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astrobaja
Senior Nomad
Posts: 952
Registered: 5-22-2006
Location: near San Pedro Martir Park
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Mood: beam me up
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I hear what you are saying about the negative influence of 1000's of visitors, but I don't think that will ever be the case here in the SPM. Since we
moved here 5 years ago (just after the road was paved up to the park) there has only been a moderate increase in park traffic. If you visit during the
week you could easily still be the only one in the park, ironically the greatest numbers of visitors are in the winter where Mexicans come up to see
the snow (many have never experienced it). I really can't see the addition of the museum being that great a draw, merely an added bonus activity for
those already wanting to come up and enjoy nature.
As for the rancher way of life, like other places in the world that is disappearing as the young do not want the life of isolation. Its easy to over
romaticise the cowboy image but its a hard hard way to make a living in a area that really cannot support large numbers of livestock. Many cattle died
this summer up in the park from lack of food and from neglect.
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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encanto
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Registered: 3-13-2008
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Thanks Astrobaja, that was in the back of my mind as well when I posted, about the ranching lifestyle more natuarally diminishing with successive
generations finding other ways to earn a living. It's sad to hear about the cattle dying, though I still would not like to be intruding and creating
bad feelings when the situation will ultimately resolve itself.
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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BIG TREES
GRAHAM,nice pic's !!
" on average the trees are bigger and older than their counterparts in the California Sierra" your quote ... but, I DONT THINK SO!! I asume I'm
missing the joke here ?? K&T
[Edited on 8-24-2012 by captkw]
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Graham
Senior Nomad
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Registered: 6-16-2006
Location: San Diego and DeTour, MI
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Capt,
No, no kidding, comparing trees of same species... and it's surprising to folks more familair with the Baja desert, there's a real hidden gem of an
old growth forest in Baja's highest mountain range.
Here's a pic of my wife at the base of a Jeffrey or Ponderosa a bit over a mile from the observatory...
And I hate to quote my own book about the Sierra San Pedro Martir - Nearer My Dog to Thee - but I discuss this in the early chapters, including the
University of California research backing it up.
One of the UCLA studies found that in the SPM the oldest Jeffrey pines were 448 years old, whereas at comparable sites in the Sierras they were about
300 years old!
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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HOLA GRAHAM
I MEET YOU IN SAN JOSE DEL CABO WHEN YOU WHERE DOING ONE OF YOUR FIRST WALK PRSENTATIONS..MY MOM IS LYNN HUGGINS IF THAT RINGS A BELL..HEY GREAT PICS
AND THATS ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IN BAJA THAT I HAVE NOT GONE ALL THE UP/THROUGH..WHEN I WENT IN THE EARLY 80'S THE ROAD WAS A LITTLE ROUGH.... BUT THE
BIG TREES ARE THE COAST REDWOODS AND THE GIANT SEQUOIAS..THE BIGGEST BY FAR IN THE WORLD I BELIVE..AND I UNDERSTAND YOU SAID THOSE WERE PONDREOSA.I
ALSO SEEN SOME OF THOSE BIG AS HELL..SO I'M GONNA DO A BIT OF RESEARCH AND WILL U2U..BIG BASIN MOUNTAIN MAN !! K&T
[Edited on 8-25-2012 by captkw]
[Edited on 8-25-2012 by captkw]
[Edited on 8-25-2012 by captkw]
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
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Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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OOPS
ME BAD..YOU SAID JEFFRY PINE..MY MISTAKE AS THE COAST REDWOODS GET OVER 2000 YRS OLD...MY BAD READING ,,SORRY.....K&T DAMN I'M WORKING WAYYY TOO MUCH !! I CANT EVEN READ MY OWN BURRO !! LOL
[Edited on 8-25-2012 by captkw]
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Graham
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Registered: 6-16-2006
Location: San Diego and DeTour, MI
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Capt,
I sure remember the presentation I gave in San Jose del Cabo and the wonderful hospitality of Lynn and Murray and everyone else who helped arrange it.
I think it was 1994 or 1995.
Yes, the big trees in the SPM are definitely not the California giants, but some pretty impressive sugar pines, white firs, lodgepole pines, and the
Jeffrey/ponderosas. And what's really neat is how open and park-like the forest is thanks to the absence of fire suppression.
Fires are common and tend to burn themselves out without doing the kind of damage seen every year in the forests of the west. The small trees and
brush get cleared out and the big trees survive protected by their thick bark... and that's how it used to be in all the forests of the US.
The San Pedro Martir is a natural laboratory for those studying the damaging long time effects of fire suppression, namely permitting the build up of
excessive understory, enough to destroy the big trees and take out vast sections of forest.
