jtte nb mwi. KHmt Fm, on. ti, )m i twi rft
CALLAHAN RANCH HOTEL has stood about like this since gold mining days. It is
one of Siskiyou County's historic landmarks, as shown by the monument erected at
left. Photo by Peggy Walsh.
rtSSSsj
THE HOME OF A HERMIT, Herbie Young, more than
80 years of age, is practically on the freeway since
Callahan-Cecilville timber access road was opened in
the remote country southwest of Scott Valley in Siskiyou
County, Young says. About four cars an hour pass by
it now. - Photo by Peggy Walsh.
Western Siskiyou County Offers Variety
f Attractions, Without Traffic Snarls
By TECiGY WALSH ,can easily be driven in two days.
For two clays or Iwo weeks off j It could be made in one day bill
tlit bealen track, western Siski- it would be a grueling experience
you County offers a variety of at-f winding roads with no time to
tractions and little or no problems, view or enjoy mis duck cuuuuy
with traffic or other troublesome
aspects of civilization.
Fishermen, hunters, rockhounds.
camera enthusiasts or tnose in
Turning west at Gazelle School,
the surfaced ruad ends in three
miles but the dirt road is wide
and w inds in easy grade to the top
terested in the sight and feel,"' azene grade ana aown into
of the early West can turn off the southern portion of Scott Val-
llighway t at Gazelle and in a
few miles seemingly drop back
1(4 years into spectacular and un
settled count 17.
Camping gear is a must for
the trip from Gazelle to Callahan
to Cecilville to Porks of the Sal
mon to Somes Bar and to Happy
Camp. For although these com
munities are on the map, a gen-
ley.
As soon as one is over the sum
mit, ranch homes that were set
tled in the IBtiOs begin to dot the
landscape. The first house, M
miles from Gazelle, is a weath
ered silver color and w as original
ly a stage coach stop.
An outside staircase lends to
the second story with interesting
eral store and a gas pump are w indows set in alignment with
about the maximum convenience
offered the traveler.
the roof slope.
A vast stretch of Oiis cattle
Too, no one in a hurry or wlio Vo'intiy is owned now by Carl
dislikes narrow dirt roads should McConnell of Redding and tin
attempt this trip. While the grades ranch homes either are not ii
are not bad and I lie roads for
the most part arc hard-surfaced,
a huge portion of the trip is
over one-way road and much
of this a narrow shelf carved
halfway up a steep canyon wall.
But turn outs are ample and one
rarely meets any traffic anyway.
A round-trip from Gazelle
through western Siskiyou County
to Happy Camp and back to Ga
zelle via Yrcka is 240 miles and
FAREWELL TO SKNATOKS
WASHINGTON (CPU Presi
dent Eisenhower said farewell
Thursday night to Republican
members of the Senate.
Tlic President and Vice Presi
dent Richard M. Nixon were
l'iMx;! of hitnnr nl n J inn
ami huff,.! dimu.r aiv,.n for n-.i"' s new ly-oiicned road. It
publican senators and their wives a,,,irt r0!d mo,t ,of ,hc wa5'
use or oicupie'i by Ins employes.
But some 100-year-old arcliilectuie
is there for the picture-taker or
history-gatherer,
The surfaced road resumes eight
miles east of Callahan. The
main street of this community
could well fit into any television
western, with its two old hotels,
saloon and general store. It used
to be an important stop for those
,en route to Oregon from the Sac
ramento valley. 1 he old stage
route was through the Trinity
Monn'ains. over Scott Mountain
and into Scott Valley. Early day
gold dredging activities also cen
tered around Callahan. Now one
old dredge sits descried a few
miles noilh of town.
From Callahan to Cecilville.
by Senate GOP leader Everett
M. Dirksen and Chairman Styles
Bridges of Hie Senate Republican
Policy Committee.
The oil in a sperm whale's
head is believed to serve as a
cushion to protect vital organs
from the excessive pressure dur
ing its deep ocean dives.
REMEMBER!
when it comes to o
truck, see Bob or
Juck Trucks
ore their business!
JUCKELAND
MOTORS, Inc.
Your Into 1 no tie no I Deolcr
UHi & Klom. Ph. 2-2581
HI
but hard-surfaced and with easy
curves ami gmdes. The road was
built to open virgin timber lands,
inaccessible before, and in doing
so, has bared the wilderness to
weekend travelers.
Arriving nl Cecilville, 60 miles
from Gazelle, one can lind little
to justify its name on a map.
At the store one can arrange a
pack trip and get supplies or
gasoline. For Hie scattered resi
dents, there is postal service. Here
too, a road winds over Bear
Mountain to Sawyers Bar, where!
one ran travel over the Salmon
Mountains and back to civiliza
tion via Etna.
Cecilville is on the south fork
of the north fork of the Salmon
Hivcr. Traveling westward to
Forks of the Salmon along a
narrow, serpentine road, one looks
down into a granite-lined gorge nl
jlhe crystal clc.tr river. The deep
jwols vary m color from aqua to
emerald green and one can al
most count the pebbles from a
distance of hundreds of feet.
Fishing must be good because
one has to climb down steep em
bankments to reach the river and
parked cars indicated a large num
ber of fishermen have been will
ing to try it.
Forks of the Salmon is 79 miles
from Gazelle and Somes Bar. An
other 18 miles westward the Sal
mon River meets the Klamath
again traveling through a spec
tacular and colorful gorge with
white water merging into deep
emerald pools.
Tlie waters of the Klamath Riv
er are not nearly as pretty.
They are silt-laden and a murky
green, but the sweep and strength
of this mighty river is impressive
as it winds through this unsettled
and wild country.
As one starts northward from
Somes Bar, a look at a map
should give pause for reflection
To the west is a roadless area
that stretches to the coast and
for 100 miles north and south. To
the east is the Marble Mountain
Wilderness Area where section
surveys are still incomplete.
It is 41 miles up the Klamath
River to Happy Camp and only
the last 15 miles of this is two
lane paved road. We took the road
south to Orleans to explore pos
sibility of finding a motel in pref
erence to camping out, but steel-
head were reportedly running ami
fisliermen were practically shoulder-to
shoulder. The two motels
were long since full and the for-j
est service campground looked
like Times Square.
We found a nice, isolated camp
ground at Irving Creek, eight
miles north of Somes Bar. Some
one had been there ahead of us,
but it took only five minutes to
make the area useable again.
The vegetation is lush with
many ferns and hardwoods. Black
berries were ripe and very sweet
but poison oak was thick.
We saw no deer but did meet
a curious coyote.
Happy Camp appeared to be a
lively, civic-minded community.
even on a Sunday morning. From
there we traveled surfaced roads
and felt we had returned to estab
lished paths.
ft! fv S
hi! .jM
r
me MUUNIAIN MOUSE ' near the summit of a grade
between Gazelle and Callahan, on the way to Siskiyou
County's Salmon River country, once was a stage stop.
Old landmarks like this abound in the area.
Photo by Peggy Walsh.
1
l i 1 c . 1? fh;' dec?y!n3 'd suspension bridge to cross this
channel in the 5almon Mountains area of southwestern Siskiyou County. A modern
Photo by Peggy Walsh.
bridge replaced it.