Klamath River Un-Dammed - 2002 Fish Kill Disaster... Trinity River Memories... NorCal & Oregon

The Klamath River Basin in California and Oregon has been obstructed by different dams for over 100 years. The first dam was constructed in 1908, and the last was erected in 1962. In 2002, a catastrophic fish kill resulted in over 70 thousand salmon deaths, and this kicked off the fight to restore the Klamath River Watershed to its original glory. 4 of 6 dams are slated to be removed over the next few years.

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/california-klamath-river-why-are-the-dams-being-removed/

Golden Bear at the Klamath River Bridge 

on Highway 101, Northern California...

I have a Personal Feeling about the Klamath River... My Brother in Law Came all the way from Maryland to Fly Fish that River... It's a Classic Trip involving Hiring a Local Guide, Renting a Room and Eating at Restaurants... 

However, in 2002, George (American Idiot) Bush the Son DIVERTED the Water to Potato Farmers in Oregon. More Water, More Potatoes, More Profit... What He Didn't Realize was that the Lack of water would KILL the Salmon... How would he know? He's just a BOUGHT Politician and the Potato Farmers Bribed Him... 

anyway... The Oregon Tourist Business Lost a Fortune because... without FISH... NO Fishermen come to Visit... No Rooms Rented, No Guides Hired... and No Restaurants Selling Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner... The Bottom Line was that the Tourist Money LOST was MUCH GREATER than the Increased Profit from selling Potatoes... 

I learned that the Salmon have a Five Year Cycle... They get Born, Swim to the Ocean... spend Five years out there and Then Swim Back to the Same Place that they were born... So the Fish Kill of 2002 did NOT effect the 2003, 2004, 2005, or 2006 Salmon Runs... but 2007 was a bad year to be a fish... and 2012... 2017... 

I have swum in the Trinity River... it flows into the Klamath... On a drive along Highway 299 coming home I got stuck in a construction zone traffic Jam... and it was over a Hundred Degrees... NO Air Conditioning in the Car... so as soon as we were free to proceed... I drove to the First Place to Jump in the River... and BLISS!

Jerry Garcia's Father Drowned in the Trinity... 

My Father, Uncle and Grandmother Camped by the Trinity When They Wanted to Save Money instead of  Paying Rent... and they ate Trout FISH that They Caught in the River...

When I was a Student at Humboldt State University we had a Guest Lecturer... Derrick Jensen... Who OFTEN Spoke of Un-Damming the Klamath. He is a co-author of Deep Green Resistance, and the author of Endgame, The Culture of Make Believe, A Language Older than Words, Bright Green Lies, and many other books.

He was named one of Utne Reader’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World” and won the Eric Hoffer Award in 2008.

All Species Parade in Arcata, CA

"Un Dam the Klamath Protest"

Headline: The world’s largest dam demolition has begun. Can the dammed Klamath River finally find salvation?

https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/08/klamath-river-dams-demolition/


I met a Lot of Yurok Tribe People when I worked in the Welfare Office in Eureka. 

They Fish the Klamath for Salmon but Do Not Catch ALL The Fish because the Hoopa People Upstream also need to Eat... Somehow they managed to Cooperate for Thousands of Years... WISDOM... 

Bigfoot - The True Story - Son Speaks Out about the Patterson/Gimlin Film - Police Sketch Artist Interviews Witnesses and All the Drawings Looked the Same...

There was a large man who ran away from his job at the California Conservation Corps near Eureka, CA. He lived in the woods fishing the Trinity River and took a Hoopa Lady as a wife. Her father made up the story of Bigfoot to explain the abduction of his daughter. It's a better story than "the white man stole her". Real Man, Exaggerated story.

Famous Bigfoot Film by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin.

At the man's funeral, his son said that the movie was a fake. The other people who lived in Willow Creek objected strongly to his stating the truth in public. So he retracted his statement. There are many tourist business that depend on the Bigfoot Legend to bring customers to remote Humboldt County.

I read a book about Bigfoot where the author interviewed many Hoopa Indians. He brought a Police Sketch Artist along with him and the Indians described what Bigfoot looked like... ALL THE PICTURES LOOKED THE SAME... None of the People Interviewed Knew What their Neighbor's Sketches Looked Like... a Totally Honest Experiment... 
 https://harveypratt.com/bigfoot/

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~~


Great Backpacking Trips in Northern California

Hetch Hetchy: A level path goes around the lake. A good place to camp about 5 miles in. We used it as a base camp for "free climbing" granite. Be careful of accidentally slipping into the river... I did upstream of Wapama Falls.

Link to Google Map:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hetch+Hetchy+Valley,+California+95321/@37.9429661,-119.765467,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80971f8a91c736fd:0x423983ee122b8b47

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapama_Falls


Canoe Creek Trail - Avenue of the Giants - Humboldt County.
A hidden footbridge over the Eel River lets a person explore in a virtually human free zone. Walk from the Garden Club of America Grove to the river, walk upstream about a quarter of a mile and That's where the footbridge is...  The Roads and civilization are all on the other side of the river... I Don't Know if that Bridge is Still There... However, One Day I Was Feeling Stressed and When I Got to The Other Side of The EEL... I Felt Relaxed... 

