While these photos were taken in mid-June they include the starting point of two long backpacking treks made by Explorer Post #71.
On Sa 18 Jun I left the Happy Camp Library, where the WiFi is on 24/7, after checking the populations of Somes Bar and Orleans along SR96 and the Klamath River, I decided to drive to Orleans if there was no gas station at Somes Bar; there wasn't. The photo to the right is of the Klamath River not too far south of Happy Camp.
This view up the Klamath River is from one of the many bridges, most of which ard dedicated or named for either local residents of those who helped design and/or build the bridges.
And this shot was taken from the same bridge as in the previous shot but looking downstream. As a guess it's about 20 miles north of the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers.
After buying gas in Orleans I returned to the Salmon River and headed up it. A short distance from the Klamath I came upon two plaques describing how the Karuk Indians had lived in the area for many years.
Local community groups along with the Karuk Indians are aiding the Dept of Fish & Game and other government agencies in their efforts to rebuild a one-thriving steelhead and salmon population in the Salmon River.
A look down the Salmon River from the bridge which crosses from the north side to the south side of the river.
Looking upstream one wonders if the remains of the previous bridge are remnants of the damage caused by the Christmas Floods of 1955, when virtually every coast stream hit levels rarely seen previously and, in most case, not again since.
If the Bloomer Slide of Dec 1964 has occurred in a more populous area, you and I would have heard more about it. The 100-foot high dam apparently backed water up the Salmon several miles but it was short-lived. And when the water broke through it took out several bridges downstream -- likely inlcuding the one seen in a photo above.
A mea culpa by the U.S. Forest Service about the problems created by "putting everything out" during the first two-thirds of the 20th century. The supposed "ignorant savages" had it right, for they often did what the U.S. Park & Forest Service now do: light control burns in the fall and early winter to avoid dangerous build-ups of potential fuel for large wildfires.
A view down the Salmon River over the two plaques immediately above.
The scar left by the Dec 64 Bloomer Slide.
A look toward the mountains between the North Fork of the Salmon and Scott Valley, where Fort Jones and Etna are located.
The North Fork of the Salmon River just above the Mule Bridge, which is 2 miles upstream from the Idlewild Campground.
A site not for sore eyes but while standing on sore feet; of course, instead of a white 2011 Ford F250 there was a blue 1946 Plymouth waiting.
This is where Ray Sutliff led Explorer Post 71 on its 1955 and 1956 Marble Mountain Wilderness Treks: at what's now known as the Mule Bridge.
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Links:
- Salmon River Restoration Council website; streamflow on 7 Jul was c2700 cfs vs 87-yr average of c600cfs for that date
T 5 Jul Actual Route: Tunitas Crk Rd - Half Moon Bay - Redwood City - Palo Alto - VA Hospital (boondock)
W 6 Jul Actual Route: Palo Alto VA Hospital - Santa Cruz - Pinto Lake Muni RV Park
Th 7 Jul Actual Route: Pinto Lake RV Park - Santa Cruz - Pinto Lake
F 8 Jul Actual Route: Pinto Lake RV Park - Santa Cruz - Pinto Lake
Sa 9 Jul Actual Route: Pinto Lake RV Park - Marina - Salinas - Pinto Lake
Su 10 Jul Actual Route: Pinto Lake RV Park - Aptos Lib - Watsonville - Pinto Lake
M 11 Jul Actual Route: Pinto Lake RV Park - Santa Cruz - Pinto Lake RV Park
T 12 Jul Route: Pinto Lake RV Park - Santa Cruz - Scotts Valley - Palo Alto
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