The trip to the Red Buttes of necessity found me of necessity heading toward Happy Camp. Happy Camp is a small community nestled in between the foothills of the Siskiyous and the Klamath River. I headed north on I5 until I came to the turn off for the Klamath River Highway 96. It is 47 miles from Mt. Shasta to the turn off. I noted that Happy Camp was 65 miles from this point. The highway follows the Klamath River most of the way. The scenery is varied between lush forested zones to almost desert-like sections. The drive took a long time. Patrick was not used to being in the truck for such long stretches. I noted his discomfort and stopped at several access points along the Klamath for him to stretch and catch a drink or two in the river. He really wanted to be hiking.
The closer we came to Happy Camp, the more frequently were the signs reading, "No Monument", posted in front of private properties. There were some variations to this general message, although the signs were primarily printed in upper case black letters on a white rectangle. They seemed to be identical to ones I had seen on the web in stories of a rally in Yreka this past winter where our congressman, Wally Herger had been the featured speaker in opposing the establishment of "The Monument." There were some original signs as well. One was painted in red, white and blue and proclaimed the message, "KS Wild Lies" and "Keep Out KS Wild." These signs were referring to the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, the organization behind the research and preparations leading to the Siskiyou Crest National Monument proposal. The road is long and winding with little traffic, although this was a Wednesday. I kept wondering when we would get to what I could call a proper destination. We passed the towns of Klamath River and Etna. At Etna I found the signs for the southern trail of the Pacific Crest Trail, although I did not take the time to locate northern extension that heads into the Siskiyou Crest.
Finally Patrick and I reached Happy Camp. Just before Happy Camp I was expecting to find a road heading north that would lead me to a trail head in Oregon for the Red Buttes Wilderness. It was Forest Service Road 19N01. Somehow I missed it and wound up exploring Happy Camp. I located the Karuk Tribe Museum and Visitors Center. I could only spend a little bit of time in the center itself and the museum as I was conscious of how uncomfortable Patrick was in the truck. I talked with the woman who was behind a counter in the visitors center and told her I wanted some specific books having to to do with the Karuk tribe. She referred to the Karuks as "they." I didn't find the book and I only browsed in the museum for a brief moment. I will have to find the book later when it is in. She referred to it as the only one that was Karuk Tribe specific.
I drove around town for a bit and noted that there was a store front that sported the sign, "The Klamath Knot Arts Council" or words to that effect. The building appeared to be vacant. "The Klamath Knot" is the name of a book by David Rains Wallace and published by the Sierra Club. I had read it back in 1983. It also referenced in detail the Red Buttes. I still could not find the forest service road I was looking for when I came upon the US Forest Service Office. Inside was a very friendly young women with tattoos on her forearms. She was wearing the forest service uniform. I wanted to be a forest ranger when I was a young boy. When she asked if I needed help I told her I was looking for road 19N01 leading to the Red Buttes Wilderness. She was not familiar with either the road or the wilderness, However she did come with me to a huge wall mounted map of the Siskiyou National Forest. From what little I could tell her she was able to point out a road on Cabe Mountain. There was a hairpin turn and then a road. She was certain that was the road I was thinking of. As it turned out, she was right.
But before I left the office I couldn't resist the chance to ask about the "No Monument" signs that were so densely displayed in town and around. Even the Chamber of Commerce had altered their "Welcome" sign to register their opinion. So, I probed, "What is it with the 'No Monument' signs?" She immediately demurred. They were not supposed to talk about it. But then, just as immediately she filled me in on her thinking. She said the proposal was on the President's desk. It would lock away a huge amount of land that people in Happy Camp depend upon for their very survival. "This is where we get our meat and our fire wood. This monument would shut down the town." Obviously she was emphatic. I thanked her and moved on the locate road 19N01.
I found the road I wanted just where the ranger told me it should be. It juts to the left as you are heading away from Happy Camp. Just before you come to it, however, there is this amazing hair pin turn on Cabe Mountain that seems to never unwind. The one lane paved road has another name aside for 129N01: It is signed as Thomson Ridge.
I stopped on my way to the trail head several times to read wooden signs that had been installed along the route. On prominent set of three signs set in a curve so that they could be easily read, overlooked what was described as great the fire of 1987 that was a motel threat to Happy Camp. It is remembered as the "Fire Siege ’87." There were lives lost in the fight to save the town. The embers were not completely doused until the first flakes of snow fell. Another wooden sign further up the road tells of the students from Siskiyou County schools who worked together in a vast reforestation project in this area after the fire. The people here love the land and care for it.
During the next hour or so I followed this ridge road. It led me from the warmth of the 85 degree Klamath River Highway to the lofty "Boundary Trail 1201" 17 miles away at about 6,000 feet. The temperature was 55 degrees when I reached the trail head itself. I had arrived at a doorway into the Red Buttes Wilderness. All along the ridge road on the way up I caught views of distant peaks. To the west of me in the Siskiyou Wilderness, snow capped Preston Peak shimmered away in the late afternoon sunshine. To my east were the Red Buttes themselves set off by the green forests below and around them. And to the south was Mt. Shasta appearing as though it were floating on a bed of low-lying clouds. There was no direction that did not delight the eye.
The Red Buttes trail head was a different world from the one I had left 17 miles earlier down below by the Klamath River. It was moist, chilly, green and filled with all kinds of wild flowers. There were some plants there I swear I had never remembered seeing before. The trail itself had not been cleared this season ... or maybe even last season. It is seldom visited. There is a camp of sorts where a car could be parked during a trek in the Red Buttes. There was a fire ring and the remnants of what appeared to be a makeshift shelter. Just beyond the camp the trail begins with the wilderness boundary sign. Patrick wanted to hike longer, but I knew we needed to get back to Mt. Shasta as John would be arriving at our home from Sacramento. So we gave in and started to drive back to the Klamath River Highway.
No comments:
Post a Comment