Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts I have written about local and regional history, people, places, documents, maps, Sacramento, Placer, and California.
A group of Native Americans from Georgia settled in the area working the exposed auriferous gravel deposit north of Table Mountain and called the area Cherokee. By 1855 there were several small placer mining operations working the ground. By 1873 they had built the largest inverted siphon to carry water across the Feather River.
The original transcontinental tunnels and snow sheds over Donner Summit were abandoned in 1993 for the tunnel under Mt. Judah. After hiking to the top of Mt. Judah you can walk the many miles of tunnels and cliffs blasted out by Chinese labor in the 1860’s. The concrete snow sheds that replaced the wooden coverings that were prone to fire from the steam engine embers, is now a canvass for graffiti art.
History may be posing a greater threat to the integrity of Folsom Dam than the terrorists. Recent road widening projects and dam improvements have uncovered several gold mining tunnels and shafts precariously close to the dykes which could comprise Folsom Dam. In attempt to safely probe the depths of a mine shaft between dykes 4 and 5, the Bureau of Reclamation pumped several thousand gallons into a large pit on top of the ridge this past August, 2013.
Maybe you can’t walk back in time, but you certainly can walk through part of California’s water history. Dug by hand in the side of the hill above the south fork of the Yuba River, the abandoned water canal and flumes have been transformed into a fairly easy, wheelchair accessible, hike. Named appropriately the Independence Trail, it’s more of a walk than a hike.
A short but beautiful hike will take you along Hot Creek east of Mammoth Lakes. Hot Creek cuts across the Long Valley Caldera until it empties into the Owens River. This area was once a great volcano that exploded years ago leaving a bowl. The eastern portion of Hot Creek is reminiscent of Bumpass Hell in Lassen with scalding hot geothermal springs of water.
Amador City’s current mayor, Tim Knox, has a vision that this little gold rush berg might become a gay wedding destination as a means to help stabilize and improve the community. It sounds as if the residents, businesses and the organizational structure are on his side.
The destination was the outlet of the great North Bloomfield Tunnel that dumped gold bearing sediment from Malakoff Diggins into Mercury laden sluice flumes. We had seen the sign at the head of Humbug Trail indicating the trail was closed because of a damaged bridge. A little bridge doesn’t stop hikers on a mission…usually. But this one did.
The Sacramento Deep Water Shipping Channel is similar in dimensions to the Delta Cross Canal. Its overall length makes it comparable to a Peripheral Canal and the construction on par with the the tunnels. The Port of Sacramento, with the necessary deep water shipping channel, turned out to be a colossal waste of tax payer money. Instead of acquiring more private land for the tunnel project, the state should figure out some way to use the deep water shipping channel easements and land.
The new age of electricity ushered in the mass transit possibility of street cars. Even today the sight of an electric trolley car rolling down the tracks in this sparsely populated portion of California looks out of place. But the scenery of wheat fields, cattle and sheep grazing has changed little since the first trolley line rolled through the Montezuma Hills.
You definitely know you are not stepping into a library the moment you push open the door and the authentic railroad crossing bell clangs and lights flash.
