AN INVITATION FROM THE YERBA BUENA CHAPTER COOK AND GREEN PASS & ENVIRONS, July 7-10, Friday-Monday (all or part) Cosponsored by California Horticultural Society & Western Chapter North American Rock Garden Society from Barbara Pitschel, San Francisco In the Siskiyou Mountains of northwestern California, west of Yreka, a few miles north of Seiad Valley (a tiny town on Highway 96 along the Klamath River), and less than four miles south of the Oregon border is one of the botanical hotspots of California-4,700- foot-elevation Cook & Green Pass. The area is home to more than 500 species that thrive in the area's unusual soils, which are comprised of both serpentine and limestone derivatives. Multiple species of sedums, lewisias, irises, lilies, ferns, penstemons, lupines, and other flowers too numerous to count-many of them rare-occur in this area. Some rare conifers include the weeping spruce (Picea breweriana) and the Siskiyou cypress (Cupressus bakeri ssp. matthewsii). Right at the pass itself are numerous deer oaks (Quercus sadleriana). Northern flora elements are represented, such as Oregon boxwood (Paxistima myrsinites), Clintonia uniflora, Anemone deltoidea and 14 different orchids. Over many decades, local botanists, horticulturists, and plant lovers have worked to afford protection to this area, including James Roof (first director of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden at Tilden Park), Wayne Roderick (Jim Roof's successor and our dear friend), as well as ... [trip leaders] Stew Winchester and Ted Kipping and our chapter conservation guru Jake Sigg. Stew, an inspiration in the conservation and education worlds, teaches and inspires students at Diablo Valley College, Merritt College, and in the field. Ted, tree- shaper by profession, is omni-knowledgeable and omni-instinctive in his understanding of the earth and plant sciences, and is especially skilled at conveying his information through exquisite photographs. ... visit one of California's rarest and most spellbinding floristic areas, in a remote and seldom-visited (except by plant lovers) location, away from the madding crowds. Your options are variable: you can come for one or more days of the trip; you can camp in a primitive dry campground above the pass, or you can stay in a motel a couple of hours away. From the Bay Area, drive north on Interstate 5 (I-5) to Yreka (about a five-hour trip). Yreka is a good place to stock up on provisions, and some non-campers may choose to secure motel accommodations there; it's about a two-hour drive from Yreka to Cook & Green Pass. Continue north from Yreka for about ten more miles on I- 5, exiting on Highway 96 (H-96) west. Follow H-96 to Seiad Valley (about 50 miles). If you prefer to motel in Happy Camp, about 15 miles beyond Seiad Valley on H-96, it's advisable to reserve ahead. Information about accommodation availability and costs can be readily found on the web. Day-trippers, as well as campers, are advised to stop in Seiad Valley. On the south side of H-96 is a US Forestry Station, where you can fill your water containers. Carry enough water for all your needs. There is a store on the north side of H-96 where you can pick up other last-minute supplies. Just past the store, you will cross the Seiad Creek bridge, after which you should immediately turn right on Seiad Valley Road, a good-condition gravel road that will take you through exciting wildflower communities to the pass. (Resist the temptation to stop; we'll visit these flowers on the way down.) After the pass Seiad Road ends, and the road then turns to the right and descends into Oregon. Those choosing to camp will stay at Bee Camp, at the end of a rough, unimproved road that splits off to the left. Campers whose vehicles have insufficient clearance can park their cars at the pass (the road is little used); we will have high- clearance vans and four-wheel-drive vehicles to transport you and your camping gear. In all probability, Friday and Saturday nights will be spent in the vicinity of Bee Camp, with optional day hikes to see rare and wonderful wildflowers nearby. On Sunday we will probably explore plant-rich areas on the road out, and for those who wish to stay over until Monday, we can caravan to one of the other nearby botanical treasure chests on our route. Stew takes his Diablo Valley College summer horticulture students to this area each year, so he will be putting up a website in mid-May that will give the details you need for this trip. Check out . There is no fee and your degree of participation can be as much or as little as you choose, but because the area is remote and because we want to stay in touch with our interested participants, we ask that you let us know when you are coming and where you plan to stay, so that we can make arrangements to meet up with everyone, whether for transport on the final lap to the campground or merely for congregating for walks. For information about trip logistics, things to bring, etc., you can call Stew Winchester on his cell phone at 510-685-7024. Contact Barbara Pitschel (415-282-5066 ) for other, more general, information (keeping in mind that this will be her first trip to Cook & Green Pass-fulfilling a long-time dream-and that her detailed information on the site is not first-hand). We look forward to exploring a botanical paradise with our fellow plant lovers. #####