BEDROCK MORTARS IN YUBA RIVER COUNTY

 

Bedrock Mortars on a bench above the South Yuba River

Bedrock mortars are anthropogenic circular depressions in a rock outcrop or a large boulder or slab, used by people in the past for the processing of acorns, seeds and other food products. There are often a cluster of mortars in proximity indicating that people gathered in groups. Mortars are used in conjunction with pestles with a variety of shapes, often with modified surfaces, for other food preparation and ceremonial functions. Pestles, because of their size and/or graceful shapes, are often removed from the site by collectors. Bedrock mortars are the most prevalent artifacts (or archaeological features) found in California from the east side of the Sierra Nevada to the Pacific coast. Even though they exist in many other parts of the world California, by far, has the greatest density.

They are reminders of the peripatetic, yet focused, hunters, fishermen, plant gatherers and herbalists who skillfully managed these lands for thousands of years. Originally, indigenous people were focused on big game hunting but over the centuries shifted to a reliance on botanical foods. Their descendants are still here. The people who made the bedrock mortars are called hunters and gatherers, but that’s a woefully inadequate description for a range of activities that encompassed efficiency and a deep understanding of ecology blended with practical, social, spiritual and aesthetic dimensions.  

Cut-Eye Fosters Bar. North Yuba River

Bedrock mortars are generally associated with the settlements and camps of indigenous peoples, but here in the Sierra Nevada foothills they appear at various elevations and in different ecosystems, from meadows with springs to ridgetops with wetlands, near creeks and rivers, on flatlands and slopes and in many other settings. They also can be isolated or scattered in “neighborhoods” along a creek or in a shallow valley. Outcroppings and boulders usually contain from one to twenty mortars and sometimes more. “Tco’Se”, a former Miwok settlement, also known as “Chaw Se”, or “Indian Grinding Rock State Park”, near the town of Volcano in Amador County, California, has an outcropping with over 1,000 mortars.

Dry Creek, a tributary of Bear River

Although they are most often associated with acorn pounding they were not limited to that function. Early and modern ethnographers, as well as those who used them, acknowledge the use of mortars to process nuts, roots, berries, herbs, medicinal plants, fungi, insects, small animals, rodent and fish bones for soups, for softening dried fish and meats, as well as for paints, pigments and substances used in ceremonial contexts. Shallow mortars may represent multifunctional tools and workstations for tasks other than acorn processing.

Fragments of a milling slab, or "metate", used for milling or grinding small seeds.
Round Mountain, South Yuba. 

Sugar pine nuts in sub alpine forests and gray pine nuts in lower elevation rolling hills are other desirable foods. There are hundreds of bedrock mortars in sugar pine habitat within the Yuba River watershed. Nut hunters would often camp at a favorable elevation then search for the most productive trees. Archaeologist David Hunt applied GPS data and statistical analysis to the location of Nisenan and Washoe campsites in the watersheds of the Middle and South Forks of the American River and determined that sugar pine nuts were collected at many locations and processed at numerous small bedrock mortar locations. In his opinion sugar pines probably extended farther westward than they do now.

Archaeologists refer to bedrock mortars as “BRMs” and estimate that they were widely used in the Sierra Nevada appearing about 1,300 years before the present era (BPE), and that this adaptation was coincident with the arrival of the bow and arrow. Since there is no way to accurately date BRMs archaeologists used associated artifacts such as projectile points with distinctive shapes and created a typology based on radiocarbon and obsidian hydration dating of artifacts from key regional sites. This is less than ideal because the stone tools may have been left before or after the BRMs were in use. There is no direct correlation.

Bedrock mortars at Starvation Bar on the South Yuba River

In the early 1960s California archaeologists hypothesized there might be a relationship between mortar size (as measured in volume) and population size and/or duration of occupation of the site. They theorized that the amount of stone removed from the grinding process is important. If a volume change rate per unit of meal created in the mortars could be found it could provide insight into the amount of food consumed in a specific time period. Other archaeologists followed, testing similar research designs. Eventually the California Office of Historic Preservation developed a new series of archaeological site recording forms, including one specifically designed for recording attributes of bedrock milling features. In time this focus began to shed light on women’s activities and suggested that they had more authoritative control than was represented in many of the ethnographic accounts collected by male anthropologists.

