Monday, March 12 – The High Chisos

Rebecca L. Brown

Jason D. Fridley

 

[MAP]

[Photo - The Chisos Mountains from the bajada]

 

6:30 am. Wakefulness/coffee. Our camping accommodations, while not the picturesque, bucolic dreamland some were hoping for, were up to the task of providing ground for sleeping bags (dominated, of course, by Cynodon dactylon) and a table for breakfast grub.  Most slept well, with Rob being a notable exception after being awoken in the dead of night by a band of mangy dogs licking his face.

 

8:30 am. Road through Panther Pass en route to Chisos Basin. The effects of slope and especially aspect on Chisos vegetation are striking, with tree abundance much higher on northern aspects.  For the first time we are allowed to fondle trees, including:

 

Arbutus xalapensis var. texana                                              2% approx. cover

Pinus arizonica or ponderosa                                                 1%

Pinus cembroides                                                                    10%

Quercus grisea                                                                        25%

 

9:00 am. Chisos Mountain Lodge Parking Lot (trailhead). There is a remarkably large line for the men’s restroom but not the women’s (still unexplained).  Bob learns from the ranger that the 12-mile hike we’re planning takes 10 hours for fitness experts with no gear and only if they’re jogging it.  We’ve already got a late start, many are out of shape and fear the 2000 ft. elevation gain, and of course we’re most interested in frequent stops, plant fondling, and trail hack sessions.  We figure 6 hours, tops.

 

9:05 am. Laguna Meadow Trail.

 

 

Section 12-1: Ascent to Laguna Meadows

 

As we begin the long uphill ascent, the group quickly disperses along several motivational gradients: fitness, desire to reach the top, plant watching (last in line), and hackers (who race up the trail and take a 10 minute hack break while the others catch up). Becky stays in the back to record, lest she become bear or mountain lion bait (having just read the forest service publications on avoiding bears and lions in the park office), while Jason “records” closer to the front of the line, with descriptions like “oak” and “non-oak.”  More fit folks such as Dave and Dane charge to the front.  We walk over a volcanically derived soil with a Pinus cembroides/Juniperus spp. woodland intermixed with tufts of bear grass (Nolina) and Bouteloua curtipendula.  In the more protected areas, the distinctively red-barked Arbutus texensis tempted the eye.  Unfortunately, we were too early phenologically to see many wildflowers.  A semi-complete list includes:

 

Agave havardiana                                                                  3%

Andropogon sp.                                                                       1%

Arbutus xalapensis var. texana                                              4%

Astragalus sp.                                                                         2%

Bouteloua curtipendula                                                           15%

Cercocarpus montanus (on tuff)                                              3%

Dasylirion leiophyllum                                                            5%

Eriogonum sp.                                                                         1%

Juniperus deppeana var. deppeana                                        7%

Juniperus flaccida var. flaccida                                              5%

Nolina erumpens                                                                     5%

Notholaena sinuata (=Cheilanthes sinuata)                           1%

Opuntia imbricata var. imbricata                                           3%

Opuntia macrorhiza                                                                3%

Opuntia schottii                                                                      3%

Pellaea sp.                                                                               1%

Phorodendron sp.

Pinus cembroides                                                                    10%

Quercus emoryi                                                                       2%

Quercus grisea                                                                        10%

Rhus virens ssp. virens                                                            2%

 

Quote: “Hey, do you think anyone’s ever hacked here before?”

 

 

Section 12-2:  Laguna Meadows

Location:  Gap top: 6700’ elevation, N29º14. 901’  W103º18.642’

11:00 am. Finally we reach the top of the gap.  The vegetation has not changed significantly, but the view is fantastic, and the temperature is much cooler.  As we enter the meadow, the woodland opens up, and grasses are more conspicuous in the understory.  A recalibration of the species composition:

 

Agave havardii                                                                       3%

Archeuthobium vaginatum                                                     2%

Aristida sp.                                                                              2%

Berberis haematocarpa                                                           2%

Bouteloua (not curtipendula)                                                  2%

Chrysothamus like shrub (smells nice)                          5%

Juniperus flaccida var. flaccida                                              5%

Nolina erumpens                                                                     3%

Opuntia sp. (cholla)                                                                 1%

Pinus cembroides                                                                    10%

Quercus gravesii                                                                     5%

Quercus grisea                                                                        8%

Sporobolis sp. or Muhlenbergia sp. (wiry)                              70%

 

11:30 am. En route to the South Rim. We pass a southern slope that has recently burned. A park service sign laments the fire, causing wonton destruction of thousands of trees and disrupting a delicately balanced ecosystem.  They obviously haven’t read Stuart Pimm’s book (but none of us have, either).

