Siberia Creek Trail, San Bernardino National Forest. October 6, 2018

Today I started the big year with a trip to Siberia Creek Trail near Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forest. My girlfriend Rebecca and I came up for the day and planned to find a sunny spot to take the day in. She meditated and napped on sun-warmed granite while I walked around and took the area in. At 7,600-feet in elevation, I know Siberia Creek and the adjacent Bluff Lake Preserve as a reliable place to see montane birds such as golden-crowned kinglet, Townsend's solitaire, and Williamson's sapsucker. The meadows in the area are some of Southern California's nicest, and the area is home to several rare plant species. Turns out there is also an abundance of lodgepole pine, white fir, and Jeffrey pine, and we even ran into a small stand of giant sequoia planted near Bluff Lake. Then on the way back to Big Bear Lake we ran into incense cedar along Forest Road 2N10. 

Beautiful Bluff Lake Preserve is managed by The Wildlands Conservancy.

The Siberia Creek Trail area is also home to California's champion lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), which I have visited during each of my previous visits. According to the sign in front of the champ, the tree is 440 years old, 110 feet in height, and 75 inches diameter at breast height. The massive trunk of the tree is amazing to stand next to. The overall bell-shape of the crown is what I remember most.

A sapling lodgepole standing in front of the bell-shaped champ.

1. Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)

Mature bark of lodgepole pine. 

I really like the needles on this tree. Needles are in bundles of two. The needles are short and up to 2 inches in length. The cones are small; prickly to the touch due to small, sharp seed cone scale tips; up to 2 inches in height; and have a twisted base. The bark is gray-brown, thin, and somewhat scaly. At a distance mature trees have a distinct look with branches arranged in layers throughout the crown giving it what I am referring to as an overall bell shape. 

Needles and cones of lodgepole pine. 

Lodgepole pine has short needles in bundles of two.

Mature lodgepole pine from a distance.

  

2. White Fir (Abies concolor)

Upright cones are diagnostic of firs.

Needles are relatively broad and flat, upturned, and soft to the touch. From below the crown it has a gray or light white appearance. The oozing, sappy cones are what I like most about this tree. Cones are about 5 inches in height and stand upright at the top of the crown. They are deciduous, meaning the seed cone scales fall off, leaving a persistent axis. The bark of younger trees is light gray and somewhat smooth and thin with some blistering; whereas the bark of more mature trees is more furrowed and darker. At a distance young trees have a very conical shaped crown like little Christmas trees. Older trees have more cylindrical crowns.  

Short upright soft needles and cone of white fir.

Darker furrowed bark of mature white fir. 

Younger white firs with conical crowns. 

Older white fir with cylindrical crown. 

Mature bark of Jeffrey pine.

3. Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi) 

Needles are in bundles of three and 8-9 inches in length. Cones are medium large, about 10 inches in height, and relatively smooth to the touch but have prickly seed cone scale tips that bend inward. The bark of mature trees is reddish-brown and deeply furrowed. Some say the bark smells of vanilla, which I tried hard to smell. From a distance the trees seem rather hulking for lack of a technical term. They're quite tall and older ones have large, heavy upper crowns with a draped appearance. More mature Jeffrey pines seemed pre-historic to me.. like it wouldn't seem out of place to see a brontosaurus passing by. I'll have to compare these southern Jeffrey pines with northern ones I hope to see later during the big year. 

Jeffrey pine has needles in bundles of three.

Needles and cone of Jeffrey pine. 

Jeffrey pine from a distance.

Distinct red bark of incense cedar.

4. Incense Cedar 
(Calocedrus decurrens) 
The aromatic scale-like leaves are soft, small, and flat with foliage arranged in flat splays. Some splays of foliage may have bulging light green or brown tips which are pollen cones. Seed cones are approximately 1 inch long and hang throughout the crown. The bark, my favorite part of the tree, is a distinct red color, thick, furrowed, and fibrous. From a distance the tree is quite noticeable due to the pleasant contrast between the red bark and green foliage. The branches of older trees droop downward slightly giving the tree a graceful look. 
  

Fibrous red bark of incense cedar.

Flat splays of foliage with light green pollen cones tips. 

A younger incense cedar.