Shasta Environmental Alliance’s fall colors hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), starting at Baum Lake east of Burney, was a fun hike in cold weather. While about 40 degrees when we started, it warmed to about 50 degrees, which is great hiking weather. There were seven of us on this hike, six of whom are Shasta Chapter CNPS members.*
Before the hike, we stopped by the metal sculpture park on Cassel Road, then drove to an old 1930’s PG&E powerhouse near Baum Lake, one of several on Hat Creek.
At Baum Lake, botanist Don Burk showed us duckweed and mosquito fern, both of which grow in still-water habitats. Duckweed is only about 3 mm long, and is one of the smallest flowering plants in the world. However, flowers are rarely found, and the plants reproduce vegetatively by “budding.” Mosquito fern is completely aquatic, which is very unusual for a fern. The stems readily break apart, and the ferns spread rapidly through fragmentation.
After identifying a number of plants along the lake, we walked on the PCT for about 2 miles to a lookout point over the Hat Creek Valley and beyond. The trail traverses primarily Oregon oak woodlands with scattered western juniper, ponderosa pine, and black oaks. Except for fishermen on the lake, we had the trail to ourselves. This is a beautiful site for enjoying fall flora and fauna. ~David Ledger
*Shasta Chapter CNPS members are always welcome to join David on any Shasta Environmental Alliance (SEA) field trip. Until recently, SEA field trips were held jointly with Shasta Chapter CNPS. However, the State CNPS office is now mandating that all field trip participants sign a waiver for CNPS-led field trips. Once Shasta Chapter CNPS Executive Board determines how best to handle this new requirement, we will resume offering CNPS-led field trips.