The Flora of the PCT
A8 Sunrise Parking Area Junction to Highway 78
A8 Sunrise Parking Area Junction to Highway 78
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| Fig. 1.
Top Row, from left to right: Eriophyllum confertiflorum, golden yarrow; Penstemon spectabilis, showy penstemon; Delphinium parishii ssp. subglobosum, intermediate larkspur. Bottom row, from left to right: Opuntia phaeacantha, desert prickly-pear.; Opuntia basilaris, beavertail cactus; and Stipa speciosa, desert needlegrass. All pictures taken in the section from Rodriguez Canyon Road to two miles north by Tom Chester on 5 May 2014. Click on the pictures for larger versions. | ||
| Segment | Segment Start | Segment End | Segment Length | Elevation (feet) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Max | Range | ||||
| A8 | Sunrise Parking Area Junction | Highway 78 | 18 miles | 2250 | 5000 | 2750 |
| Subsegments | ||||||
| A8a | Sunrise Parking Area Junction | Rodriguez Canyon Road | 9.1 miles | 3630 | 5000 | 1370 |
| A8b | Rodriguez Canyon Road | Highway S2 | 8.0 miles | 2240 | 3630 | 1390 |
| A8c | Highway S2 | Highway 78 | 0.9 miles | 2240 | 2275 | 35 |
Introduction
Survey Dates
The Plant Checklists
Introduction
This section of trail begins in the Laguna Mountains in chaparral at 5000 feet elevation, descends through the desert transition area, and ends in typical desert flora at 2250 feet. The species at the beginning of this section are almost completely different from the species at the end of this section! The trail order plant list documents how the plant species change along this section.
The beginning of this section is probably the only part of the trail in southern California that contains Redbud, with only a few individuals. The Sonoma sage population also continues from the last section for a short way. After ~2.5 miles traveling along the Laguna Rim at 4800 feet elevation, the trail drops into Chariot Canyon, and then spends ~3 miles following the 4200 foot contour before dropping down to Rodriguez Canyon Road. The trail then contours around the north side of the prominent Granite Mountain, site of a 2012 fire, dropping very slowly to 3100 feet. After about 2.5 miles at 3100 feet, the trail slowly drops to the San Felipe Valley floor at 2200 feet at Highway S2. The trail then runs parallel to highway S2 for about 1 mile before crossing over to the burnt riparian woodlands of San Felipe Creek.
Due to the length of the trail, we have split this into two sections of nearly-equal length. Many day-hikers may choose to do each section as a back and forth hike. Section A8b is perhaps more attractive to skip the first mile, and start heading south at Highway S2. This is the way we have done it for the plant trail order list linked below.
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Fig. 2. Left: Trail Map for the PCT Section A8 from Sunrise Parking Area Junction to Highway 78, from USDA Forest Service Interactive Map. Right: Elevation profile from Sunrise Parking Area Junction to Highway 78, from south to north. Click on the pictures for larger versions.
Survey Dates
The following surveys have been done and incorporated into the plant checklist:
- Survey of part of A8b, four miles south of Highway S2, by RT and Shaun Hawke on 3/2/13, when most plants were dormant. 70 species were observed.
- Survey of all of A8, from south to north, by RT and Shaun Hawke on 5/5/13, when most plants were in bloom, although this was a dry year. 176 species were observed. Near Rodriguez road, the fire annuals put on an impressive display, especially Hulsea california. Totals after this survey: A8a: 122 species (first survey); A8b: 70 species (no additional species from this survey; in Section A8b we recorded only species not seen in A8a). Total for all of A8: 190 species (second survey; remember some species in A8a are also in A8b, so this isn't the sum of the previous two numbers).
- Survey of part of A8b, 2.7 miles south of Highway S2, by RT and Shaun Hawke, Tom Chester, Kate Harper, Walt Fidler, and Adrienne Ballwey on 4/12/14, when most plants were in bloom, although this was a very dry year. 157 species were observed. We picked up 77 new species for section A8b, including 65 species new for both A8a and A8b. Totals after this survey: A8a: 122 species (unchanged; still only one survey); A8b: 182 species (third survey). Total for all of A8: 255 species (third survey). Seven of the additional species came from areas a bit off-trail, but they were still in the vicinity of the trail.
