STACKED ROCK WALLS IN YUBA RIVER COUNTRY

Dry stacked rock walls from the historical era are commonplace in the Yuba watershed. They were used as retaining walls on pack trails, wagon roads, ditches and railroad grades.  Rock was also stacked to build foundations, cellars, dams, bridge abutments, races, sluices, walls, buildings, wells, culverts, fences, pens, chimneys, hearths and to create terraces for work, living and agricultural purposes.  Most walls were purely functional while others display serious craftsmanship.  There is no lack of rock in the Sierra Nevada.  The locations of boulders, field stones, exfoliating slopes, and concentrations of exposed rock were well known, but as a general rule projects were constructed with materials at hand.  A thorough look at the rich topic of rock work is beyond the scope of this humble post so I'll limit this commentary to some examples of dry stacked rock walls.

Tyler-Foote Crossing Road / Middle Yuba

TRAILS and ROADS

Trails or roads often required retaining or flanking walls on slopes to hold back erosion that could cover the tread from above or erode it from below.  For major projects like roads or ditches a crew was hired or assembled.  Generally, anyone with a strong back could find work. The Chinese often formed labor crews, especially after 1869 when the railroad was completed, but they were by no means the only nationality that built rock walls.  For instance, the impressive rock retaining walls on the road to Foote's Crossing of the Middle Yuba was built by crews of Italians and Slavs.

Bridgeport/ South Yuba

PASTURE WALLS

Most of these walls are found on foothill ranches with meadowland and nearby water.  Also called "tossed walls", they are common in Penn Valley, Spring Valley and the Spenceville Wildlife and Recreation Area as well as many other places. H. F French wrote a letter to The New England Farmer in October of 1855.  In it he said, "A stone wall is doubtless the cheapest and most durable of all fences, and where stones are constantly working up in your fields and must be removed, no doubt this is the best use to make of them", ... "our fields are cleared, and the boys have picked stones for a hundred years."  Naturally some of the walls followed recorded property lines.  This practice became commonplace when California became a State and surveying became more precise and important than it was in Alta California.

Stacked Rock Retaining Wall in Downieville/ North Yuba

Stacked Rock Retaining Wall in Nevada City/ Deer Creek

TERRACING

In the mountains, where there is little flat ground, it was essential to create terraces for buildings and machinery and to manage agricultural plots.  The gold rush brought Italians from Genoa, who came from the region of Liguria where there was a long tradition of stacked rock work and an estimated 25,000 miles of terraced hillsides.  They built many of the rock walls and terraces in the North Yuba Canyon near Downieville and Sierra City, among other places.

Stacked Rock Wall made with Quarried Rock/ Nevada City

Plug and Feather Method for Splitting Stone 

Quarrying a Bedrock Mortar Outcrop/ Sweetland/ Middle Yuba

 This is disrespectful to the indigenous Nisenan who were the original stone workers here. 

GRANITE BLOCKS/QUARRYING

Men from New England and the middle Atlantic states brought their own tradition of rockwork to the Yuba River region.  They had been quarrying and building with stone since the 17th century creating rectangular blocks of granite from rock outcroppings they called "surface ledges."  They used an ingenious but simple system for splitting rock in a straight line.

The plug and feather method to hew blocks of stone first appeared in late 18th century on the east coast and by the latter 19th century was widely used in the west.  The process involves drilling holes in a line, typically six or seven inches apart, then inserting feathers, which are half-round thin metal shims, while the plug, a metal wedge, is placed between the feathers and then hammered causing the rock to split along a straight line.  You can still buy plug and feather tools.

Bowman Dam on Canyon Creek/ South Yuba (1889)

Constructing a Crib Dam

IMPOUNDMENT WALLS

Historically dams and reservoirs both captured and diverted water.  Beginning in 1850 there has been of an emphasis on water management in the north-central Sierra Nevada.  This is still the case today.  Large quantities of water were originally used for hydraulic mining, followed by hydroelectricity development and irrigation.  Almost all of the "lakes" in the Yuba-Bear watersheds are dammed and are actually reservoirs.

Stacked Rock Sluice/ South Yuba

Remnants of a Blacksmith's Shop in a Hydraulic Mine/ South Yuba

MINE ROCK

Underground gold mining produced angular waste rock and gangue, while placer mining (including hydraulic) created rounded tailings, ranging in size from gravel to boulders.  These materials were useful for on-site construction projects and the constant road work that accompanies mining ventures.

