I haven't been to Bass Lake lately---apparently there is enough water for the forestry helicopters to scoop up, but Pine Flat is a mud hole right now.
I haven't been to Bass Lake lately---apparently there is enough water for the forestry helicopters to scoop up, but Pine Flat is a mud hole right now.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
They nearly drain out Pine Flat even on abundant snow years. Never anything left in the piggy bank for a non-rainy day. But it can be a photogenic mudhole with
various shades of rings as it dries out. I have spent many a fine day lugging the 8x10 up those numerous very steep side canyons and ridges with all their secret little waterfalls in early spring.
Drew, in my recollection they would at least wait until the pontoon, ski and bass boats got pulled ashore before draining Pine Flat all the way down. July seems unusually early.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
We had reverse airflow yesterday and a big cloud of the smoke from the big Sonoma Co fire appeared to the north, and I even sneezed a few times last nite.
Now the fog seems to be headed back in, thank goodness. Gosh, but Pine Flat... remember a few fatal rattlesnake bites there. People would wander into the grass
on the shore, get bit, then panic and run back to the boat. That did it. If they had just calmly walked down to the water and soaked their foot, it probably would have saved them. My brother and I killed a huge rattler there one day, breaded and fried it, and coiled it back up over a casserole for a local potluck event. Sure
got a few laughs out of that one! There's one cliff in that area which briefly has a waterfall higher than Yos Falls during heavy storms, though dry most of the time.
Got to breathe in some of the smoke from the Willow fire, which blew in over where I was at Huntington Lake... It looks like we were 5-10 miles East of the fire.
Got a good look last nite on the news of exactly where the Willow Fire is. It's largely on a hill across from the start of the Central Camp Rd. Mostly manzanita up
there, with yellow pine higher up, and no doubt a lot a marijuana lower down. So be careful how much of that smoke you inhale!
If you want to check out details of fires in the NW: Inciweb is a great site.
No wonder the week at camp was so much fun!Originally Posted by Drew Wiley
I just hope it didn't take out the last remnants of the old flume across the little cliff and the head of that valley. A lot of history in that. They'd hop in dugouts and
ride the flume thrill-style clear down to the Valley for Friday nite booze and brawling etc, then spend the next two days riding horseback uphill, back to work.
There were live logs coming down that chute too, which sometimes clogged up and would lead to fatal dugout accidents. But logging was damn dangerous anyway
back then. I found some of the old rusty pikes etc used by flume troubleshooters. Standing on wobbly logs in a narrow flume atop trestles above a canyon or cliff
was a bit more serious business than a log-rolling contest in the county fair - blue ribbons didn't get handed out, but coffins.
According to the morning news, Willow is 80% contained.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
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