Iron Mountain Road (Mormon Emigrant Trail), El Dorado County
Closed for now.
There was more snow on the road last June than there was on 7 Jan this year. That photo on the left shows only the scant few patches that were lingering on the road sides. There were only a few ice patches on the road, and a photo of the Crystal Basin looks more like August than the start of winter. Note: I didn't drive all the way to prove it, but the UDFS gate is locked and blocks access to 88 up at the top by the snow park. No way to get to 88 for a trip to Carson Pass,...or Kirkwood.
Reasons to Go: It's a 30-mile corridor with 4000 feet of elevation change, lots of side roads, and a sampling of geology that includes a couple of volcanic areas that will provide interesting places to search out many floral surprises. Read about the history of this route and how it got the name Mormon-Emigrant TrailClick to read a really interesting article about the Gold Rush beginnings of this route....
Where? Iron Mountain Road connects E16 at Jenkinson Reservoir with Hwy 88 at the old ski resort. Note that the Iron Mountain Sno-Park (at 7359' elevation) is only accessible from Hwy 88 after the road is closed from Sly Park. Read about this road's history and connection to Carson Pass. This road is NOT listed with CA Hwy Conditions because it is not really considered a California highway. Instead the USFS refers to it as Forest Route 5, and current road conditions can be checked here, or just know that the road is closed now.
When? Any time from May (but possibly not until late June) until October. The road starts at 3500' and is not plowed. Result? Snow is guaranteed to block the road from December (more likely November) well into Spring. In 2005 the road wasn't clear until the 4th of July, in 2006 it was opened in late June, in 2007 it opened in late May, and in 2008, mid June!. As of 23 May 09, the road was open again, but due to continuing cool weather and thunderstorms, the flowers were only just getting into bloom as of 20 June! In 2010 it opened on 21 June. In 2011 it was on 9 July! USFS Road Conditions can be checked here, but they don't update the information every day. Note that even with no snow, the forest gate is locked. Don't bother trying to het to Kirkwood.
Tip: It seems that out-of-state visitors fly in to Sacramento, rent a car and head up for a ski vacation. The problem is, they follow a GPS in the car and it shows this as a great short-cut to Kirkwood. It isn't! Every winter a tow truck is called to go rescue somebody stuck in their Taurus in deep snow! Please don't try this road in Winter.
When I made my first drive up Iron Mountain Road, it was to go in search of firewood, not flowers. It was a little-used paved road that was simply a shortcut between two major highways (50 and 88), mostly ignored, closed by snow in the Fall and remaining closed until the snow melted, or until 1 July (according to the sign); usually it's open by Memorial Day when a plow clears the remaining patches and accumulated rocks and debris. Note: the plows don't clear the road of snow depth, they wait for the snow to melt and then the plows just clear the debris.
Times have changed. Several years ago a landslide closed Hwy 50 for a few weeks. People couldn't get to the ski areas, or worse, to the casinos of Stateline, NV. The next thing that happened was a complete re paving of the road to bring it up to standards and it was dubbed Alternate Hwy 50. It might take another hour (or two!) to go 30 miles south to Hwy 88, another 20 to go up and over Carson Pass to pick up Hwy 89 to go north another 25 miles to Myers where the intrepid gambler can resume use of Hwy 50 to get to Stateline, but what the heck?
The worst part of that deal was that lots of people found out about Alt 50, now just a fancier Iron Mountain Road. While it was once possible to spend a day on the road without seeing five other cars, now it is a more heavily traveled road, used by many (and abused by a few) but it remains a great place to go take a look at Nature and still get home by dinner.
Abused? When some people can't be bothered to stay on roads (there are many back roads to enjoy if you're a 4WD fan) and they literally drive over a drainage ditch to spin wheelies in soft soils. they create rutted and ruined soils, more drainage problems, and tear up sensitive vegetation.
On the corner of Pilliken Road, a dirt hillside has been turned into a dirt-bike ramp. There once was a little patch of calochortus that covered the ground just above the road, but now it's been trashed by dirt bikes riding up and over this new "ramp". Even with winter rains and snow, this damage is not erased. It was pleasing to see USFS trucks there recently, handing out citations to perhaps a dozen plastic-clad warriors who were standing there on top of the rise with dirt bikes at their sides. Thank you, USFS. Update: in 2010, some signs were posted to restrict vehicle access to a few places that have suffered.
As a side note: There is a soil type called the Pilliken Series. If you want to really go deep into nerdy science, read the description.
