R06 TR: West Emigrant May 30-June 3 2022

[giantbrookie]

What a superb way to rehab through your knee and ankle issues! That is a positive message to young and old alike (I turn 63 in August) that with some dedication, one can bounce back pretty quickly from such things (even as "seniors") and get back to a high level of mobility (far greater than the average adult).

Nice photos, especially of running water, too.

[kpeter]

There was a major Sierra flood event from atmospheric river rain on snow in 1997. Perhaps that caused the erosion and deposition you saw?
-Phil

Wow, that must be it. Gianelli got 19" of rain in 7 days. Zounds. No wonder the trails were undermined, banks undercut, sand deposited, and meadows erased with till.

My brother checked the satellite images from 1998 and from 1993. In 1998 the till at the mouth of Buck Meadow Creek had been deposited there at the confluence. In 1993 it had not. So it looks very much as if Wildhiker's theory is correct--it was a huge rain on snow event between Christmas and New Year's in 1996-97 that tore Emigrant up.

https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/storm_summar ... storms.php

[kpeter]

kpeter, I wonder if your brother knew that small purple flower seen in your very last photo? We saw a real bloom of them covering openings in the Jeffrey Pine forest on Kibbie Ridge. Looks like a Phacelia of some kind. Can you ask him for us?

Hi Harlen, he says "It is called pussypaws or Calyptridium umbellatum, aka Cistanthe umbellate."

EDIT:

I may have confused him by sending the wrong picture. With regard to the Phacelia, he says:

"Well, I agree that it is a Phacelia, but which one I don’t know. Someone more familiar with California flora would need to make that determination. It was an annual and from browsing through CalFlora there are several possibilities. The trouble with Phacelias is that size and morphology, especially leaf morphology change dramatically with the habitat. So, a specimen from a moister, somewhat shady environment can look very different from one from a sunny, dry site, meaning that you really do need to key them out based on the flower morphology which doesn’t change—or just be really familiar with the local flora, which I am not."

There are over 90 Phacelias in the Sierra, apparently.

[CalMntHkr]

Kpeter

Great crossing paths at the trail head. I'm happy to see you adapted to a situation and created a great trip. My trip went very well despite the rain. I keep getting interrupted on my TR but should have it posted in a day or so.

-CalMntHkr

[SSSdave]

Common early summer about mid elevation granite gruss flats including Kibbie Lake. Racemose phacelia, phacelia racemosa.

https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=6388

https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/ ... a+racemosa

[Harlen]

Thanks Peter and Dave,

I guess that must be it Dave, though the flowers were so well-developed compared to those in the Calflora images. The simple, linear leaves are diagnostic-- most Phacelia have much divided, ferny leaves don't they?

You can see in the first image below how extensive a bloom it was on our trip in late May-early June.

[cgundersen]

Great story about the impact of the rain-snow event, and even better to see backpacking serving as physical therapy. As they say, keep on trucking! Cameron

[kpeter]

Kpeter

Great crossing paths at the trail head. I'm happy to see you adapted to a situation and created a great trip. My trip went very well despite the rain. I keep getting interrupted on my TR but should have it posted in a day or so.

-CalMntHkr

It was great to meet you! I will look forward to your report!

[Flamingo]

Hey Kpeter -- it was a nice surprise to cross paths out there! I agree that West Fork area is idyllic for camping, and I love that you explored the falls upstream to reach Paiute Lake. I feel like this part of Emigrant is especially well-suited for off-trail exploration. Hope to see you again soon