and cactus species. The party begins at 5:00 pm and goes until dark (in other words, until you can't see your hand in front of your face). Bring light snacks to share (utensils and beverages will be provided). Photos of the garden can be found here: https://flic.
May 13 – Red Hill. This unique location on the north edge of Reno supports populations of seven species of eriogonum along with Lewisia rediviva var. minor, Prunus andersonii, Minuartia nuttallii var. fragilis, and Allium parvum. We hope to see early spring flowers on the slopes of altered andesite. There is plenty of parking on site.
Those who wish to carpool from Carson should meet at the Save Mart at the corner of College and Carson Streets in Carson City at 9:30 am. The destination is on the west end of Dandini Road in north Reno. Map to location: https://goo.gl/maps/veoyMSzMWx22. Contact John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
May 20 – East Walker River. Tour the East Walker River from Rosachi Ranch to the future Walker River State Recreation Area. We will stop to see rare plants, upland areas, and the riparian corridor. This will be a long day with a lot of driving on dirt roads and vehicles must be able to cross a creek about 8 inches deep at Nine Mile Ranch.
Meet at the Carson City Save Mart at the corner of College and Carson Streets at 9:00 am. Bring food and water for a full day, we should be back to Carson City by 5pm. Contact Janel Johnson: jdjohnson@heritage.nv.gov, 775-684-2911.
May 29 – Annual Memorial Day Foray with Bill and Nancy Harnach along the Feather River in Plumas County, CA . Bill and Nancy conduct this event for the local public so this will not be a typical NNPS field trip. The plan is to explore the newly designated Sierra Valley Preserve. The preserve’s 2,500 acres includes channels of the Feather River’s middle fork and offer a rich variety of habitats with wetland marshes, montane meadows, dune habitat, and upland areas with sagebrush and bitterbrush scrub. Spring wild flowers and native bunchgrasses abound.
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. Drive to the McDonalds Restaurant located at 120 Lemon Drive in north Reno. 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). We will then proceed west toward Beckwourth. Turn left on Co. Rd. A-23 (Calpine turnoff) and go 2.6 miles south to the gate on the left hand side of the road https://goo.gl/maps/
June 2 to June 5 – Penstemon Annual Meeting in Vernal, UT.
June 3 – May Arboretum Society annual plant sale. Join the Nevada Native Plant Society at the May Arboretum from 8:00 am to noon. The arboretum is located in Rancho San Rafael Regional Park at 1595 North Sierra Street in Reno. The sale benefits the May Arboretum.
June 10 – Churchill Narrows. Join us to see Eriogonum diatomaceum, a rare endemic restricted to the diatomaceous deposits of the Churchill Narrows area in Lyon County. There are many other interesting plants to see growing on these unique soils including Eriogonum lemmonii, Nama aretioides, Phacelia fremontii, Abronia turbinate, Eschscholzia minutiflora, Psorothamnus polydenius, Glyptopleura marginata, and Eriogonum heermannii var. humilius. Species List: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EVm95nC4SoUHZPX19OYUVjMk0/view?usp=sharing
Those leaving from Reno should meet at the Doughboy’s Donuts shop located in the South Town Shopping Center at 57 Damonte Ranch Parkway by 9:00 am. We will meet Carson City area members at the Save Mart at 3620 N. Carson St. located at the intersection of West College Parkway and North Carson Street and depart for Churchill Narrows at 9:30 am. Map to location: https://goo.gl/maps/m3ZWiRTpzAJ2. Contact Gary Monroe: g.monroe@att.net, 775-359-4863 or John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
June 11 – Anderson Ranch Preserve. Our leader for this trip will be Marco Sandi. At an elevation of 4800 ft, wedged between the Sierra Nevada, Diamond Mountains, and Cascades, the preserve features bountiful meadows. These meadows are surrounded by sagebrush steepe, and a forest of Black Oak, Jeffrey Pine, and Incense Cedar. Come celebrate our recent conservation agreement on this extremely wet year and compare to past NNPS visits to this private property. Many Astragalus including pulsiferae var. pulsiferae, Caulanthus major var. nevadensis, a number of Eriogonums, Phacelia’s, etc. The edible and medicinal plants should be super-abundant such as Cammasia quamash, and peonia brownii.
Those traveling from Carson City should meet at the Save Mart Shopping Center at 3620 North Carson Street at 8:30 am. Those traveling from Reno should meet at the McDonalds at US 395 and Lemmon Drive at 9:00 am. After we carpool in Reno we will meet our leader at the Hallelujah Junction Chevron station by 9:45 am. It is a 6 mile drive to ranch headquarters. Bring lunch and water bottle. Bathrooms and spring water available. Contact Marco Sandi: mvsandi@gmail.com, 530-827-3328 or John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
June 17 – Sand Mountain. This “singing” sand dune 20 miles (32 km) east of Fallon along U.S. Route 50 is the only home of the critically imperiled Sand Mountain blue butterfly. The ruins of the Pony Express, Sand Springs Station also located within the protected area. We will look for Penstemon acuminatus var. latebracteatus, Astragalus lentiginosus var. kennedyi, Castilleja angustifolia var. flavescens, Cymopterus corrugatus, Chylismia claviformis ssp. integrior, Oenothera deltoides ssp. piperi, and a pink flowered form of Castilleja chromosa.
