A walk through plant chemistry: actual and virtual trails through the Cambridge University Botanic Garden (CUBG)

A chemical trail has been created through the Cambridge University Botanic Garden (CUBG) to reinforce the interest in plant chemistry [1]. This trail identifies selected plant species, featured at twenty-two stopping points along the trail. Selected plants are associated with a webpage and further detailed information—accessible via quick response (QR) code for garden visitors with a QR-scanning mobile phone. 
The plant webpages feature chemicals characteristic for a given plant species or genus [2]. Here is an alphabetically ordered list of featured plant ingredients including links to their biochemical description, molecular structure diagram, 3D crystal structure and plant classification:

Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin): Salix (Willow), Salicaceae.
Aloin B: Aloe vera, Xanthorrhoeaceae.
Alpha and beta pinene: Pinus nigra (European Black Pine), Pinaceae.
Artemisinin: Artemisia annua (Sweet wormwood), Asteraceae.
Beta-amyrin: Asclepias syriaca (Common milkweed), Apocynaceae.
Beta-carotene: Daucus carota (Wild carrot), Apiaceae.
Caffeine: Coffea (Coffee), Rubiaceae.
Capsaicin, Capsicum annum (Chilli Pepper), Solanaceae.
Coumarin: Galium odoratum (Sweet woodruff), Rubiaceae.
Diallyl disulfide: Allium sativum (Garlic), Amaryllidaceae.
Digoxin: Digitalis (Foxglove), Plantaginaceae.
Formic acid: Urtica dioica (Stinging nettle), Urticaceae.
Gossypol: Gossypium (Cotton), Malvaceae.
Isoadhumulone: Humulus lupulus (Common hop), Cannabaceae.
Melatonin: Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew), Asteraceae.
Menthol: The Mints, Mentha species, Lamiaceae.
Nicotine: Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco), Solanaceae.
Paclitaxel: Taxus baccata (European Yew), Taxaceae.
Quercetin: Opuntia (Prickly pear), Cactaceae.
Scopolamine: Hyoscyamus niger (Henbane), Solanaceae. 
Sparteine: Lupinus sp. (Lupin), Fabaceae.
Spirotriterpenoid: Spurges (Euphorbia), Euphorbiaceae.

Keywords: phytochemistry, biology, trees, flowers, herbs, phytochemicals, medicines, drugs, alkaloids, dyes, pigments, flavorings, foodstuff, taxonomy.

References and more to explore
[1] G. M. Battle, G. O. Kyd, C. R. Groom, F. H. Allen, J. Day and T. Upson: Up the  Garden Path: A Chemical Trail through the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, pp. 1390-1394. DOI: 10.1021/ed300065s.
[2] Cambridge University Botanic Garden: Chemicals from Plants. www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/Botanic/Trail.aspx?p=27&ix=11 (accessed March 13, 2013).

Off the trail: mushroom hunting

From mycophobia to mycophilia: Americans are discovering their mushrooms. Over the last decades the interest in fungi and their fruiting bodies, known as mushrooms, is growing and the study of their biodiversity—mycodiversity, to get to the point—is advancing. Fungi have gained appreciation with respect to their critical and complex role in forest ecology based on mutualistic plant-fungal symbioses. Various species are recognized as superfood, medicinal mushrooms and also are rediscovered as a source for natural stains and dyes. The website www.mykoweb.com by Michael Wood, a former president of the Mycological Society of San Francisco, is a great portal into mycological discoveries: fungi of California and beyond. Vicky and Tom Nauman's Morel Mania site at www.morelmania.com is dedicated to mushroom fests and to the collection of mushrooms in the wild, during competitions and hunts.

Want-to-be mushroom hobbyists can get a glimpse into the world of mushroom hunting championships through entertaining descriptions found in Chaper 1 “Forays and Festivals” of Eugenia Bone's mushroom-adventuring book, appropriately entitled Mycophilia [1]. She joined, for example, the annual Morel Breakfast, taking place in an apple orchard in New York west of the Hudson River, and the Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship, held in 2007 in and around Henry, a small town on the Illinois River.
  
Mushroom gatherers typically don't hike & pick. They walk around in circles and, when they get close to their prey, they repose into attack mode without fear of snakes, ticks and thorns (page 4 in [1]):

As I [Eugenia Bone at the Morel Breakfast hunt] crawled under one tree, eyes narrowed to avoid scratching my corneas with twigs, I spotted one large brown morel. And then I saw her. Apple checked and undaunted by the thorns, her gray bun pulled askew by snapping branches, crawled an elderly lady from the opposite direction toward the very morel— the only morel—I'd spotted.

Indeed, the world of humans is as weird as the world of mushrooms!

