SO BE FREE 20

March 27-30, 2015
San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California
Coordinators: Paul Wilson and Brent Mishler

We were based at YMCA Camp Arbolado, approximately 2 hours east of L.A. and 4 hours south of Las Vegas. We did a complete transect of the mountain, along state highways 38 and 18, from the foothills in Yucaipa, over Onyx Summit at 8,400 ft. elevation, and down to the Mojave Desert. Habitats visited along this transect ranged from the Santa Ana River floodplain, to cismontane chaparral, oak woodland, riparian wash, calcareous waterfalls, conifer woodland, pebble plains, piñon-juniper woodland, and transmontane high desert. Some were shocked to find that the bryophyte diversity was highest in the desert!

SO BE FREE 20 plaque (at right) by Susan Tremblay, donated to Camp Arbolado.