[NFB-Science] exploring pine trees on Mount San Jacinto

Sat Apr 27 23:23:48 UTC 2024

This is probably my favorite email I've ever seen on this list serv. I live
in Minnesota and I am sure there's stuff like this around that I need to
find. Thank you so much for sharing!

Thank you and best regards,
Rachel Richards

On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 1:42 PM Donna Posont via NFB-Science <
nfb-science at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hi John,
> This sounds like you had a fabulous opportunity. You may remember that I
> coordinate the Birding by Ear and Beyond program at the University of
> Michigan Dearborn. The Beyond word in the title pertains to nature
> exploration with subjects such as tree identification. We feel the bark and
> also the shapes of the leaves in summer. With Pines we count the number of
> needles, which are leaves, in a cluster. For example, the White Pine has
> five needles bound together and that happens to be our state tree. The Red
> Pine typically has three needles in a cluster and bark that feels like
> flakey pie crust. Anyway, it is fun to learn about the wonders in nature
> and
> I have great passion for learning techniques that blind people can use in
> the natural environment.
> Blessings,
> Donna Posont
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFB-Science <nfb-science-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of John
> Miller
> via NFB-Science
> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 1:52 PM
> To: NFB Science and Engineering Division List <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: John Miller <johnmillerphd at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [NFB-Science] exploring pine trees on Mount San Jacinto
>
> Hello,
> I live in San Diego California a few hundred feet above sea level.
> I do not often get a chance to touch pine trees which grow in the
> mountains.
> Last weekend on April 20 I went on a hike as part of the Blind Stokers Club
> www.blindstokersclub.org<http://www.blindstokersclub.org>.
> The club got founded as a tandem cycling club with sighted and blind
> cyclists.
> It has since branched out and there is now a blind hiking team.
>
> Anyway, this e-mail is mostly about the pine trees I touched at San Jacinto
> State Park which is on top of Mount San Jacinto.
> Mount San Jacinto is near Palm Springs. It is a 2 hour drive from my home
> if
> you leave at 6 A.M.  It is a 2 to 3 hour drive back home in the afternoon
> or
> evening.
>
> To reach the top of the mountain we took the Palm Springs Aerial Tram.
> The cable car starts its trip at 2600 feet elevation and after a 10 minute
> journey reaches its destination which is Mountain Station.
> Mountain Station is at 8500 feet elevation. As an interesting side note,
> the
> floor of the aerial tram slowly rotates providing an enjoyable view out the
> glass walls for sighted passengers.  I joked to a blind friend that it was
> so fascinating how the music playing on the speakers mounted on the ceiling
> were slowly rotating relative to our position during the ride.
> In fact we were rotating and the speakers were stationary but I cannot
> prove
> it.
> The tram passes through 5 support towers on its journey from the bottom to
> its top.  You can read a lot on Wikipedia about why and how the tram works.
> I still have a lot of questions about its engineering design.
>
> Back to the pine trees I touched.  There were two kind of pine trees I came
> across at 8500 feet elevation. The two trees I looked at were somewhere
> between Mountain Station and the Five Notches Loop Trail. My hike was about
> 3 miles with frequent pauses for the group to take it easy and enjoy the
> day.
> The high temperature on the mountain on April 20 was 53 degrees. After
> taking the tram to the foot of the mountain in the late afternoon it was 90
> to 95 degrees.
> One of the pine trees was a long needled pine and the other was some kind
> of
> fir tree.
> The needles of the fir tree reminded me quite a lot of the Christmas tree I
> get from Home Depot which is a Noble fir.
> I do not know what kind of fir tree this was but when I crushed its needle
> it gave off a very lemony scent.
> The long needled pine is almost certainly a Jeffrey Pine.
> A crushed needle from the Jeffrey Pine smelled like a pine tree but not
> lemony at all.
> Learning from Wikipedia I see that almost noone can tell Jeffrey pines
> apart
> from Ponda Rosa pines.
> The Jeffrey pine trees have much longer pine cones than do the ponderosa
> pine trees.
> Something like 4.5 to 8 inches long versus 2 to 4 inches.
> I did not have the opportunity to touch a pine cone while on my adventure.
> I read that ponderosa pines do not grow over 7500 feet so almost for sure
> the long needled pine was a Jeffrey Pine.
> The mountain air on Mount San Jacinto smells amazing like a pine forest.
> My sighted friends usually take in the trees just by walking past them.
> I request of my friends or family that I stop and touch a few trees of each
> variety while on a hike near trees.
> On this hike about half the trail was covered in snow or packed ice.  I
> also
> stopped to listen to a rushing mountain stream full of snow melt run-off.
> There are very few rushing streams in San Diego. San Diego is a desert
> area.
> I want to thank my friend Evan who organized the trip, provided
> transportation for me and others, and who was my hiking guide.
> Evan is also the one who helped me find the pine trees to look at.
> Very best,
> John
>
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