Reference
[1: ] Eugenia Bone: Mycophilia— Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms. Rodale, New York, 2011.

Charity Valley Trail crossing Grover Hot Springs State Park

The Charity Valley Trail east of Markleeville in Alpine County, California, connects the meadows and campground around the Grover Hot Springs with the Blue Lakes Road trailhead in the Charity Valley (west-end Charity Valley trailhead). The east-end Charity Valley Trailhead is also named Burnside Lake Trailhead, since a trail that branches off Charity Valley Trail leads to Burnside Lake. The trailhead board gives the following distances: Charity Valley 4.5, west-end Charity Valley trailhead 7.5 and Burnside Lake 6.5 miles. Grover Hot Springs State Park's campground is only a half-mile away from the trailhead. Skirting the campground, you will, after 1.3 miles from start, get to a junction, at which you have the option to leave the Charity Valley Trail and head for a waterfall—1.2 miles southwest from this junction. Continuing uphill on Charity Valley Trail for another 2.2 miles, you'll reach the junction from where you may either continue to Charity Valley (3 miles) and to Blue Lakes Road (4 miles) or, switchbacking further uphill, to Burnside Lake and Burnside Lake Road (2 miles).

The eastern sections of the Charity Valley Trail are mainly going along a south-facing, granite-boulder-studded canyon slope (top picture) and parallel to Hot Springs Creek, which flows downhill through Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest land and Grover Hot Springs State Park towards the Carson River. The western trail sections follow the canyon of Charity Valley Creek. Hot Springs Creek is flanked by forest of pines, firs and cedars. Depending on the season, you will observe interesting plants, mushrooms and animals. The picture above shows a mistletoe hanging down from a vertical branch of a juniper tree. The busy woodpecker, photographed in early November of this year, knew where to peck—and finally was rewarded with a big worm hidden within the bark of the conifer tree.

Getting to the east-end Charity Valley trailhead
The east-end trailhead is located about three miles west of Markleeville. From Highway 89 in Markleeville, drive west on Hot Springs Road. After about one mile, pass the Pleasant Valley Road junction, from where you can get to the Thornburg Canyon trailhead. Continue on Hot Springs Road for another two miles until you approach the well-signed trailhead. Find parking on unpaved ground to the right.  

Lake Tahoe's Rubicon Trail

The Rubicon Trail along the shores of Lake Tahoe's southwest corner connects Vikingsholm Mansion at the head of Emerald Bay with attractions in D. L. Bliss State Park such as Rubicon Point's Lighthouse and the Balancing Rock. The two-mile trail section along the Emerald Bay shore between the Vikingsholm grounds and Emerald Point offers various views of Fannette Island—the focal point from about any place in and above the bay.

Fannette Island in Emerald Bay

From Emerald Point, Rubicon trail winds and climbs northward passing large boulders, cozy coves and tiny beaches. Multiple vista point invite for short breaks and magnificent views. Certain points allow a direct view down into the deep blue, leaving it to your imagination to further dive down into the submerged West Tahoe Fault (WTF). Earthquakes have occurred in this area in prehistoric time. They will happen again. Certain sections of the Rubicon Trail are probably high enough to be considered as a tsunami escape route; although falling trees, falling rocks and landslides are other possible threats. Indeed, the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe is an exciting place, staging both drama and serenity. 

Getting to the Rubicon Trailhead in Emerald Bay State Park
There are fee-based and no-fee parking areas available along Highway 89 (Emerald Bay Road) above Emerald Bay. The parking fee for the Vikingsholm parking lot on the eastside of the highway is currently $10.00 (see http://www.vikingsholm.org/tours.html). But arriving during the right time, early or off-season, you may find free parking on the westside between the Vikingsholm and Eagle Falls parking areas. From there, carefully cross the highway and take the short trail next to the highway to access the Vikingsholm parking lot, from where a steep, well-maintained trail leads down to the Rubicon Trailhead and Vikingsholm Castle.   

Note: There is a loading/unloading dock for private boats. This dock is located close to the Rubicon Trailhead at the Vikingsholm beach. Unfortunately, tour boats do not provide disembarking services in Emerald Bay. However, non-motorized Tahoe visitors have a chance to get to the bay by bus from both North Shore and South Shore locations. 

The next long trail: Carson Valley Discovery Trail in the Pine Nut Mountains

The Pine Nut Mountains stretch for almost forty miles north-south from Dayton in northwestern Nevada to Topaz Lake at the Nevada-California stateline [1]. This mountain range with peaks as high as 7,300 feet is located east of the Sierra Nevada, bounded on its west side by the Carson Valley and on its east by the Mason Valley.

