Brian, these Lockwood Valley Road Pinons, as I recall, have some substantial boles/trunks, for those SINGLE leaders, don't they, verging 4', 5' diameter, don't they, with more roseate bark color, occasionally plating-out? I've also seen the Pinons that are more outlying of this site, such as Cerro Noroeste's flanks, that are the more usual form, huge Pine shrubs, with lots of bifurcation/reiteration, at ground level. Let's give those often disputing Botanists something MORE, to consider--ssp. "Lockwoodii"!! What's next, could some clique of Botanists, unilaterally decide to reclassify Sugar Pines--as--"Long Cone Western White Pines", "Pinus Monticola, ssp. Lambertiana"???? Another trippy thing about this region, is that the terrain actually forms Badlands, here and there. Come to think of it, with the confluence of a such a myriad variety of ecological/geographical/meteorological/geological zones . . . starting a little SE of San Luis Obispo; the entire Western Transverses; Tehachapis/Scodies; Sierra Nevada Southern Terminus & the Transverses North slopes of LA/SB/Riverside coming together to pinch off lobes of the Mojave & Basin/Range Deserts; and a lot of this influence spilling out into much of the Southern San Joaquin Valley, it's like so much of it was tossed into an ecological blender, with more ANOMALIES than one can count! Joshuas and Mourning Greys growing side-by-side, around Walker Pass. Mourning Greys and Jeffreys intermingling around Ninemile, and a bit South/Southwest of Kennedy Meadows, at about 5+/-K', WITHOUT the intercession of Ponderosas, with sporadic Pinons & Junipers, for good measure. That's the only location that I know of, where Mourning Greys grow so high up! And almost NO LICK of vegetation grows around the Alkali Sink of Carrizo Plain/Soda Lake/California Valley--I consider it--"Death Valley Lite". The Range of Pinons occurs not far from the ocean. Some have even claimed relict very rare and isolated COULTERS, in Kern Canyon and Southern Kennedy Meadows--the friggin' Southernmost Sierra Nevada, fer cryin' out loud! What a State of WONDERS, we live in!
Yes! California is blessed botanically!! I think that some of the Gray Pines near Sherman Pass Road get to at least 6K! I know that I've seen some along the Scodie's crest well into the 6K altitude, looking well up above me viewing from 5,200' along Walker Pass Rd! As for pinyons, I've seen a few on the coastal side of So Cal's mountains. Pine Mtn. (Reyes Peak area) in Ventura has a pinyon woodland along Pine Mtn. Rd. I remember driving and hiking along that road with the coastal marine layer cloud deck fogging up the slopes. I've also seen a pinyon pine along Inspiration Point in the San Gabriel Mtns. near Mt. Baden-Powell, in clear sight of the ocean! As for the big Lockwood Pinyons, Be on the lookout for an Ode to Singleleaf Pinyon, where I take an up close look at a few of the largest ones I saw along Lockwood Valley Road! A couple are nearly the height of some of the Jeffrey Pines growing there! Stay tuned!
