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4.3LXJ
03-03-2013, 03:37 PM
While not exactly an off road trip, a fun trip nonetheless. While we do make a number of challenging trips during the year, this one was just for fun. We have a rich history here in Cali that can be enjoyed anytime. In addition, we have some unique areas that can be enjoyed by anyone. One of these areas is Table Mountain. Sometime in the distant past, Mt. Lassen erupted and spewed major amounts of lava that covered the ground for many miles in nice flat areas of stone. If you look at the skyline here in this area it is evident. Eventually erosion took it's toll on the land and valleys and buttes formed. In the case of Table Mountain, it formed a classic plateau. So we gathered at my place, discussed Jeeps and stuff and took off for Oroville and got on Table Mountain Blvd. and started to climb on a narrow, twisty road that dates back well over 150 years. On this trip, myself, my son Paul (HUM WEE Jr.) driving a stock 94 YJ and Ryan (Blackstar 8507) driving a stock 92 XJ. We got to the parking area for the popular viewing point and found it not very full. We usually take the Jeep here so we can find a place to park, because the Jeep parks anywhere. But alas, we were about a week early so we didn't see the spectacular carpets of flowers we are used to. But we were not disappointed. This is an ecologically unique area that is often studied by college classes. Every thing here is in miniature, probably about 15% of actual size anywhere else due to the very thin soil and extremely short growing season. We also give thanks to the cows that keep the grass nibbled down and allow us to see the flowers. Take that you tree huggers. :P

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0195_zpsfd0190a1.jpg

You can see the white flowers in the distance, kind of shows what is possible here, but it was just beginning to bloom.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0149_zpsdc543915.jpg

You can just see the patches of yellow cropping up. In a week or two there will be a riot of colors in this view. But anyway, here are some of the flowers there. Enjoy.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0150_zps5d97bdb3.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0151_zps01f4e639.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0152_zpsce8fd2b8.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0153_zpsf206a5e7.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0154_zps9bde5b71.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0155_zps7edcee28.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0156_zps1061dcb5.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0157_zpsa080f7c4.jpg

4.3LXJ
03-03-2013, 03:39 PM
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0158_zps5e3d0a76.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0159_zps61895645.jpg

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http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0166_zpsf2679d35.jpg

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http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0167_zpsd4317e1f.jpg

4.3LXJ
03-03-2013, 04:06 PM
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0169_zps0c7779e6.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0170_zpsdb4e5d41.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0170_zpsdb4e5d41.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0172_zps3253a551.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0173_zps24216f41.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0175_zps429311e4.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0176_zpsb09e252a.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0177_zps5ede9776.jpg

Towards the end of the trail there is this little Oak Swale. The tree here seems sort of ordinary

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0179_zpscb977336.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0180_zps2a155dcd.jpg

What is unusual is the age. When an oak tree limb goes all the way to the ground and starts back up, that is an old tree. This one is probably between 4 and 500 years old

Beyond the tree is some nice falls. Here is the tallest one

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0185_zpsd7c8eeac.jpg

It was a little dry, so not so dramatic

4.3LXJ
03-03-2013, 04:29 PM
From there we went to Oregon City, a near ghost town. Here is a plaque commemorating the town founded by some Oregonians that came down the Oregon Trail to the gold fields. The town became a boom town with the discovery of gold. Only two buildings are standing, one residence.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0197_zps3de1f8c1.jpg

and the school house, still listed as an active school

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0199_zpsf4303a19.jpg

While we were wandering around looking for abandoned mines, the curator of the grounds found us. I didn't know there was one, but he let us in to the school house and started spinning tall tales for us, which was nice.

Here is a map of the town in its heyday. Sorry for the glare of the windows, but not a large town. Numerous mine shafts are marked on here in the lower part of the town, which we wanted to explore but were cautioned against since most of them were covered with planks over a hundred years ago. Besides, the poison oak was thick and I get it very easily.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0198_zps838e58c3.jpg

He told us that a woman that lived in a house in the lower right corner of the map had a reputation for seeing lots of men. So frontier justice being swift and severe, some jealous wives on the lower left portion of the map set fire to her house. They should of waited a couple of days. The prevailing wind moved the fire to the west and burned their house too and leveled most of the town and mine buildings. Here is a pic of Cherokee in its heyday.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Ghost%20Towns/Cherokee%20CA/621px-Oregon_City_California_by_Watkins_Carleton_E_1829-1916_cropped_zps024c21b1.jpg

Outside the school house was the original outhouse, but I think I would step and sit lightly in this one

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0201_zps8c77f9b0.jpg

And the worlds greatest bar-b-que. This was the old well for the town. But the children were coming up sic. The well was found to have arsenic in the water, so it was covered over. There is still a hundred foot hand dug shaft under here. If you wanted to uncover it, there was gold in it. The curator has found significant gold deposits in the dirt around the school. But his contract says he cannot dig any holes. But he says he is going to plant some trees shortly :D

