• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

CNPS East Bay

  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Members Meetings
    • Field Trips
    • Donate
    • Membership in CNPS
    • Restoration Projects
    • Stay Connected
  • Gardening
  • Conservation & Science
    • Conservation Committee
    • East Bay Rare Plants
    • Plants of the East Bay
    • Database of Rare and Unusual Plants
    • Research Grants Program
  • Publications
    • Bay Leaf Archives
    • News Archive
    • Guidebook to Botanical Priority Protection Areas
    • Annotated checklist of the East Bay Flora
    • Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Officers & Committees
    • Press

March 24, 2021

Mono Pass to the Kuna Crest: A Backpacking Pilgrimage to an Alpine Temple

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 — 7:30 pm

Speaker: Michael Uhler

Atop the altar of Kuna Peak, the high point of the Kuna Crest, looking northeast towards Mono Lake. Photo by Michael Uhler.

Join Michael Uhler’s pod (Michael and his wife, Ellen) for a backpacking sojourn up Bloody Canyon, over Mono and Parker passes, and then on to the Kuna Crest and other nearby alpine zones known as sky islands. This past summer they camped for ten days at over 11,000 feet in splendid isolation, admiring the alpine ecology, geology, and especially the botany.

The alpine region is the zone above the tree line, and although it looks barren from afar, it is full of fascinating, diminutive plant species that have been the focus of Michael’s botanical interest for almost twenty years. Within the alpine zone are sky islands, very special plateaus that were never glaciated. Sky islands are often home to and refuges for an unusual and diverse assemblage of plant species and are the ultimate botanical destination for the alpine botanist.

For over fifteen years, Michael Uhler has been the curator and horticulturist of the Sierra Nevada section at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Regional Park. He recently completed a crevice rock garden at the botanic garden to grow and display plants found in the alpine zone. With special permission from the Inyo National Forest, propagules from many species described in Michael’s talk are now being cultivated in the botanic garden.

Our CNPS East Bay speaker programs will be presented as online meetings until it is once again safe to gather in person. If you have questions, contact programs@ebcnps.org.

Primary Sidebar

Some of our past speakers were recorded and can be seen on our YouTube channel.

Past Speakers:

Meet Jun Bando, Our New Statewide CNPS Executive Director (January 25, 2023)

Saging the World (September 28, 2022)

Distribution and Ecology of Vernal Pools (February 23, 2022)


See all ...

Subscribe to our newsletter

Upcoming Events:

March 22, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Online Lecture: San Bruno Mountain, A Bay Area Botanical Treasure (On-line Lecture)
March 25, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Albany Hill Restoration Project (Albany) (Restoration Project)
April 13, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change – A 25-Year Journey (On-line Lecture)
April 15, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Bringing Back the Natives Tour: Online version (Garden Tour)
April 16, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 29, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Albany Hill Restoration Project (Albany) (Restoration Project)

Join CNPS

Footer

  • FacebookFacebook
  • InstagramInstagram
  • MeetupMeetup
  • YouTubeYouTube

Copyright © 2023 California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter — CNPS Privacy Policy