 

When BRMs were found between 6,500’ and 7,500’ within what is now Yosemite National Park archaeologists surmised that either lots of people gathered for a relatively short time span to process acorns or fewer people habitually reused the same bedrock mortars. They asked, what prompted the change from “portable” mortars to bedrock mortars? Since portable mortars are, despite the name, way too heavy to transport, I think the answer seems obvious.

 

An influential 1985 study of bedrock mortars at Crane Valley, divided mortars into three classes according to their depth. Depth followed function, according to the contemporary indigenous Western Mono people. The Crane Valley study determined that to render hulled and peeled acorns into a useable flour, or meal, shallow “starter” mortars, less than 2.2” deep, were used, followed by pounding in medium depth “finishing” mortars, between 2.2” and 3.75” deep. Mortars deeper than finishing mortars enabled the processing of hard seeds. It’s a valuable study, providing considerable insight, but the quantitative approach to mortar typology is highly reductive. Crane Valley is hundreds of miles south of the Yuba River, where I’m writing from. 

Foothill Women Pounding at a Bedrock Mortar

The Nisenan, Koncow, Northeastern Maidu and Washoe people of the Yuba River watershed were mobile for most of the year following the patterned ripening of plants and the movements of animals and fish within two to three ecosystems. They participated in ecological processes and influenced outcomes by the judicious use of burning as a tool. They also adjusted visits to seasonally accessible camps based on available resources such as food, medicine, basketry materials, flicker feathers, woodpecker scalps, etc., to coincide with trade opportunities, the ceremonial cycle, socio-political necessities and visiting. Two Nisenan events, similar to what westerners  call holidays, were Weda, or the first flower ceremony, signaling spring and the splendor of nature’s fecundity. And in the fall was the Big Cry, when the dead were honored, and it was also the time for acorn gathering. Both of these events and others featured feasting, singing, dancing, gambling and socializing.

Julia Parker Winnowing Acorns

Lizzie Enos, a Nisenan woman who preserved Nisenan knowledge and skills into the 1960s had this to say about Weda, “From all over they come, and when that dance end, maybe it was here or down in Auburn, then pretty soon they have another one up there at Colfax. Then from there, oh maybe next ten days. They have another Flower Dance over to Grass Valley and Nevada City. Every camp have to have that Flower Dance in spring.” Her comments show that Nisenan culture was very much alive in the 20^th century (Enos was born in 1881) and her rendition gives a positive feeling of jubilation and cultural revitalization. Moving from place to place was part of the fluidity and resiliency that characterized Nisenan lifeways and was not perceived as drudgery.

 

Two common misunderstandings about bedrock mortars have been hanging around for many years. Many observers speculate that mortars deepened though wear; that they deepened as a result of pestles striking their bottoms. This notion holds that the deeper the mortar the older it is. The Crane Valley study, and other sources, demonstrated that this is not true. There is a second, and even more prevalent, misconception that mortars are grinding holes. Native women use bedrock mortars to pulverize shelled and hulled acorns by pounding and not grinding. There is always a layer of acorn meal between the pestle and the interior of the mortar. Acorn pounding is a skill with very high standards and any rock chips or grit in the finished product is not acceptable. The demonstrations of Lizzie Enos and Julia Parker, indigenous cultural interpreters, exemplified this detail.

Lizzie Enos Pounding Acorn Meal
Photo Courtesy of Richard Simpson

Archaeology is conducted within theoretical constructs and insists on its scientific validity by heaps of measurements and statistical analysis. As computer-generated site recordation forms evolved, they have become more data-intensive at the expense of the flavor and feeling of a locale and its constituents. Even determining site boundaries has become more problematic because of modifications in the historic era. Concerns about property ownership and “cultural resource management” considerations can hinder the designation of a site as an agglomeration of neighborhoods (or loci within a large site) because there is a tendency to create separate sites for ease of management. Many technological advances are valuable, but humans of both the past and the present can be unpredictable, endlessly creative and sometimes tricksters. It’s difficult to keep an open mind in a sea of conveniences.

Mortars on a Tributary of Rock Creek/South Yuba River

The appeal and usefulness of the scientific method is in its continual theorizing, testing of hypotheses, comparisons and an extreme reluctance to arrive at conclusions (especially in archaeology, which in my opinion, straddles social science and humanities). This isn’t necessarily a problem because concluding or “knowing” tends to close the discussion. It’s important to feel uneasy with conclusions because the search for knowledge is an ongoing process. In Ursula LeGuin’s, Four Ways to Forgiveness, she concludes that “All knowledge is local. All knowledge is partial.”