For this trip we will leave Carson and Reno as separate groups and meet in Fallon. Those traveling from Reno may meet at the parking lot on the north side of the Sparks Marina at located at 300 Howard Drive east side of the Sparks Marina near Lowes (off Sparks Blvd.) by 8:00 am. Those traveling from Carson meet at the Save Mart at 3620 N. Carson St. located at the intersection of West College Parkway and north Carson Street by 8:00 am. We will meet in Fallon at the Fox Peak Station on the east side of the city by 9:30 am. Map to the location: https://goo.gl/maps/2axqxrK86Un. Contact Gary Monroe: g.monroe@att.net, 775-359-4863 or John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
June 17 – Pollinator Day at University of Nevada, Reno. Come celebrate pollinators and native plants at the UNR Biggest Little Pollinator Garden on June 17, 2017 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Located in the courtyard of the Fleischmann Agriculture building at the south end of the UNR campus. There will be garden tours, pollinator and native plants presentations from local experts, native bee and butterfly specimens, a bug petting zoo, kids crafts, and much more!
June 24 and June 25 – This trip has been postponed, new date TBD, check here for updates. Treasure Hill/Hamilton. Treasure Hill is a spur of the White Pine Range in White Pine County; the ghost town of Hamilton is located nearby. This area has terrain composed of limestone, so we should see a different group of plants than we normally see in western Nevada.
This will be an overnight trip, the drive from Reno/Carson will take 4½ to 5 hours on Highway 50. Camping is available at the BLM’s Illipah Reservoir Campground, with 17 camp sites at an elevation of 6,840 feet. Reservations not required. The nearest cities are Eureka, 43 miles to the west, and Ely, 39 miles to the east. Both cities have hotels and motels. Contact Charlene Duncan: cirsium.down@gmail.com, 775-530-7458.
July 2 – Summit of Peavine Mountain. The last time we had substantial snow on Peavine, the summit was a virtual rock garden on July 4th. The wind blown scree at the peak had Phlox condensata, Boechera puberula, Lewisia rediviva var. minor, Phacelia linearis, Castilleja chromosa, Phacelia linearis, Erigeron aphanactis, and Astragalus purshii var. tinctus simultaneously in full bloom. Hopefully this year will be similar.
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 am 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 am. 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 John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
July 15 – Pinenut Mountains. Details TBA.
July 21 to July 24 – Eriogonum Society meeting in the Siskiyou Mountains.
July 29 – Paige Meadows. Trip cancelled, looking for a new trip leader. Contact John Weiser if you would like to volunteer This interconnected series of five meadows ranging in elevation of 6,500 to 6,800 feet is above Tahoe City near the west shore of Lake Tahoe. Fields of camas lilies, buttercups, and bistort form massive carpets over most of the meadows.
Drive south on Highway 89 and turn right on Pine Avenue (approx. two miles south of Tahoe City). Go to Tahoe Park Heights Drive, turn right and continue all the way to the top to Big Pine Drive (the middle of three roads at the top). Continue on Big Pine Drive, turning left onto Silvertip Drive and proceeding to the end of the road and park. The trail is half a mile straight ahead. The trail to the first meadow goes off to the right. Map to location: https://goo.gl/maps/8H4o17Yp6dP2. Contact Gary Monroe: g.monroe@att.net, 775-359-4863 or John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.
August 6 – Buckaroo Chocolates and Ice Cream Parlor in Graeagle. As summer’s heat bears down upon us, our priorities shift and we visit this excellent ice cream shop. We’ll also take a side trip to Madora Lake in Plumas County, CA to see Chimaphila umbellata, Lilium washingtonianum, Pterospora andromedea, Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys, Lilium pardalinum, and other forest gems.
Those travelling from Carson City should meet at the Save Mart Shopping Center at 3620 North Carson Street at 8:00 am. Those travelling from Reno should meet at the McDonalds at US 395 and Lemmon Drive at 8:45 am. The third meeting place is in the parking lot on the north side of the Junction of CA 70 and CA 89 just north of Graeagle at 10:00 am. This will be an easy 1.9 mile walk on nearly level ground. After the hike, join us for ice cream. Contact Gary Monroe: g.monroe@att.net, 775-359-4863 or John Weiser: johnpweiser@yahoo.com, 775-331-4485.