A new 45-mile-long, non-motorized, recreational trail, which will include five loop trails, is proposed along the westside of the Pine Nut Mountains: Carson Valley Discovery Trail. The Carson City Sierra Front Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is coordinating environmental and national historic preservation assessments in order to begin with the trail construction [2-4]. On November 14, from 5 to 7 pm, a public workshop for community input is scheduled at Pinon Hills Elementary School, 1479 Stephanie Way, Minden [4].

Keywords: trail planning, trail construction, trail network, hiking, outdoors.

References and more to explore
[1] SummitPost: Pine Nut Mountains - Nevada [www.summitpost.org/pine-nut-mountains-nevada/623219].
[2] BLM News Release, Carson City District: BLM Seeks Input on the Proposed Carson Valley Discovery Trail. October 25, 2012 [www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/october/blm_seeks_input_on.html].
[3] U.S. Department of the Interior: Carson Valley Discovery Trail, Public Scoping. October 31, 2012 [www.carsonvalleytrails.org/docs/EastCarsonValley/ECVTS_ScopingInfo.pdf].
[4] Reno Gazette-Journal, Outdoors Briefs: BLM seeks input on Carson Valley Discovery Trail. November 1, 2012; 3C [www.rgj.com/article/20121101/LIV08/311010041/BLM-seeks-input-Carson-Valley-Discovery-Trail].

Lola Montez Lake Trail

Lola Montez Lake Trail is a hiking and mountain biking trail, which connects its trailhead next to the fire station at the Soda Springs exit of Interstate 80 between Sacramento and Truckee with the Lower and Upper Lola Montez Lakes—and also with the Hole in the Ground trail. Since there are two lakes, both named for the legendary gold-rush actress and dancer Lola Montez, the trail name also occurs in plural form: Lola Montez Lakes Trail, as the trailhead sign on the page Lower Lola Montez Lake, Sierra Nevada, California shows (see paragraph Getting to Lola Montez Lakes Trailhead).

The new signpost shown above is located about half a mile from the trailhead, where the beginning single-track trail meets a gravel road. This road descends to Lower Castle Creek. A short distance past the creek crossing, another single-track section ascends from a marked junction to the next gravel-road section. Following this road, which passes by private property and no-trespassing signs, will take you into Tahoe National Forest territory and therein to a junction, at which the Hole in the Ground Trail branches off to the right, connecting Lola Montez Lakes with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). A short westbound walk from the junction, Lower Lola Montez Lake comes into view. The upper lake can be reached via the single-track trail along the northwest shore, from where one needs to climb and cross the granite landscape seen in the back of the picture.  

Out of the Truckee River Canyon to the TRT and Painted Rock area

The Truckee River Canyon between Truckee and Tahoe City features a string of camp grounds and picnic areas. Various biking and hiking trails can be accessed from within the canyon. Other trails, such as the Sawtooth Trail, skirt the canyon and provide scenic vista points. Most prominent, the Western States Trail, which in major sections coincidences with the nation's first non-motorized, coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail (ADT) [1], crosses the canyon.

The Painted Rock area along the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) is only a few miles away from where the Western State Trail crosses the Truckee River. Hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders have the option of a moderate out-and-back trip to the Painted Rock(s) or a longer loop-including round trip, which has recently been described in a detailed, GPS-tracked trailhiker post [2]. Interestingly, it is not clear where, exactly, the Painted Rock is to be found. In my opinion, there are many painted rocks— assuming that the term painted rock refers to a rock with lichen- and erosion-based coloring and shading. The top picture with brain-like rock structures are located next to the TRT junction, while the others are found further to the east along the Watson-Lake-bound TRT.

Getting to the Western States Trail crossing and the TRT
The Western States Trails crosses the Truckee River on a Highway 89 bridge half-way between the Squaw Valley and the Alpine Meadows turnoffs. Driving south, you may find right-side shoulder parking before or after this bridge, overpassing the Truckee river and bike trail. Parking space is very limited. Just before driving onto the bridge, you'll see the Western States Trail signpost to your right. From the south end of the bridge, the Truckee Bike Trail can be accessed. Underpass the bridge on the bike trail and immediately ascend to find yourself on the opposite side of Highway 89. Here, the eastbound Western State Trail starts as a single-track trail. The trail winds out of the canyon for about two miles through pine and fir forest. Turn left at its junction with the TRT. Good luck with the painted rocks!    
 
References and more to discover
[1] American Discovery Trail: California [www.discoverytrail.org/states/california/ca_info.html].
[2] trailhiker: Western States Trail - Painted Rock loop from CA-89 [trailhiker.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/western-states-trail-painted-rock-loop-from-ca-89/]