Lily Spring Area Survey:
The study area in winter
In the winter months the study area is largely inaccessible after substantial snowfall. The total average snowfall in these parts of the San Gabriel Mountains is about 100 inches per year. In addition to the mountain slopes of the study area being inaccessible, the road is closed after the first heavy snowfall, and is typically not reopened until the May time frame.
None of this stops our field team from visiting the study area occasionally. This typically entails parking at the point where the road is closed by a gate, such as at Islip Saddle, or even further back, and walking in along the road with snowshoes. The longest distance that Jane Tirrell walked along Highway 2 this winter was about four miles to Mile Marker 66.82 (see image below), which is beside one of the major drainage gullies of the study area, densely populated with wet-area plants during the summer months. What a dramatic difference!
Click on the thumbnails to see higher-resolution images.
January 18, 2011
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Road closed for the winter at Islip Saddle |
The study area hillside seen from afar. The right-hand image includes annotations |
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February 3, 2011
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Drainage from Little Jimmy Spring, western edge of study area |
Trail leading from Windy Gap to Mt. Islip |
On Pacific Crest Trail, looking down towards Little Jimmy Spring |
Western bluebird along HIghway 2, just west of the Williamson tunnels |
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March 9, 2011
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Highway 2, near western boundary of the LSAS study area |
The drainage coming down from Little Jimmy Spring |
At Mile Marker 66.43 on HIghway 2, near the water tank |
Looking east on Hwy 2 towards the drainage at MM 66.82 |
Cave-in on Hwy 2 at the CalTrans depot near Eagles Roost |
Images Copyright © 2010-2012 Jane Tirrell
