PaulH
Omono
Just got back from three days collecting in Inyo National forest with buddy Greg. Had a great trip! Sorry I didn't get many pictures to share but I was too busy having a blast exploring and digging trees.
First day we hit Mammoth Mountain and dug some really nice Lodgepole and Western White Pines. Digging trees at Mammoth is a joy. They are growing in pure pumice with very shallow compact root systems. A few cuts with a sharp shovel and the tree is out and almost ready to go into a bonsai pot. This was my sixth time collecting there and nearly 100% of the trees from this spot have survived.
Here's a nice twin trunk Lodgepole.
A couple of hours and ten trees later, we headed for the White Mountains, exploring on the way.
Saw this amazing ancient Sierra Juniper in Rock Creek Canyon. What an inspiration! It had incredible deadwood!
We set up camp at Grandview Campground near the ancient Bristlecone Forest that night.
Had a dinner of campfire burgers to fuel up for the next day of digging.
We spent the next day searching for and digging Utah Junipers. This is a popular area for collecting and a lot of people get permits to dig here so the more accessible areas have less good trees. With four wheel drive to get us back in some rough Forest Service roads we found a great spot. Digging Utah junipers is a lot more work and we got two Really nice trees with lots of old deadwood.
Headed home Sunday morning with a stop at Mammoth again to fill some bags with pumice. I got home at 3 PM and potted trees until dark. Still have six more to pot up today.
First day we hit Mammoth Mountain and dug some really nice Lodgepole and Western White Pines. Digging trees at Mammoth is a joy. They are growing in pure pumice with very shallow compact root systems. A few cuts with a sharp shovel and the tree is out and almost ready to go into a bonsai pot. This was my sixth time collecting there and nearly 100% of the trees from this spot have survived.
Here's a nice twin trunk Lodgepole.
A couple of hours and ten trees later, we headed for the White Mountains, exploring on the way.
Saw this amazing ancient Sierra Juniper in Rock Creek Canyon. What an inspiration! It had incredible deadwood!
We set up camp at Grandview Campground near the ancient Bristlecone Forest that night.
Had a dinner of campfire burgers to fuel up for the next day of digging.
We spent the next day searching for and digging Utah Junipers. This is a popular area for collecting and a lot of people get permits to dig here so the more accessible areas have less good trees. With four wheel drive to get us back in some rough Forest Service roads we found a great spot. Digging Utah junipers is a lot more work and we got two Really nice trees with lots of old deadwood.
Headed home Sunday morning with a stop at Mammoth again to fill some bags with pumice. I got home at 3 PM and potted trees until dark. Still have six more to pot up today.