Stopped by the cemetery. A lot of folks were dying to get in. but it appears one might of escaped. (The grave was outside the fence)

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0205_zps14840f7b.jpg

Found some local indian artifacts. These were grind stones for grinding the acorns they used for flour

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0203_zps9918c3ec.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0204_zpscc49481f.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0207_zpsd42e8ac4.jpg

So we bid farewell to Oregon City and went on to Cherokee

4.3LXJ
03-03-2013, 04:39 PM
Down the road not too far is the town of Cherokee, originally founded by Cherokee Indians, it later became a boom town of sorts with the introduction of hydraulic mining. We thought we would stop in at the bank and make a withdrawal. But we appear to be a little late.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0208_zpscd89576f.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0209_zps3bc864a3.jpg

We thought we might grab a cold one across the street at the tavern, but I guess we were a little late for that one too.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0209_zps3bc864a3.jpg

All that was left was the cooler (big hole in the ground) for the spirits. You could get 55° beer any time you wanted.
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0209_zps3bc864a3.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0215_zps87575ba1.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0216_zpsd0a82b93.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0217_zps70dca945.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0214_zpsb3c80d2a.jpg

For those of you who don't know what hydraulic mining is, streams and rivers were diverted through hand dug canals and hand built flumes to feed pipe consisting of riveted together pieces of sheet metal to feed the hydraulic monitors. Water was usually under about 1 - 200 psi from gravity feed and used ot wash away whole mountains into large sluice boxes. Once a week the sand and gravel was picked though and collected. Areas of low grade ore could be mined this way. However it was destructive. Here is a long distance pic of what was done.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0219_zpsc40450a3.jpg

This type of mining was outlawed in 1883, so this town had no more means of generating income and faded quickly.

OrangeXJ
03-03-2013, 06:29 PM
Down the road not too far is the town of Cherokee, originally founded by Cherokee Indians, it later became a boom town of sorts with the introduction of hydraulic mining. We thought we would stop in at the bank and make a withdrawal. But we appear to be a little late.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0208_zpscd89576f.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0209_zps3bc864a3.jpg

We thought we might grab a cold one across the street at the tavern, but I guess we were a little late for that one too.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0209_zps3bc864a3.jpg

All that was left was the cooler (big hole in the ground) for the spirits. You could get 55° beer any time you wanted.
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0209_zps3bc864a3.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0215_zps87575ba1.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0216_zpsd0a82b93.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0217_zps70dca945.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0214_zpsb3c80d2a.jpg

For those of you who don't know what hydraulic mining is, streams and rivers were diverted through hand dug canals and hand built flumes to feed pipe consisting of riveted together pieces of sheet metal to feed the hydraulic monitors. Water was usually under about 1 - 200 psi from gravity feed and used ot wash away whole mountains into large sluice boxes. Once a week the sand and gravel was picked though and collected. Areas of low grade ore could be mined this way. However it was destructive. Here is a long distance pic of what was done.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Table%20Mountain/IMG_0219_zpsc40450a3.jpg

This type of mining was outlawed in 1883, so this town had no more means of generating income and faded quickly.

I wish Texas had places like that is close to Houston. There is alot of neat places to go to in west texas but not neat enough to drive 8-10 hours to see. Tree huggers in the 1800'6 who would of thought. I'm supprised that over 150 years foliage has not cuvered that up.

4.3LXJ
03-03-2013, 07:19 PM
I wish Texas had places like that is close to Houston. There is alot of neat places to go to in west texas but not neat enough to drive 8-10 hours to see. Tree huggers in the 1800'6 who would of thought. I'm supprised that over 150 years foliage has not cuvered that up.

That is pretty much the story for all the hydraulic mining. Absolutely no top soil there, just sand, gravel and large rock. It is just beginning to have a new forest in the bottom. Diggings like these ( although no digging went on) make good off road parks, but no one is taking the time to do that

Carves
03-03-2013, 08:15 PM
We also give thanks to the cows that keep the grass nibbled down and allow us to see the flowers. Take that you tree huggers. :P

:smiley-laughing021:


Good info and pics ... Thanks .. :thumbsup:

cantab27
03-04-2013, 01:33 AM
nice steve ...tread lightly eh...cool pics and info mate

XJ Wheeler
03-04-2013, 10:40 PM
Nice trip, Steve. I would really enjoy something like that, all that history.

A shame the damage from the mining there, a bigger shame there's still mining going on that's damaging the land. In Colorado at least. Strip mining is taking over certain areas, very historic areas too. I actually watched mountains disappear over time.

Took these less than two years ago.

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h401/xj-wheeler/Scenery/2011-06-29142623-1-1.jpg

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h401/xj-wheeler/Scenery/2011-06-29135648-1.jpg

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h401/xj-wheeler/Scenery/2011-06-29142343-1-1.jpg

4.3LXJ
03-04-2013, 11:01 PM
I read that in Marysville, downstream form here, the level of the Feather River was raised by 70' due to the sand and gravel washed down from here