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
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Location: el charro b.c.s.
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graham
wow..you have a sharpe mind !! yes, lynn and murray !! I rememeber you as a baja hero..I need to go back up there (mikes skyranch) and go further in
and spend some time !! great pics.. most folks asume baja is all desert....not the case as you well know..also you can be in cabo san lucas and less
than 35 klicks away can be snow !!! K&T ps loved your first book " into
a desert place" if memory serves right...now I have get the other one thats on this post...thanks for all your insperation over the years !!!!
[Edited on 8-25-2012 by captkw]
[Edited on 8-25-2012 by captkw]
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
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Wonderful post - great information. Thanks Graham. I copy/pasted the map of the camping areas. So glad about the museum - nicely done, and will
hopefully inspire conservation and appreciation of wilderness areas.
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Graham
Senior Nomad
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Registered: 6-16-2006
Location: San Diego and DeTour, MI
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Thanks Capt and Wilderone. Maybe see you there one day... and as well as the museum there are a number of super helpful rangers and biologists to
enhance your wilderness experience.
I've never been up there in the winter when the mountains are white with snow but it must be a wonderful sight. Maybe that will be my next trip.
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BajaGringo
Ultra Nomad
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Location: La Chorera
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Mood: Let's have a BBQ!
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Wow! We definitely need to plan a trip up to see Mike and Pam and then a side trip to see the new museum. Wonderful news...
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BornFisher
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Location: K-38 Santa Martha/Encinitas
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Great report Graham! Looks like a lot of people spent a lot of effort and time and dinero for those beautiful displays.
And you can tell they have a professional staff, that keeps their eyes on possible troublemakers!! 
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Graham
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Location: San Diego and DeTour, MI
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Yea, they sure kept a close eye on me...
Actually they are the nicest, friendliest folks. Part of what makes visiting the park such a delight. A couple of the rangers shared their breakfast
with me the morning I left. Probably wouldn't get that courtesy in Yosemite.
And Mike and Pam's place is so beautiful and interesting... well worth a detour... I'm looking forward to seeing it again and peering into the
mysteries of the universe.
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
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Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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Graham,
Thanks for sharing the narrative & photos. When I was there in April 2012, I saw no construction activity and was wondering if and when the visitor center would open. It looks great!
What a neat opportunity you had to be there for the opening. And with your dog, too. Alas, the last of my three doggies finally passed away shortly
before my April 2012 trip down there --- I must get out and obtain/read your latest book. I thoroughly enjoyed your "walkabout" book and have since
passed it on to a friend.
Your one campsite photo looks exactly like the campsite I stayed in; first site on the right, Puma, I believe.
I also saw grazing cattle in the upper meadow and was disappointed to see grazing and so much destruction of the native grasslands. And yet in the
course of 30 minutes of quiet pondering, I saw one lone bicyclist (perhaps a ranger), one bobcat, several large birds, deer and of course, squirrels.
It appeared to me that SPM is largely "undiscovered", at least when compared to American national parks & forests. Perhaps that is why it is
better suited to "rebound" to an even more pristine ecosystem.
Note to those who have not visited yet --- this park is in excellent condition and should be on your bucket list; any negative feedback is minor
commentary on easily visible degradation.
| Quote: | Originally posted by Graham
Thanks Capt and Wilderone. Maybe see you there one day... and as well as the museum there are a number of super helpful rangers and biologists to
enhance your wilderness experience.
I've never been up there in the winter when the mountains are white with snow but it must be a wonderful sight. Maybe that will be my next trip.
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Be sure and get a few decals for your car when you visit ...
[Edited on 2012-9-25 by bryanmckenzie]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
-Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
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Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mulegena
Thanks, Graham, for the inside peek of the museum and the mountains around.
Man, are they rugged-- Yosemite goes to Baja!
Being an Alta California mountain girl now living in Baja its comforting to see terrain that looks familiar. I'm happy to see the photos of the
various pine trees and pine cones that are up there. Wherever there are pines, I'm at once at home.
Are there Manzanita up there, btw?
Oh, I just gotta go visit myself very soon.
Great post! |
Hi Mulegena,
Me too. As much as I love the beach and desert, I love big ol' pine cones and forest. In April I took about a dozen big ones back north with me to
give away to friends. Ironically, the border agent didn't much care about "importing" a bunch of big ol' seeds from SPM.
[Edited on 2012-9-25 by bryanmckenzie]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
-Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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For the archives ... July 2010 view
For the archives ... July 2010 view
[Edited on 2012-9-25 by bryanmckenzie]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
-Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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