 

Bedrock Mortars in the Lower Foothills
Near Dry Creek/Bear River

In the latter half of the 19^th century many bedrock mortars were impacted by ferocious bouts of placer gold mining that was prominent in Yuba River country. There is still gold, and its allure remains a threat today, but try to imagine how many bedrock mortars were destroyed, tumbled over, re-located, inundated and buried? I worked as a field archaeologist and historian in this region for over twenty years and I remain a curious rambler, so I have seen hundreds, if not thousands of bedrock mortars. Often, they are all that remains of an aboriginal campsite or settlement – the remnants of an archaeological site that has returned to the earth, or a place that has been destroyed, or looted. 

Appropriating Bedrock Mortars at Sweetland Creek/Middle Yuba River

My response to bedrock mortars and their settings has always been more visceral than scientific. I find them sculpturally simple but complex, both metaphorical and literal, stark (but formerly lively) and enduring forever, at least in human terms. The bedrock mortar’s place in space is persistent, but dynamic because soil-creep, mass-wasting, duff accumulation, alluvial deposits, erosion and other natural processes have covered many outcrops. In time, many of them are folded back into the earth and become invisible. Are they then gone? A place where young children hovered around their mothers, where women pounded foods and medicines while joking, gossiping, sharing skills, ideas and songs? How will sub-surface bedrock mortars affect behavior on the newly formed surface fifty or a hundred, or thousands of years hence? Will the place have a certain “vibe?” Why do some places have a special or “magical” feel about them? 

Bedrock Mortars on the South Yuba River/ Canyon Creek

Americans have grandiose notions and specific ideas about monuments. Examples include Mount Rushmore, Maya Lin’s Viet Nam Memorial and the toponym that designates a unique geological feature in the Sacramento Valley of California as the “Sutter Buttes.” Today, California’s bedrock mortars serve as diffuse cultural “monuments” or touchstones, if you will, that honor and promote reflection on the unique and effective practice of hunting and gathering, and women’s important role in that process for centuries to come.

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NOTES ON TRAIL SAFETY AND GOOD MANNERS

South Yuba River near Maybert

With so many people enjoying the outside it’s time to review trail safety and etiquette. This post highlights what I consider to be the most probable safety hazards, but hopefully there’ll be none. Realistically, unforeseen or unpredictable things can happen in the natural world, both good and bad. Be proactive and plan your hike, not too structured, but with a few less unknowns. The best preparation is to approach your adventure with a combination of alertness and humility.

 

PLANNING

Consult some maps to get a general sense of your destination. What’s the elevation? Are you dressing appropriately? How long do you anticipate being on the trail? Bring a spare battery for your device, flashlight or headlamp. Leave a map with someone who cares, including those areas where you might be wandering, and your expected time to return.

 

PACKING

Food and water are both essential. Eat what you want if you’re doing a day hike. I once spent a hot and arduous day with a locally admired politician who coasted all day on a plastic bottle of water and a bag of potato chips. If you’re staying longer, think in terms of fuel, sustainability, and weight. Water is the heaviest thing in my pack because it’s a necessity. But there are new systems available for purifying water from streams and ponds. Perhaps that’s why I’m seeing more hikers with small, streamlined daypacks 

 

Pack another layer (and perhaps a windbreaker), a flashlight or headlamp, a simple first-aid kit, enough water, a rudimentary map and a bandana. Wear a hat. A pocket-knife is handy and it’s wise to use sunscreen.

 

DRIVING TO THE TRAILHEAD ON BACK COUNTRY ROADS

Whether the road is paved, or not, some drivers are overcome by a sense of “freedom” on rural roads that prompts them to drive too fast. Not recommended – you don’t know what’s behind the next blind curve – it might be a deer, a tree, a boulder, or someone driving in the middle of the road. There could be a landslide or a washout or even a person walking. Did you know that mountain manners give the right-of-way to vehicles coming upslope?

 

A common complaint of people living near dirt roads is that visitors, and sometimes locals, drive too fast. Obviously, this endangers children and pets, but it also “washboards” the road and coats everything with dust. Who wants a gritty omelet? You want to be neighborly. Besides, you just might require their roadside assistance before you return home.