A Stacked Rock Narrow Gauge Railroad Grade/ South Yuba 

A Corner of the Foundation for the North San Juan Methodist Church

Many of the walls take on a beautiful patina as they age, especially in the winter and early spring when the moss and algae pulsate in shades of vivid green, orange and yellow.  There is a symbiotic relationship that can develop between moss and man when the walls provide habitat for moss which, in turn, strengthens the wall's stability by binding the individual rocks together. It would be an unusual event to not see a dry stacked wall while out hiking in Yuba River country.

THE DOOLITTLE TRAIL: SOUTH YUBA CANYON

Climbing the South Yuba Canyon east of Canyon Creek

TRAIL DESCRIPTION:

Are you looking for somewhere remote, far from crowds, scenic and immersed in local history?  The Doolittle Trail and its companion the Ridge Trail have all that and more.  Both of these trails were once maintained by the Forest Service but not for the past 40years or so, however citizen/hikers do enough work to keep the trails open.  This is not a groomed trail and pine needles cover much of the trail tread making it slippery in places.  The vegetation is primarily yellow pine, Douglas fir, manzanita and canyon live oak.

The Doolittle Trail climbs about 1,500' to its intersection with the Ridge Trail located on top of the ridge.  The length of this ascent is approximately 1.5 miles. Once on the Ridge Trail there is an option to climb higher by heading east or to make a loop of it by traveling west.  The trail to the east continues for about 1.5 miles to a haul road that was once part of a historic trail/road that connects to the Bowman Road, while the western trail descends the ridge and creates a 3.5 mile loop back to the Maybert Road at Canyon Creek.

Once on the unnamed ridge between Canyon Creek and the South Yuba you will encounter the cleverly named "Ridge Trail." This trail was part of the Ostrom and Doolittle toll road in the 1860s.  If you walk east on this narrow ridge for a short distance you will have tremendous views of the South Yuba canyon to the south and Canyon Creek to the northeast.  There is a very narrow notch along the trail that looks down on the former Yuba Mine on the South Yuba where you'll be inclined to stop for a break for lunch or to return to Maybert Road.  It is a 3 mile round trip from the Doolittle trailhead to the scenic notch and back. For many people this is an adequate day's hike, especially after the walk to the trailhead and the climb to the ridgetop.

From the notch a forested hill rises abruptly to the east as the trail contours around the hill's south side and begins climbing. Here the trail seems to have been rerouted several times but soon arrives at a distinct but abandoned road bed. Before long you'll come to a segment of road with retaining walls made of huge boulders below the road. Beautiful and enduring work! Unfortunately a spot fire burned here killing many trees and creating snags that are starting to fall and destroy parts of the rockwork.  Just to the east is a tremendous view of the South Yuba canyon and Monumental Ridge to the southeast near the North Fork of the American River.  You just know that that wagon drivers and passengers paused here to "take in the view."  Within a short distance the road loses integrity as it enters an area that's been previously logged and you'll be adjacent to a substantial log-hauling road that was once part of the Ostrom-Doolittle Road to the Pacific Turnpike.

How to pick up the trail from its eastern terminus, via Bowman Road:

Few people access the trail from here because it's a 2,200' descent to the South Yuba and Maybert Road.  Making the plunge and then walking back up, especially when it's hot, is not for everyone.  It's more practical and less strenuous to have a ride waiting for you at Golden Quartz or the Doolittle trailhead.

From Highway 20 take the Bowman Road from Bear Valley and drive north for 6.5 miles to Fall Creek.  Cross the creek and take the second road on the left – it should be signed as Road 18-14.  Follow this road for 2.3 miles to a flat where the road bends to the northwest and park here.  You'll see plenty of evidence of logging and as a result this part of the trail has been obliterated, so to find the trail walk south and you'll begin to see what looks like a road and if you persist the historic road becomes more obvious.

A View of Canyon Creek from the Ridge Trail 

A View of the South Yuba/Yuba Mine from the Ridge Trail

How to get to the Doolittle Trail from Nevada City, CA via Highway 20:

From Nevada City travel 13 miles east to the Washington Road.  The road is to the left, headed north and downslope.  After a six-mile descent you'll arrive in the historic mining town of Washington (1850) on the South Yuba River.  This is your last opportunity to buy food or supplies.  Drive slowly through downtown Washington and cross the bridge over the river where the road splits.  Take an immediate right on Maybert Road, which extends upstream for three miles to a small bridge over Canyon Creek at Holbrooke Flat.  This is a narrow and potentially dangerous road. Please respect the land owners along this stretch of road – drive slowly and cautiously and don't trespass.

After crossing the bridge you'll travel a short stretch of bumpy road to a Tahoe National Forest "day-use area" called Golden Quartz.  Here in 1886 Alf Tregido obtained 20 acres to create the town of Oromonde, or “World of Gold.”  The town consisted of eight to ten buildings, including a store, saloon and boarding house.  Oromonde’s male residents worked at the nearby Washington Mine, which processed 50 tons of ore daily using a 20-stamp mill, powered by water from an upstream dam and almost a mile of flume.  In 1890 the mine produced $17,000.

