Green's Mountain ash (sorbus)
Graeagle hike one - Grass Lake - September 2023
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On Friday we went to the nearby Graeagle Restaurant around 9:30 am & had a good breakfast before the day's walk. Local peaches were served, which were amazing. The server said peach season at this elevation only lasts three weeks.
The trail to Grass Lake starts where Jamison City was first settled, as a tent city, in 1853, shortly after gold was struck on nearby Eureka Peak. Today, only a few mine buildings are left.
The first half of the walk was steep, with a rocky surface, but after an hour the trail became more level. The Lake scenery is good and the trail continues uphill to 3 or 4 more lakes. We saw backpackers heading to those lakes. As the sign shows, hikers can connect with the PCT on this trail.
note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again (with some exceptions).
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start of the walk |
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old mining bldgs. |
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John, Kathy & Jean |
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big trees (no redwoods here) |
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Little Jamison falls | ||
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< late season paintbrush > |
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Green's Mountain ash (sorbus) |
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Grass Lake at 5,860 ft. |
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bitter or Oregon cherry (Prunus) |
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elderberry | |
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Kathy & Jean |
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John |
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crossing Jamison Creek |
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last look at lake | ||
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back at the trailhead |
Once we had gained altitude and distant mountain vistas could be seen, dense forests were everywhere, with no visible fire damage. The Plumas-Eureka State Park brochure says the woods here consist of "white fir, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, Jeffrey pine, lodgepole pine and incense cedar. Red fir, mountain hemlock and western white pine grow at higher elevations."
On all three hikes we saw Green's Mountain Ash shrubs, with bright red berries.
Plumas-Eureka State Park - we had a brief visit to the museum and partially restored stamp mill. We were the only visitors and the lone Ranger told us to not to ask her any historical questions, because she is new here.
The Museum is in the old mine bunkhouse, painted red with white trim, like every building on main streeet in Graeagle (except the gas station).
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park museum |
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simplified model of stamp mill | |
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Mohawk Stamp Mill |
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Johnsville (where the P. E. State Park is located) became a City in 1876, with refined homes, instead of tents.
The Mohawk Stamp Mill operated until 1890 and extracted $8 Million in gold from local mines, including Jameson mines, equivalent to $270M today. By the time all local mines were closed (in 1904) the miners had excavated 65 miles of underground tunnels.
The Grass Lake trail was an out & back walk of at least 4 miles, with 600 ft. of gain.
On our arrival night at Graeagle Meadows (yesterday) we had dinner at the cabin I stayed in, with John & Kathy, and Jean came over. It was a great potluck meal, with wild rice & wild salmon plus great salad and fruit display. We had a good view of the lake, just outside.
On the second night in Graeagle, after the hike, it was difficult getting a dinner reservation, because the town's most popular restaurant (Gumpa's) burned to the ground only a week earlier. There used to be three good restaurants here, suddenly down to two.
We were fortunate to get a table at 7:15 pm at the Grizzly Grille, in Blairsden, a few minutes' drive north on 89. Two doors down was the pile of charcoal-looking remains, and it must have been an old wooden structure, and burned down fast ! We were glad to hear that no one was injured.
At dinner we discussed how losing a restaurant in such a small town had to be a terrible blow to local workers and families & to the economy in general, as well as impacting many downstream suppliers. That Gumpas was a precious magnet for community adhesiveness goes w/o saying. The place meant so much to so many people....
go to next day's hike - Bear Lakes and Round Lake
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Postscript - Unexpected History dept.
The P.E. State Park brochure states that "in the winter, heavy snows inspired miners to organize downhill ski races, using 12 ft. long 'Norwegian style' long-boards, some weighing up to 20 lbs. Skiers had one large ski pole to carry between the legs as a brake. On some of the races, skiers got up to 60 mph, the anecdotal story goes.
But the initial "downhill ski race" held in winter 1861 is now (historically) acknowledged as the first recorded downhill ski competition in the western hemisphere. Some historians think the tramways for the Plumas Eureka Mine may have been used as the world's first ski lifts.
go to next day's hike - Bear Lakes and Round Lake