 


Section 12-3:  South Rim.

 

[Photo - discovering the rim]

[Photo - Pinus cembroides woodland at the South Rim]

 

12:00 pm. Lunch stop (7300’). Finally – the top!  After hiking 6 miles we reach the South Rim of the Chisos, a cliff that drops over 1000’, providing views of the desert surrounding the Rio Grande and Mexico.  We don sweaters (against the chill wind) and gaze in awe.  Some of us even dare to crawl on our stomachs to hang our heads over the edge of the cliff and experience vertigo in the realization that the cliff was sharply overhung.  Below us, Tillandsia recurvata lives precariously in the cliff cracks, and a red-tailed hawk soars.

 

After lunch, those of us that aren’t lying prostrate to avoid the wind and soak in warm sun notice that the scattered pinyon pines seem to act as nurse plants to the glaucus-blue agave common in this area.  The soil here is sparse, due to wind and no doubt to the hordes of tourists that stop here to take in the overlook.  The vegetation is also sparser and less woodland-like in this unprotected place:

 

Agave havardiana                                                                  4%

Cynodon dactylon                                                                   3%

Echinocereus enneacanthus                                                    2%

Fern                                                                                         2%

Juniperus deppeana var. deppeana                                        5%

Opuntia sp.                                                                              4%

Pinus cembroides                                                                    10%

Quercus grisea                                                                        5%

Selaginella underwoodii                                                          5%

Sporobolis sp. / Muhlenbergia sp.                                           10%

Tillandsia recurvata                                                                1% (on cliff)

Peregrine Falcon (probably)

Red-tailed hawk

 


Section 12-4: Descent into Upper Boot Canyon

1:00 pm. We head back north down Boot Canyon Trail.  The vegetation is more characteristically mesic here in this high and sheltered location, and holds several disjunct species (maples, Arizona cypress, and the elusive, long-leafed “ponderosa” pine, Pinus arizonica).  We follow a meadow until we drop down into the upper end of the canyon.  Tillandsia recurvata is tucked into cracks on the walls of the canyon, and pools formed by the stream hold tadpoles and other aquatic life.

 

Acer grandidentatum                                                              20%

Agave (curved)                                                                        2%

Cupressus arizonica                                                                25%

Juniperus flaccida var. flaccida                                              5%

Quercus fusiformis                                                                  3%

Quercus rugosa                                                                       2%

Rumex mexicana (in one pool)                                                40% where present

Sedum moranense                                                                   1%

Tillandsia recurvata (on rock walls)                                        5%

Woody Goldenrod – like                                                          10%

 


Section 12-5:  Middle Boot Canyon

2:30 pm.  Laura smells a corral, and several minutes later we meet a well-behaved pack of mules that smile wide as Laura passes.  Bob is the next to smile; in another 5 minutes he sees an opportunity to bushwack downslope to search for the elusive Pinus arizonica.  All but Pat and Jessica decide to join our very convincing leader (they being immune to his hypnotizing allure).  After stumbling around backcountry campsites for 30 minutes and gawking at mule deer, we return disappointed, only to glimpse the species growing on the other side of the canyon a short time after getting back on the main trail.  Yet other plants are here, including:

 

Acer grandidentatum                                                              25%

Argythamnia humilis                                                               2%

Cupressus arizonica                                                                25%

Eriogonom sp.                                                                         1%

Galium sp.                                                                               2%

Heuchera rubescens                                                                2%

Pinus arizonica                                                                       2% (only one tree)

Pseudotsuga menziesii                                                            10%

Quercus fusiformis                                                                  3%

Senecio millelobatus                                                               1%

Senecio cf. montana                                                                1%

 


Section 12-6:  the decent

The trail down was through well developed pine-oak forest with mesophytes growing in the draws.  However, with nearly 10 miles and 2000’ behind us, our enthusiasm for botanizing was starting to fad.  A few, but not many, of us observed in the draws Fraxinus velutina &

Ostrya virginiana var. chisosensis

 

Concluding remarks …

4:00 pm. Lodge Parking Lot, end of Trail.  The last several miles pass quickly through the now familiar pinyon-juniper woodlands, and we end up finishing the hike in only 7 hours, botanizing, blisters, and all.  Disappointment (a major theme for the day) lurks here in the form of bad basketball news from a local paper—a UNC defeat to Duke in the ACC final.  Even Devilish Rob appears dejected.  This general malaise, however, lasts only as long as it takes to get to the first Coronas up to our lips…