Link to Google Map:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Garden+Club+of+America+Grove/@40.2932599,-123.898538,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x49a50404452ac4ab?hl=en


In 1972 we went backpacking in the Yolla Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness. Liz Dunbar, myself and two brothers. The brothers were hang gliders. I wonder what ever happened to them. We had a great time. The brothers taught us an acapella singing technique. One person would act as a conductor and whenever he pointed at you, you sang your short bit. A percussive scat singing... like "dink ka dink ka do wah", "badda badda shoop shoop" or "diddy wah diddy"... Then the conductor would sing an improvised melody.

Link to the map on Google:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Yolla+Bolly-Middle+Eel+Wilderness/@40.1630015,-124.3261205,8z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x54d4a7fe0bdc6501:0x2ead91827000bd48?hl=en

Another great place to backpack is Hobo Gulch in the Trinity Alps off #299. Joe Franck showed me where is was... Granite, Cold Crystal Clear Lakes... melted snow.... Above timber line we navigated using topo maps and just walked where there were no trails...

Link to the map on Google:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hobo+Gulch+Campground/@40.9289597,-123.1555172,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x54d23113a261e7af:0x942df68dd1f5e5d5?hl=en

Big Sur: Sykes Camp Hot Springs. 12 mile hike in at Pfeiffer State Park on the Pine Ridge Trail up the Big Sur River. Very Hot dry difficult hike. Take two days... Stay at Barlow Flats to rest... Ranger maintained and totally natural hot spring seats 4 comfortably. There is a Parking Lot at the Big Sur Trailhead... 

Link to the map on Google:
https://www.google.com/maps/search/big+sur+sykes+camp+hot+spring+pfeiffer/@36.2448162,-121.7780059,16z?hl=en

The road from Eureka to Redding thru the Trinity Alps is excellent... EPIC Drives in California...

Looking out my window at home in Eureka

There is a LOT of Logging of Redwoods up here

On top of the mountain looking towards the Pacific Ocean

The Trinity River in Hoopa, an Indian Reservation... Flows to Klamath River and the ocean

There is a lot of Road Construction every Summer. One Lane - Follow Lead Truck

A handy hint for driving with construction traffic when you are stopped by a flagman and use one lane only. After getting let through,  immediately pull over and stop and smell the flowers, look at the trees and admire the creek... Wait 5 minutes...  Let all the traffic pass you by. Then when you continue driving there is NO TRAFFIC. The cars are way ahead of you or way behind... It's really a relaxing way to travel..

Whiskeytown Lake on #299 near Redding

And Eventually I arrived in Chico, California - Home of a Great College...

Humboldt County California - Hills and Stairs University

 Sunset over Humboldt Bay.

 Bench on campus "Hills and Stairs University" a great place to catch your breath before the climb to Founder's Hall for class.

 Bicycle Parking behind the Music Building.

 CCAT electricity generator system. Convert human fat to 12 VDC.

 Birds in the Swamp in King Salmon.

 Blue Lake Casino outbuilding.

 Humboldt Folklife Festival. A Yearly free concert in Blue Lake.

 Freight Boat leaving Humboldt Bay. Gas or Oil.

 Curved wake of boat as it enters King Salmon.

 Bear Sculpture on Highway 101.

 Chalk Drawing on Campus HSU Arcata.

 By the PG&E power plant on Humboldt Bay.

 Founder's Hall HSU.

 Birds in Arcata.

 Flyway rest stop.

Great Tile Art on campus.

 Gorda Escarpment. The Big Earthquake Center.

 In the woods...

 Hammond Trail. Viewing Trinidad.

 Road construction on Highway 299 from Arcata to Redding.
Every Summer... Long delays...

 HSU Campus. Clock Tower.

 Logging Truck at the rest stop on 299 at the top of the first hill. A great place to see the ocean.

 Mount Saint Mercy retreat in the Mateel River Area.

 HSU Bookstore. A plywood lumberjack to stand behind for a photo.

 Sculpture on Broadway.

 Stairs on campus.

 Amazing HUMCO plants.

Sculpture at a doctor's office.

Trinity River in Hoopa, CA

Sunset over Humboldt Bay with a Kayaker.

Emma the cat at home.

Children's climbing toy at the Library.

Two sided mural in Humboldt County Library.
The orange painting is viewed from the Children's reading room and the green painting is viewed from the other side. It's painted on glass so you can see thru.

The orange paintings are dark and sinister while the green side is happy joy joy.

The Sword in the Stone... The Mad King.

Convert Human Fat into Electricity.
Built by the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology at Humboldt State University.


Kinetic Sculpture Race at the school in Manila, CA.

 June Moxon's Shoe...

Kinetic Shark.

Pirate Ship

Gumball Machine.

Pushing Wile E Coyote up the Sand Dune...