Plumas County Adventures
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The Little California Trail


This trail is steep! I thought about this adventure for years before I went on it. I always seemed to have a reason not to do it. Finally I ran out of reasons in August of 1995.

Alright, gather around in a huddle and let's look at the map and plan our strategy:



Remember, this is a UTM-modified topo map. Each square is 50 meters and the contour lines are 80 feet apart. Look carefully--if the contour lines are spaced "one box" apart the climb angle is 26 degrees (trigonometry review: tangent of climb angle = 80'/164' therefore angle is 26). If the lines are one-half box apart the angle is 44 degrees! See what I mean? Check with your doctor before attempting this trip.

I decided that there was no way I could get in and out in one day and live to tell about it. I had to stay over. I hate to sleep on the ground (let me rephrase that--I hate to lay in agony on the ground and not sleep all night) but this was the Little California Trail adventure so it had to be done. I like to travel light so in addition to my fanny pack I took a self-inflating mattress and a mylar blanket. I hit the trail.

Near the top is the Greenbower hydraulic mine. Here is a shot that shows one of the water pipes and a serene view of the canyon. At this point the trail is almost level and I wondered why I made such a big deal out of this trip.



A little farther down the trail I could see the river and how far down it was. Now I remembered what the big deal was.



I kept going and going. Finally I hit the Little California Mine turnoff. I needed a diversion from leaning back to keep from falling forward so I took the turn. I filled up my canteen here. The next photo shows the old shack and nearby apple tree.



Nearby I found a small "home made" stamp mill. It was a welded apparatus consisting of the original stamps and newer steel. The height is about six feet.



Here's how it works. A motor of some sort turns the horizontal shaft. The cams on this shaft lift the vertical shafts and then drops them. At the botton of the shaft are replaceable "feet" that crush the ore.

Want to see more of these? Click your heels together and say "whisk me away to stamp mill land."

After the mine there is not much to see until you get to the river.



Notice how the canyon walls come down steeply to the river. I had expected more "beach." I swam for a while, filled my canteen (yes, I use the iodine tablets) and had to climb back up the trail about 300 feet (vertically) to find a flat spot to spend the night. I actually got a little bit of sleep that night.

The next day I got up early and walked out. I used a lot of water on the uphill route and was very, very thirsty by the time I got to the water stop at the Little California exit.

I'm glad I went, but I won't be doing this adventure again!

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