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Jardine Junier, 18 September, 2022

 On Sunday morning nine hikers gathered to hike an old favorite trail to the Jardine Juniper. 

This year we made a parking lot decision to create a shuttle hike by going up our traditional route from Wood Camp and then descending through Cottonwood Canyon.  This alternate route shortened the hike by about 3.5 miles, but the trade off would be a steeper descent.

The Old Juniper trail up from Wood Camp was in good condition.  There were new signs at the trailhead and newly aligned trail sections from recent trail work.

The  trail down Cottonwood Canyon is not an official Forest Service "System Trail".  It was built a few years ago by hikers to make a shorter (and steeper) route to the Jardine Juniper via lower Cottonwood Canyon.  We found the trail to be in good condition with surprisingly solid footing as we climbed down through the rocks.  We were impressed with the quality of the trail and the work done by the trail builders.

Trip Summary:
  • Nine participants; Brent L. (leader), Dave P., Jim, Nancy, Teresa, Jane, Dave W., Joan, and Chris
  • Drove 13 miles to Wood Camp and 2 more miles to leave a shuttle vehicle at Cottonwood Canyon
  • Started on the trail at 8:45 with the temperature at 51 degrees and sunny skies
  • Lunch at a point above the tree from 12:00-12:25 
  • Arrived at the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon at 2:00 with temperature at 77 degrees
  • Our track shows about 7.2 miles, with about 1870 feet of ascent and 1750 descent.

Thanks to Brent for the narrative and photos, Dave P. for photos and Dave W. for photos and and GPS data.

At the Wood Camp Trailhead


Parts of the old trail were barricaded to aid in restoration Some of the new trail sections were infested with weeds


Which way does the trail go?
 The trailside bench is damaged.

After enjoying lunch (left), we took the side trail down to the Jardine Juniper tree

The old juniper tree still looks good


We visited the old tree and headed down the steep trail to Cottonwood Canyon

Parts of the descent were quite steep and rocky


The trail was shady and nearly level in lower Cottonwood Canyon
 We spotted a single Noel's owls-clover, Orthocarpus holmbreniorum.  Until now, we have not seen this rare plant within several miles of this location. 


Showy goldeneye, Heliomeris multiflora
Tufted rockmat, Petrophytum caespitosum

Our GPS track shows about 7.2 miles and 1870 feet of ascent.
You can look at our route using Google Earth or download our GPS file.