I generally park at the Golden Quartz day-use area and it's the destination of most people who use the Maybert Road.  It's a great place to swim and practice slack.  If you have truck enough, it's certainly possible to keep driving the road.  But beyond this point the road is much more primitive, there are few pull-outs and there are several mining claims. Personally, I like to walk this road for the next 1.5 miles to the Doolittle Trailhead because it's so scenic and I came to walk anyway.

Topographic Map of the Doolittle Trail and the Ridge Trail 

People sometimes ask if I have a favorite trail.  There is no adequate answer to that question because of the of the infinite variables such as the season and elevation, the day's weather, the company you're keeping, and whether or not you saw a rattlesnake, a field of tiger lilies, etc. For some reason the Doolittle Trail always comes to my mind.  Some people may find it boring, too strenuous or too easy. It's not a recreation trail – this is not a trail chosen for its scenic values but nevertheless, there are places on it with tremendous views of both Canyon Creek and the South Yuba Canyon. It was originally built in the 1860s for pack trains, freighters and travelers, with a segment added in the 1880s to access a mine.  I'm sure it was used during the Depression era as well.  I enjoy a trail that allows me to reconcile historic research with the terrain where something historical happened.  It's the kind of trail on which I can look around and get a feel for the geographical challenges and benefits that were the concerns of the builders.

Detail of Doolittle's 1868 Map showing his trails and toll roads

Alonzo J. Doolittle was born in Vermont in 1821 and came to California during the gold rush. In the middle 1850s he built a suspension bridge across the South Yuba at Jefferson, a short-lived mining settlement located about a mile downstream from the town of Washington.  He is described as a mapmaker in the Nevada County Directory for 1871-72.  His 1868 Township and County Map of the Central Part of California is extremely detailed and full of towns, gold mines, sawmills, ranches, roads, etc., that no longer exist.

On August 4, 1862, Doolittle made an application to the County Board of Supervisors for a toll road from Washington to Omega, both located on the south side of the South Yuba.  From Omega he proposed a new suspension bridge over Rock Island Canyon (four miles above Washington and just east of Diamond Creek) on the South Yuba River “on a new trail leading to Omega and Fall Creek Diggings.”  By creating a trail to upper Fall Creek (on the north side of the river and high above it) the Omega-Fall Creek Road connected to the Pacific Turnpike (today's Bowman Lake Road) via the Ostrom-Doolittle trail/road.

The Ostrom-Doolittle trail/road was constructed on the east-west trending ridge that begins where Canyon Creek enters the South Yuba near the current Golden Quartz day-use area. Starting at 2,900' the ridge climbs eastward to 5,200' where it meets today's Lake Bowman Road, originally known as the Pacific Turnpike.  

The Pacific Turnpike toll-road's southern terminus was Dutch Flat, located between the North Fork of the American and Bear Rivers, then extended northeasterly to Bear Valley and Bowman's Ranch on Canyon Creek, now Bowman Reservoir.  The Pacific Turnpike (1863) eventually joined the Henness Pass Road (1852) at a location that is now underwater in Jackson Meadows Reservoir.  Within a few miles is Henness Pass where, by continuing eastward, you leave the Yuba River watershed and enter the Truckee River watershed.

A Segment of the Ostrom-Doolittle Road that is now part of the Ridge Trail. 

This is near the upper end where it connected to the Pacific Turnpike (Bowman Road) 

Privately owned toll roads were speculative business ventures that flourished before the transcontinental railroad's completion. Wagon roads were rugged but even a large one was only six feet wide. The typical early California freight wagons were 16 to 20' long and only 3' wide, but packed as high as 15' and they could carry as much as 2,000 pounds.  Wagons were much more useful than pack trains, which had to be unloaded at night, but they required a wider and more stable trail.

The indigenous Nisenan were obviously aware of the ridge between Canyon Creek and the South Yuba.  They had a well-established seasonal camp at the South Yuba-Canyon Creek confluence that may have functioned as a hub for trade and a base camp for food forays.  Artifacts were noted on and adjacent to the Maybert Road, along the ridgetop as well as on the Doolittle Trail itself.  By following this ridge upslope to the east the native people had access to two or three different ecosystems.

On May 7, 1870 the Nevada Daily Transcript reported, “The Board of Supervisors yesterday made an order appropriating $250 to be paid to A. J. Doolittle, upon the condition that he put the bridge on the Doolittle Trail between Fall Creek and Omega, in good condition.” It’s not surprising that the trail was deteriorating, because the Central Pacific Railroad was completed in 1869, greatly reducing the traffic on Henness Pass Road and feeder roads like this one. It's unlikely that any investment was made on the trail after this time.

