San Bernardinos Offer a Course in Forest Ecology

San Bernardino National Forest is a huge parcel of land, larger than Rhode Island. The national forest, which takes in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains, is the second largest in California (after Los Padres), and it is one of the most heavily used recreation areas in the nation.

A huge portion of the San Bernardino Mountains was protected by the establishment of the San Bernardino Forest Reserve in 1893 by President Benjamin Harrison. Subsequently, the name Reserve was changed to National Forest. In 1908, the San Bernardino National Forest and the Angeles National Forest were brought together under the latter name, but in 1925, President Coolidge divided them again.

San Bernardino National Forest is not only huge, it is botanically diverse: The forest hosts ecological communities ranging from sage brush to subalpine, from Joshua tree to limber pine. One of the best places to learn about national-forest flora is at Heaps Peak Arboretum, near the community of Running Springs. Most of the arboretum is filled with mixed stands of pine and fir--the typical forest community of these parts. In addition, the arboretum grows trees and shrubs that are representative of other parts of the forest.

Directions to the trailhead: From Interstate 10 in Redlands, exit on California 30 and follow the highway signs through minor detours and suburbs-in-the-making. As California 30 begins to climb into the San Bernardino Mountains, it becomes California 330. Eighteen miles from Redlands, you’ll reach a highway junction on the outskirts of Running Springs. Bear northwest on California 18 (following signs toward Lake Arrowhead). Four miles of driving along this winding mountain road brings you to Heaps Peak Arboretum. There’s plenty of parking just off the road.

The trail: A walk through the arboretum is a relaxing--and quite educational--experience. Numbered stops along the trail are keyed to a pamphlet, which can be picked up at the trailhead. The entertaining pamphlet, published by the Rim-of-the-World Interpretive Assn., is a mini-botany course.

The arboretum began in 1928 when the Lake Arrowhead Women’s Club began planting trees. A 1922 fire had devastated Heaps Peak, so the club’s efforts were welcomed by professional foresters and the public. A 1956 fire swept through the area, but most of the larger trees survived.

Logging Operations

Early in this century, timber lured Southern Californians to Heaps Peak and the surrounding high country. One of the largest San Bernardino Mountains logging operations was conducted by the Brookings Box and Lumber Co. between 1898 and 1910.

Robert Brookings and company built a sawmill just outside present-day Running Springs in a hamlet known as Fredalba. The company laid a somewhat astonishing 30 miles of railroad track through rugged terrain to haul out the thick stands of pine and fir that stretched from Heaps Peak to Arrowbear Lake.

A tiny Shay locomotive with a balloon-like smokestack hauled the felled trees down the narrow-gauge tracks to the mill. About 8,000 acres were clear-cut. Most of the lumber went into orange crates to meet the demand of the Southland’s citrus growers.

Nature lovers of all hiking abilities will learn something from the interpretive displays along Heaps Peak Trail. Did you know that the willow contains salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin? Did you know that the Coulter pine’s 8-pound pine cones are the world’s largest?

It’s hard not to like a nature trail that begins with the forest philosophy of Buddha and ends with the natural history of the gooseberry.

Interpretive displays reveal secrets of the piney woods. Budding naturalists will learn how to tell one pine from another. One slightly bizarre sight along the trail: The various pine cones are enshrined in elevated display cases that in the misty distance resemble objects of worship.

The pines of the San Bernardino Mountains--Coulter, sugar, ponderosa, Jeffrey and knobcone--have survived fires and loggers and have battled and continue to battle no fewer than 108 species of insects.

Another challenge

Now they face another great challenge: smog.

While the pines growing on the shoulders of 6,421-foot Heaps Peak are just above the smog line and seem to be faring well, their lower-elevation conifer cousins face an uncertain future.

After you’ve enjoyed Heaps Peak Trail, head down California 18 about 1 1/2 miles to Switzer Park Picnic Area, or drive over to nearby Lake Arrowhead.

Three-quarter-mile loop through Heaps Peak Arboretum.