 

Donner Pass – South Yuba River

 

POTENTIAL HAZARDS

The most likely risk is to fall or trip and sustain an ankle injury or something worse. To minimize this possibility, wear decent shoes with tread and ankle support and pay attention to your surroundings. If you are climbing or rock hopping, make sure that your footing is sound before transferring your weight. When climbing a vertical rock slope maintain some distance between you and your partners and if you should dislodge rocks, logs or branches be sure to call out to those below you.

 

Learn to identify poison oak and avoid it. Remember that it’s oily and sticks to your clothes and your dog’s hair. Wash your hands in cold water when you can, before it spreads. 

 

WILD THINGS

Ticks can be troublesome – I worked in tick habitat for decades and I’ve had many bites, but no serious problems. On the other hand, I know people who have been bitten once and it’s changed their lives forever. To avoid ticks, stay out of the brush, wear light-colored clothes so that they can be seen and examine your body (or have someone else do it) after a hike. They are particularly abundant after a spring or summer rain. Some people even tape the bottom of their pants legs to keep them out. If bitten keep an eye on the bite, read the voluminous writings on the internet and/or see a doctor.

 

Rattlesnakes are very well hidden in dappled light

There is an inordinate fear of snakes. They definitely get our attention, but don’t be killing snakes just because they are snakes. Learn to identify rattlesnakes and avoid them. Snakes play an important role in keeping the rodent population under control. Other snakes in the watershed include garter snakes, pacific gopher snakes, striped racers and king snakes, less common but especially beautiful, are coral bellied ring necks and mountain king snakes. The only poisonous snake in the Yuba watershed is the northern pacific rattlesnake.

 

Snakes, mountain lions and black bears would rather avoid you. If bitten by the normally reclusive rattlesnake try to stay calm. The best remedy is the key to your vehicle – get to a hospital. Statistically, most bites happen to people who are teasing or tempting snakes. Rattlesnakes blend well with their surroundings so be alert, especially if you are the lead person hiking on a trail or road.

 

Bears are hungry all the time. They smell well and seem to know that backpacks contain food. So don’t stash your pack as you bag a peak, because if you’re in bear country they will find and shred your pack. I’ve heard this story repeated many times. A black bear attack is highly unlikely, unless you are threating their cubs. But don’t tease or tempt them.

 

Mountain lions are reclusive and seldom seen these days but they’re around and may be watching you. They are savvy hunters and are unlikely to take on an adult primate, but they will occasionally eat pets and threaten small children. I’ve had several meetings with mountain lions, and I’ve never felt threatened, but they are watchful and opportunistic so if you spot one, stay calm and if you can’t make a graceful retreat, keep an eye on it until it moves on.

 

If a wild animal allows you to approach, it may be sick or dying. Don’t handle “friendly” creatures.

 

DOGS

People love their dogs and often take them hiking. That’s fine but of course you’ll see less wildlife with a dog. When I’m out guiding a group, I won’t allow dogs because if it’s OK for one person to bring a dog then it’s OK for all the others to bring theirs. You have no way of knowing the chemistry between dogs and it can be a problem. Occasionally I see people carrying their dogs because they couldn’t handle the heat, terrain or a new and over-stimulating environment.

 

South Yuba Trail below Washington

HEAT

Carry enough water. Excessive sweating can cause a loss of trace minerals and salt that can result in cramped muscles. There are drinks and powders that contain electrolytes as well as foods like bananas and potatoes that provide a natural source.

 

Heat Exhaustion is a serious matter. The symptoms include pale and clammy skin, muscle cramps, profuse perspiration, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, headaches, a staggering gait and fainting. When these symptoms occur treat the victim for shock, apply wet cloths to the forehead and neck and offer sips of salt water. You may also consider cancelling your hike because heat exhaustion can escalate to heat stroke.

 

Heat Stroke is life threatening. It is caused by extremely high body temperature and a breakdown in the body’s ability to sweat. Symptoms include red, hot and dry skin, high body temperature, confusion, severe headache, a rapid, high pulse rate and sometimes a loss of conscious. Treat for shock and try to lower the body’s temperature.

 

Hopefully this will never happen to you and your companions on a hike because we are all looking out for each other, and we will notice unusual behavior and physical changes. (note: hypothermia, heat exhaustion and heatstroke all include confusion and bad decision-making as symptoms). Once, when I was on a fire-fighting crew, our boss became very confused because he was in the early stages of hypothermia, and we had to override his authority.