The Maybert Road connected the town of Washington with the Yuba Mine and the small settlement of Maybert located 5.5 miles upstream on the South Yuba River.  John Lang and Doc Williamson, built the Maybert Road in 1876.  The expense of “fitting up” was borne by three hard-rock mining companies: the Yuba Mine at Maybert, the Eagle Bird Mine just over a half mile beyond Maybert, and the Washington Mine at Oromonde.  In 1890 the Consolidated South Yuba Express and Butcher Company operated a stage line here in conjunction with the butcher shop of Al Nichols in the town of Washington. The 1907 stagecoach fare between Nevada City and Maybert, a distance of 28 miles, was $3.  Most of the men of Maybert worked at the Yuba Mine.  George Hearst, who mined all over the West, was one of the owners of this mine in 1884-85. In 1885 the mine employed 27 Caucasians and 13 Chinese, who generally worked for 30-50 percent less than the standard of $3 for a 10-hour day.

Maybert Road

Maybert Road, east of Canyon Creek to the Yuba Mine, still has good integrity and it's fascinating to imagine what the ride on the stage might have been like.  Bill Meek, a stagecoach driver based in Camptonville, knew that conditions could be unpleasant, "but crabbing didn't change things for the better. Ninety percent of all travelers were pleasant and satisfied, feeling that if a driver could stand the trip daily, one for them should not seem so bad."

There are no signs or markers at the traihead for the Doolittle Trail on Maybert Road.  Whenever signs are posted they quickly disappear – you'll have to pay attention to find the trail. The trailhead is in a stand of black oaks located approximately 1.5 miles past Golden Quartz headed eastward.  You'll come to an large isolated boulder adjacent to the road on the uphill side followed by some sparse oaks.  It's evident that trucks have pulled onto small open flats on the uphill side of the road but you will have to start walking toward the slope before you can clearly see the trail on the right side of the slope headed northeasterly.  If you come to a flat with an enormous live oak, you've missed the trailhead.

The lower segment of the Doolittle Trail is a continuous ascent to the northeast.  I'm guessing that this trail was developed to access the nearby Blue Jay Mine located in 1884.  By 1895 the Blue Jay had its own 5-stamp mill but in 1896 they were idle.  Above this long and straight segment of trail there are a series of switchbacks that end at the ridgetop, on the Ridge Trail.

Last week I was on these very switchbacks near the ridgetop when I remembered that I left a fat bran muffin wrapped in a bandana under the seat of my truck, parked at the Golden Quartz area.  This was a primo muffin, hefty and heavy on the molasses and raisins.  I realized that one of the many black bears that patrol the recreation area might get to the muffin before me.  I've met bears on this trail three times so far and it appeared that on this hike there was more bear scat on the trail than usual.  Now I can handle surrendering the treat but I didn't want the door of my truck shredded by an eager bear that I had unwittingly tempted.  I have seen this happen many times before – I should have known better – instead, I even rolled down the window, just a bit - assuring the olfactory-oriented bears an easier target.  So what to do?  I had been hiking for more than two hours and it would take about that long to get back? I tried to push it out of my mind but the potential cost of a new window or door was interfering with my good day.

The western part of the Ridge Trail was in a mixed conifer forest until it burned in 1997

I decided to pick up the pace, and then travel west on the Ridge Trail to the Arctic Mine Road near Golden Quartz – the last time that I walked this trail was about 1985.  There was a major fire here in 1997 that devastated the south side of the ridge.  In the summer after the fire I tried to follow the trail but kept losing it so I put the idea aside.  This time I was motivated to beat the bear to the bran muffin and maybe see something new along the way.  The trail follows the narrow ridge line, with glimpses of Canyon Creek, to a rounded peak in a stand of conifers.  When the forest meets the former burn it was surprising to see an expanse of sky and big views of the South Yuba canyon downstream.  After the fire few trees returned but a large meadow of kitkitdizzie did – it's a unique setting. 

Near the southwestern end of the Ridge Trail

As the trail descends to the south a series of long switchbacks appears – some of it is brushy – and other segments are perfect ledges of historic road, about seven feet wide.  I don't recommend ascending this western part of the trail to the ridgetop, on the descent there is more to see and it's an easier hike.  The Ridge Trail ends on the Arctic mine road on the eastside of Canyon Creek. From here it's a short walk downslope to the day-use area.  I was elated to see that my truck had not been bear-handled and immediately sat down on a boulder by the river to enjoy my delicious muffin while my body was still humming from the hike.

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