As I stepped out of the car, the heat hit me like a wave and a cloud of dirt with chocolate powder consistency billowed beneath my feet.  The air was heavy with the scent of drying grasses and the ever pleasant odor of cow pies baking in the sun.  As we strode up the hill to set up our first wildlife camera, we giggled as we watched a squirrel frantically attempt to scale a tree, but our laughter soon fell quiet when something much larger leaped out of the tree and trotted away.  We turned to each other with wide eyes as we realized a bobcat had been mere feet away and above our heads.  Within minutes of arriving at Tejon Ranch, it became very clear we were no longer in Santa Barbara.

View of Tejon Ranch, approximately 5000 feet in elevation

Tejon Ranch is 270,000 acres of unbridled wilderness located in Kern County, California.  This beautiful land is a mix of San Joaquin oak woodlands, Mojave Desert Joshua trees, the fir forests of the Sierra Nevada, and the chaparral of the South Coast Ranges.  It is home to a diverse community of species such as elk, bobcat, squirrels, Pronghorn antelope, mountain lions, and bears.  Owned by a private corporation, the land is used for cattle grazing, hunting, and a portion of it has plans for development.  It is also the location of the long term field research which my mentor, Devyn Orr of Hillary Young’s lab, is conducting.  We hope to find the effect that global climate change and the loss of biodiversity is having on tick population, which could ultimately impact human health since ticks are vectors and carry disease.

Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum)

Our first trip out to Tejon Ranch started early on a Sunday morning, leaving from Santa Barbara around 6 AM.  After arriving at the ranch around 9 AM, we spent the day setting up wildlife cameras in nine different blocks, each of which contain three plots and are at different levels of elevation.  The temperature high of the day was 99 degrees, meaning it was already significantly hot as soon as we arrived.  I know now that I did not drink nearly enough water, which resulted in a lingering headache and a lot of huffing and puffing.  Despite the suffocating heat and a throbbing head, I couldn’t stop smiling.  I was exhilarated by being surrounded by such breathtaking wilderness and I constantly snapped pictures of plants and bugs to identify when we returned to civilization.

The last trip we took to Tejon Ranch was four days long and involved a bit more physical labor than our first day trip. We spent the days conducting insect sweeps and tick drags, leaf marking, collecting soil samples, and remarking the boundaries of the plots with bright tape.  My primary job was to evaluate the number of small land mammal burrows in each plot and choose a location for the 5 m x 5 m exclosure.  Once I decided on a location, I would mark out the four corners and start digging.  Within the first few minutes, blisters bloomed on my hands and I learned to wear gloves.  Despite the fact that all four members of our all girl team are 5′ 5″ and under, I have no doubt that we will get the job done and most likely be very buff by the end of summer.

Beautiful sunset as seen from our campground

All in all, the four day trip was grueling, but I discovered something magical about field research.  When you get back to camp at the end of the day, you are hungry, thirsty, tired, and sore.  As unpleasant as that sounds, it transforms your can of soup into a feast, your lukewarm water into a delicious beverage, and your sleeping pad and bag into a luxurious bed.  Working from dawn until dusk makes you appreciate the little things and opens your eyes to your surroundings.  So far, field research has been a blast and I can’t wait to get back out to Tejon and dig deeper.