Native Plants of the Mojave Desert Mountains

 

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE EVENT INFO PAGE AS IT WILL LIST MEETING LOCATION, TIME & MORE. 

Explore the native flora of the joshua tree woodland, and the pinyon - juniper woodland in desert mountains. In each ecosystem we will learn plant associations and how they relate to factors such as symbiotic relationships, soil, elevation, and the desert fauna. We will meet native, medicinal, and wild food flora on this hike where we will learn traditional and modern medicinal uses of the plants. The location listed on the event says it is in the city of San Bernadino, it is in fact in between Big Bear and Lucerne and not San Bernadino, the location address is listed as this and I could not edit it.   

We will be hiking in the San Bernadino National Forest Cactus Flats area just off of Highway 18, north of Big Bear and south of Lucerne Valley. A short from the Morongo Basin and a bit of a further drive for the folks in the Coachella Valley. We will caravan up to an elevation of just over 6,000 feet. Meeting information is listed below. 

 

We will start the hike with a Native Plant Tea Journey where we will explore the physical energetics, taste, and medicinal uses of the plant which guest will meet this plant on the hike. This is an introduction to the exploration of thermal energetics and the five flavors; salty, sweet, acrid, astringent, sour. 

 

 We will be in higher elevation so warm clothing is needed for this event. Please check the weather for Big Bear Lake, CA. area. Though we will not be in Big Bear this is the closest area for weather check.

NEEDED ITEMS:

• Cup to participate in the plant tea journey.
• 2 liters water per person  
• sunscreen
• Weather appropriate clothing. i.e. beanie, down jacket, warm jacket, gloves, windbreaker, base layers clothing to have with you or in  your day-pack
• closed toed hiking boots/shoes. 
• snacks, we will be far from a nearby grocery store, market          
• Trekking poles not needed but we will climb small hills. 

Location & Time 

 

Coming from the Coachella Valley, Morongo Basin and surrounding areas: Our travel time to the location is 50 minutes. Please arrive on time as we will be departing by 10:15. 

TIME: 10:00 AM

WHERE: Parking lot of Giant Rock Meeting Room (Flamingo Heights area) 

Giant Rock Meeting Room

1141 Old Woman Springs Rd, 

Yucca Valley, CA 92284

 

Coming from Big Bear/Fawnskin: 

TIME 11:30

WHERE: Take HWY 18 down towards Lucerne Valley (slow down because turn off is sharp) turn right onto Forest Road 3NO3. We will meet at the turn off.

 

FAQ

Q. Do I need to be an experienced hiker to participate? 

A. This is a hike for everyone, even the little ones. We will not be doing any difficult hiking, boulder hoping or scrambling. 

Q. Will we be wildcrafting?

A. No. This is an opportunity to learn about the desert flora and ecosystems. We will learn both the positive and negative impacts wildcrafting can have on any ecosystem but especially that of the fragile desert ecosystems. We encourage cultivating 

native flora. 

Q. Can I bring my dog?

A. Sorry, furry friends can not join us on this hike. 

 

Ticket sales are final, no refunds or exchaning for future events.