- Survey of part of A8b, 2.7 miles north of Rodriguez Canyon Road, by Tom Chester, Kate Harper, and Adrienne Ballwey on 5/5/14. 128 species were observed. We picked up 38 new species for Section A8b, including 15 species new for both A8a and A8b. Totals after this survey: A8a: 122 species (unchanged; still only one survey); A8b: 217 species (fourth survey). Total for all of A8: 270 species (fourth survey).
- Survey of part of A8b, 4.2 miles south of Highway S2, by Tom Chester and Keir Morse, on 11/26/14. We picked up 5 new species for this section. Totals after this survey: A8a: 122 species (unchanged; still only one survey); A8b: 222 species (fourth survey). Total for all of A8: 275 species (fifth survey). Four of the additional species came from areas a bit off-trail, but they were still in the vicinity of the trail.
The checklist below also includes six species vouchered from the trail (Section A8b) that we have not yet observed, for a total of 122 species in A8a, 228 species in A8b, and a grand total of 281 species in all of A8. It is likely that these six species are also not from exactly next to the trail, but in the vicinity of the trail.
The Plant Checklists
There are usually four different versions of the Plant Checklists, which differ depending on:
- whether only species observed in the immediate vicinity of the trail are included, or whether species are also included from the larger area surrounding the trail, some of which might be found on the trail in future surveys;
- whether the list is presented in trail order, or in plant family order; and
- whether thumbnail photographs are included with the list or instead, links are provided to Calphotos pix and the Jepson Manual eflora.
The lists are given separately below for the entire section A8; for just section A8a; and for just section A8b.
The entire Section A8
- Illustrated Family Order List from Calflora, with two thumbnail pictures for every species found on the trail. (281 taxa). Note the checkbox at right that allows a sort of the list in family order instead of scientific name order, or a sort by bloom start month. Check Show photo service links and then click on Display to get links to all Calphotos et al pictures.
- Species in Order Along the Trail, from Sunrise Parking Area Junction to Highway 78, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos.
- Species Seen on or near the Trail in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos (Since there are few species not found on the trail, we made only the next list.)
- Species Seen on or near the Trail, along with species vouchered from this general area, in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos. (281 taxa).
Only Section A8a
- Illustrated Family Order List from Calflora, from Sunrise Parking Area Junction to Rodriguez Canyon Road, with two thumbnail pictures for every species found on the trail. (122 taxa). Note the checkbox at right that allows a sort of the list in family order instead of scientific name order, or a sort by bloom start month. Check Show photo service links and then click on Display to get links to all Calphotos et al pictures.
- Species in Order Along the Trail, from Sunrise Parking Area Junction to Rodriguez Canyon Road, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos (122 taxa).
- Species Seen on or near the Trail in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos (Since there are few species not found on the trail in Section A8a, we made only the next list.)
- Species Seen on or near the Trail, along with species vouchered from this general area, in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos. (122 taxa).
Only Section A8b
- Illustrated Family Order List from Calflora for A8b, Rodriguez Canyon Road to Highway S2 (229 taxa). Note the checkbox at right that allows a sort of the list in family order instead of scientific name order, or a sort by bloom start month. Check Show photo service links and then click on Display to get links to all Calphotos et al pictures.
- Species in Order Along the Trail, from Highway S2, 0.8 miles south of Highway 78 at Scissors Crossing, to Rodriguez Truck Trail, (north to south!), with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos. (229 taxa).
- Species Seen on or near the Trail in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos (Since there are few species not found on the trail in Section A8b, we made only the next list.)
- Species Seen on or near the Trail, along with species vouchered from this general area, from Rodriguez Canyon Road to Highway S2, in a Family Order List, with links to Jepson Manual Treatment and Calphotos. (229 taxa).
Separate condensed print versions of just the checklist names are available for all except for the Calflora thumbnail picture version, as a link on each of those pages.