junipers are not particularly common in the Klamath Mountains, but a few do show up here and there in this community. Pockets of mountain hemlocks and weeping spruces can be found at the upper limits of this zone on north-facing slopes and cirques. This zone is the highest with large stands of trees. Above these elevations trees grow alone or in small clusters.
Streams at these elevations may be lined with cottonwoods. Alders are reduced to the size of bushes and are usually associated with willows in wet areas. Different varieties of willows thrive at all elevations, but they are generally the size of shrubs here. Mountain ash and vine maple are also fairly common broadleaf shrubs in this region.
Some southern exposures at this level are covered with large areas of solid brush, referred to as mountain chaparral. Ceanothus, manzanita, chokecherry, serviceberry, tobacco brush, and huckleberry oak are the primary shrubs.
Subalpine Forest Foxtail pines have found a home in the Trinity Alps at elevations ranging from 6,500 to 8,000 feet, along with smaller amounts of whitebark pines and mountain mahoganies clinging to the exposed and inhospitable ridgecrests. Somewhat surprisingly, Jeffrey pines, western white pines, and an occasional incense cedar persist in this zone, but usually in startlingly modified forms—stunted and contorted, pruned by the high winds, and bent over by the weight of winter storms. The only trees seemingly able to stand erect on top of these windswept ridges are whitebark pines and foxtail pines. Foxtail pines may sometimes be mistaken for firs at first glance, but they have bundles of five needles that grow tightly spaced all the way around supple branches that resemble small, green foxtails.
Whitebark pine on Scott Crest (see Trip 28)
Mountain hemlocks grow in protected pockets on north-facing slopes, usually in protected areas away from the strongest winds. Weeping spruces scattered around the higher lakes and cirques in the wettest and coldest places also tend to avoid the winds.
Mountain chaparral extends into the lower end of this community, with flattened mats of willow and pinemat manzanita making up the only persistent brush in the upper realms of this zone.
Mountain Meadow There are meadows in the mixed low-elevation forest, but the true mountain meadows begin in the mixed-conifer community and extend into the subalpine forest. The obvious plants in mountain meadows are grasses, sedges, and wildflowers, but shrubs are also present, along with two species of trees that thrive around the edges of meadows: lodgepole pines and quaking aspens. Neither tree is particularly common in this area, but they are a pleasant surprise when encountered.
Alpine The handful of true alpine ecosystems that exist in this part of the Klamath Mountains are positioned around the highest peaks in the range, at elevations near 9,000 feet. Trees are completely absent, and only a few shrubs and heaths hug the surface of small pockets of soil between the rocks. The most abundant plants are lichens, but a remarkable array of wildflowers burst into bloom during the very short frost-free period in late summer.
Lupines
Wildflowers
More than 100 acres of wildflowers bloom in a solid mass in late July and early August on a northeast-facing slope at the head of Long Canyon in the Trinity Alps. Probably dozens of species are represented, but the most prominent are vivid red paintbrushes; blue, yellow, and purple lupines; white angelica; and creamy western pasqueflowers that turn into fuzzy white mops when they go to seed.
In a completely different location, under evenly spaced red firs on the south side of the Salmon River Divide, the waxy white blossoms of queen’s cups and twinflowers shine against the dark background of the forest floor.
The preceding two paragraphs only hint at the diversity of the hundreds of species of plants that thrive in this section of the Klamath Mountains. To name and describe them all would require an entire volume. Many people derive a great deal of pleasure from being able to identify, as well as admire, the many flowers they see. For such a purpose, A Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers by Theodore E. Niehaus, Roger Tory Peterson, and Charles L. Ripper (in the Peterson Field Guides series) is highly recommended.
You may be surprised by the sheer number of species you can identify here that are described in the guide which usually grow on the northern stretches of the Pacific Coast. This is because, as mentioned earlier, the Klamath Mountains are a meeting place for plant species from five biotic zones. At least one species, the California pitcher plant, found more often in the Trinity Alps than anywhere else, is rare and listed as being of special concern in California. Please do not pick any specimens, and be very careful not to damage the native flora.
Many locations and descriptions of wildflowers are noted in the trips at the points where they occur, but some general descriptions may be in order. The largest displays of flowers are found in mountain meadows. The species vary considerably with the type of meadow, elevation, and location. You’ll find California pitcher plants in the wettest and steepest meadows at fairly high elevations, but they also may be found growing around the edges of ponds in the midst of small openings in the mixed-conifer and red-fir communities. Angelica and yampa bloom in most meadows, except for very dry meadows on flat ridgetops. Those high, dry, and often gravelly meadows support pussy paws, cat’s ears, sulfur flowers, and cinquefoils. All of these represent only a small sampling of the marvelous variety of flowers you’re apt to see in the meadows.
Streamside locations support a completely different group of wildflowers. Most showy among these are the head-high spikes of larkspurs and monkshoods. Marsh marigolds, buttercups, and Jeffrey’s shooting stars bloom beside little rills at the higher elevations just after snowmelt. Later, and even higher, a dozen or more varieties of monkeyflowers display a wide range of colors beside seeps and springs, while edible swamp onions grow right in icy streams.
A surprising number of flowers bloom in the deep shade of the mixed-conifer community. Early in the season you may see woodland stars, milkmaids, and trillium. Later, the parasitic flowers, such as coral roots and pinedrops, display their ghostly beauty on leafless forest floors. Mahonia and salal, usually considered more north Pacific Coast plants, grow under thick stands of Douglas-firs. Washington lilies prefer a little more sun in openings in the low-elevation mixed forest, as do gilias, irises, and mints.
California pitcher plants
Photo: Luther Linkhart
Other Plants
Ferns, mosses, and lichens grow abundantly in the Klamath Mountains; they approach rainforest proportions in some of the lower canyons, covering rocks and trees alike with a green mantle. In other low-elevation areas, gray strands of Spanish moss drape away from tree limbs, and staghorn lichens stand out from the trunks. At boundaries between meadows and forests in the mixed-conifer community, ferns grow to head height, crowding the trails. Acres of brake ferns cover some of the meadows at the red-fir level. A variety of lichens add their colors to the rocks higher up, and delicate five-finger ferns decorate dripping grottos.
ANIMALS
Warm-Blooded Animals
A quite common, wild, large, warm-blooded animal in the Klamath Mountains is the black bear. The area has seen a sizable increase in the bear population in recent decades, although you probably won’t see one on your backpack, as these animals remain quite wary of humans. However, you can safeguard against encountering a bear in the backcountry by following
