More Wildflowers

Some cool plants I met recently!

Spotted Coral Root Orchid,

(Corallorhiza maculala) near Camp Eight on Rd 361. These orchids are everywhere this year!

Bead Lilly,

(Clintonia Andrewsiana) top of Gas Cap Trail.

Wild Iris,

(Iris Douglasiana) Rd 720 near Gas Cap Trail.

Wildflowers

Wet springs the last few years have helped this to be a great wildflower year. Rhododendrons in the pygmy forest areas are especially beautiful this spring. Irises in sunny areas are also blooming spectacularly. This is a great time of year to explore the forest!




Dogwood, Hwy 20 east of Camp Twenty.

Tree Poachers on Rd 409

Unauthorized tree cutting is a problem in JDSF. Poachers trash trails and reduce the beauty of the area. Most thieves are only after some firewood to sell or burn. Others are stealing logs for lumber milling. This site south of Rd 409 is one of the most blatant rip offs I have seen!

Old growth snag cut down by wood thieves!

Trees felled by wood poachers.













Marks left along thieves road.

JDSF Trail Signs

Over the years many attempts have been made to help trail users to find their way. Vandalism is the biggest problem with trail signs. Some trail users would like to keep the trails for themselves and tear them down so it is hard for others to find. Some want a souvenir and steal attractive signs. Others shoot at and destroy them for fun.
Gas Tank Trail at Little Lake Trail
This was a low cost attempt at marking trails using paper plates. Most plates at trail heads were immediately torn down. This plate has held up for more than two years.

Little Lake Trail at Rd 409
Metal signs where put up some years ago when this was an official County trail from the town of Mendocino to the city of Willits. Most have been vandalized but are still in place and useful. The County has abandoned this trail and it is hard to find outside of JDSF.

Cook House Gulch Trail at Opservation Point Trail
Carved wood signs were put up by CCC workers many years ago. Some of these surely must have been stolen. These were recently reconditioned and placed at the junction of Cook House and Observation Point Trails.

Cook House Gulch / Forest History Trail at Manley Gulch Trail
Laminated paper markers are being used in the Woodlands Camps area. These are inexpensive and seem to be holding up.