Field Trip with Rick Burgess and Larry Ballard

Saturday July 13, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Advance registration begins June 13 at synature@west.net or 805/ 693-5683
Members $10. / Non-members $25. / Children $5.

Featured photo at Pine Mountain by Liz Gaspar

Pine Mountain Ridge features the highest diversity of conifers in Ventura County and is one of the few “sky islands” in our region that has escaped extensive fires over the past several centuries. We hope to see Pine Fritillary in bloom, a plant more commonly found in the Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains, along with a number of other unusual plants not found elsewhere in the county. The fleshy red Snow Plant will be seen near the trailhead. Mountain Chickadees and White-headed Woodpeckers are fairly common, and we may see Sagebrush Lizard.

The moderate hike is about 5 miles roundtrip on a good trail with an elevation gain of a few hundred feet. Primitive facilities are available close to the trailhead. Participants should be prepared for a full day’s trip (to include drive time to and from the trailhead) and be in condition for hiking at elevations above 6000 feet.

Rick Burgess is a botanist who worked as a planner for the City of Thousand Oaks and was instrumental in the preservation of open space around the Conejo Valley. He is the author of the forthcoming Flora of Ventura County. Larry Ballard is a naturalist with a focus on botany and has been a field trip leader for the Society and other organizations for two decades.

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/47945928@N02/31941669953/