FYI the largest Joshua Trees are NOT in JTNP anymore!
go up Burns canyon to the Vaughn Spring area & further up 2N01/2, Rose Mine/Smarts Ranch area where the old Champion JT was and you'll see monsters!
they have many broken limbs from the heavy snows that occurred 3 (or so) years ago.
but Joshua Trees are pretty hardy compared to Pinyon Pine/Juniper around here.
a small percentage JT's survive fire and also re-sprout from the roots, not so w/Pinyon&Juniper.
seems if you hold a candle to those, they die. Junipers that burnt have a no-grow zone below them even decades later?
when a Joshua Tree limb breaks but doesn't fall off, it can still be alive, not so w/Pinyon/Juniper.
JT conductive channels are inside not on the outside 'bark',
then the sprouts have to orient up again creating the unique shapes.
I've transplanted plenty of Joshua Trees that are still alive,
but never successful w/Pinyon/Juniper.
3 tons of tree!
the Large Pinyon Pine, and Juniper are really disappearing!
and are not as fire-hardy as Joshua Trees.
fortunately there's more of them and they exist higher elevations as well and I can just see them surviving above 5kft.
BTW, the Vaughn spring is flowing well as usual..ponds are full
and the water is good unfiltered, one can make it back there in a car no problems.
Rattlesnake Canyon (the one near Vaughn spring that goes out to Johnson Valley) has flowing water on the surface still, but it's hiking/extreme vehicle only.
A spectacularly beautiful and unburnt area/deep canyon.
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 1:00 pm