Back to the Good Stuff: Iron Mountain Road is a Great Place to Visit.
Turning onto IMR at the west end of Sly Park's Jenkinson Lake (actually a reservoir), you still need to cross over the two dams and get past the parking area for the hiking trail. Be cautious in the area because there are usually lots of fishermen and usually a lot of bicyclists preparing to peddle up the road.
Sly Park behind you, now it's up the road and take it at your own pace. Stop when you feel like it (lots of roadside area, many turn-outs and side roads) and simply explore. This ridge route offers a number of places to stop for a view despite being a corridor lined by a changing forest. There are many species of trees to count, staring with dogwoods, maples, and Doug-firs at the lower end, taking you up through zones with cedars, red fir and white fir stands.
Even before the road opens (because snow blocks it until late June) I often go to my favorite stop: a place with a great view and where I can watch for one of my favorite Lewisias (L. kelloggii) which will bloom in June. It also happens that there is a nice patch of lupine (L. grayii) there that it is very fragrant and will usually provide a few butterflies to enjoy. The butterflies are mostly Spring Azures, but there are other species in there too. In fact it proves to be a pretty good location to wander around for a good list of other species, so there's a good hour or more to spend investigating the slope t the west.
This particular spot also offers a great display of Calochortus leichtlinii, a common but especially pretty mariposa lily. This calochortus is one of those flowers that is so neat you want to keep shooting another picture because each new micro-scene is better than the one you shot two minutes ago. Digital cameras sure remove the burden of paying to develop 20 pictures of the same thing! And this is where I was able to get a shot of Clodius Parnassius nectaring at a calochortus. Click the picture...
In fact, as would be the case in any of several stops along IMR, wandering around and looking away from the road will produce some wonderful surprises: big displays of special flowers seem rather common in this area. I have found huge patches of five-spot, linanthus, and several species of mimulus, all growing in patches that might be 10 feet in diameter or more.
What's the Orange Stuff?
By mid summer there are a few places along the road where you will see large patches of orange covering the ground. Stop and look at dodder (Cuscuta californica), a parasitic plant that needs no chlorophyll because it takes all nutrients from a host plant. It's stringy, a bit sticky (viscid!), and curiously interesting. Visit WeedAlert.com and read about how Cuscuta does its thing...
The Schenk Camp Area...
Heading uphill, just about opposite the left turn to Silver Fork Road, there is a turn on the right with a chip-sealed road leading down a few hundred yards to Schenk Camp. You'll know it when you come to the pond.
Park somewhere out of the way, then probably head past the right side of the pond and find your way into the forest area ahead. From here you simply wander, finding a way toward the open slope you will see off to the right. As you tromp through the understory, find loads of lupine (L. albicaulis, plus ?), wallflower (Erysimum), and stickseed (Hackelia), etc.
It was an interesting caterpillar chomping its way through some stickseed at Schenk Camp that got me started with appreciating butterflies. I was curious about the colorful thing, started looking to find out what it was going to become, and stumbled upon Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site. I was able to get help with identification, and that led me to continue paying more attention to butterfliesClick to see a page of local butterfly photos.... It's just a little ironic that Gnophaela vermiculata is a moth that helped me to start seeing butterflies. I continue to visit Schenk Camp and recently found another cool new and colorful moth: a Red-winged Wave moth (Dasyfidonia avuncularia).
Schenk Camp is just a place worth looking for butterflies too, and a few interesting plants. I finally got back in time to find Baneberry (Actea rubra) in full bloom! This plant, while not rare, is simply not commonly found around here. The only other place I know to look is up near Lover's Leap on the hike up to that lookout point.
Past Schenk Camp...
Once you pass the Silver Fork turn-off you go through the curvy section that is always the last place for snow, then another mile or so and just past the road to Leek SpringsNamed by the first travelers for the plants they found that looked like leeks! Lookout, find the big curve at "Cornflower Meadow" (completely unofficial name I use for it!) where you might want to stop and wander. The grassy areas are great for Lewisia nevadensis, and scads of other small stuff to discover. The stream that flows through is a wonderful place to look for orchids and other wet-area flora. Just be mindful of not trampling the vegetation.
Once you leave that meadow behind, your next likely stop is at the sno-park area just at the intersection with Hwy 88. Of course any meadow area is worth a look, and there are many other places worth a stop as you cover the 30 miles from Sly Park to the old Iron Mountain Ski Resort at Hwy 88.
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