 

South Yuba River gold mining landscape

HYPOTHERMIA

Although I’m writing this in June, I think that awareness of this possibility is valuable because hypothermia can sneak up on you even in the summertime. It’s sometime called exposure which doesn’t really convey the danger of this condition. Pay attention – when you begin to lose heat faster that your body can produce it the process begins. If you continue to lose body heat your energy reserves become depleted, eventually reaching your brain depriving you of judgement and the ability to reason. You will not necessarily be aware of this seductive process and hypothermia will take your life.

 

If the weather is cold, not necessarily freezing, or if you are soaked by rain, melting snow or even perspiration and the wind picks up and increases the chilling effect, hypothermia is a possibility. This can happen in mid-summer.

 

Symptoms of hypothermia include uncontrollable shivering; vague, slow, slurred speech; memory lapses and incoherence; fumbling hands; a stumbling or lurching gait and drowsiness. The desire to lie down and sleep is almost impossible to resist, but it is crucial to remain awake. I have had a few close calls with hypothermia and have become very aware of its sly approach.

 

After spending a few days on the Pacific Crest Trail in late September I was surprised by an early snowfall, so I began to hike toward my truck which was only a few hours away. It was wet and slushy snow. As I descended there was more rain than snow and as I reached a lakeside resort I was soaked, and a bit confused about where I parked. It doesn’t take much snow to lose a subtle trail. I found a simple A-frame, dry, with a bench inside. Elated, but tired and shivering, I immediately wanted to rest. Sometimes I was cogent enough to realize that I needed to get out of my wet clothes and into my sleeping bag, but there was a very strong desire to lie down and rest. Somehow sanity prevailed, I made it into my dry bag naked, and I know I’m lucky to be here now. I got into trouble because I wasn’t prepared. I should have had a companion, someone who might have noticed my symptoms, and where was my rain gear? No excuses.

 

KNEES, HIKING POLES AND EFFECIENCY

Knees inevitably become less efficient. A few years ago, my right knee hurt so bad that hiking was not pleasurable, and I thought I’d have to let go of my healthiest addiction. I’ve always been astonished at how many of my friends have opted for knee surgery (even sedentary friends) – I thought maybe it’s my turn? Mostly I dreaded the recuperation period and all the hiking I’d miss. Eventually I talked with my doctor who is an active outdoorsman, and he recommended a simple, no frills, elastic sleeve to slip over my knee. I couldn’t believe how effective it was, especially combined with the use of hiking poles or “sticks.” I’m not offering medical advice – this may not work for you. It’s not a cure, but, relief from a painful condition for under $8 plus the cost of poles is worth a try and it’s still working for me. 

 

I never used hiking poles until I had the knee problem. Most of the outdoor jobs I’ve had required the use of my hands and even recreational poles were seldom seen in my crowd. Only “older people”, the infirm, and gear junkies used poles, as far as I was concerned. Admittedly, poles were essential for cross country skiing. They were useful for navigating tricky terrain and even enhanced the basic kick and glide function – they also added finesse and efficiency, making it easier to find the groove or zone.

A duck on the Pacific Crest Trail – North Yuba River

I correctly assumed that poles would absorb some of the shock and wear on my knees while descending, but they provided more than that, even while straightforwardly hiking. After a few years practice I use them in many situations and there are times when I almost feel like I have four legs. There is a 15-mile segment of the South Yuba Trail between Poorman Creek and Grizzly Hill that I’ve walked several times, both with and without poles, and I’ve noticed that with the poles I’m more efficient (faster) and arrive less tired. I’m a convert.

 

COURTESY

Trail etiquette is not limited to our interactions with other primates but also extends to how we treat plants, animals, water sources and courses, geological formations, archaeological sites and private property. The now seldom-heard advice to “Leave no trace” has been replaced by the even more pointed slogan, “Pack it in- Pack it out.” That seems straightforward enough but still some hikers leave wads of used toilet paper, cigarette butts and wrappers on the trail with ultimate faith in its biodegradability. True, it will eventually decompose but not before many people have viewed it and maybe even surmised that it’s all right to behave this way. This is a degradation of the trail’s aesthetic dimension – even if it doesn’t bother you, you owe some consideration to others. While apples and oranges are biodegradable their cores and peels are as different as, well, apples and oranges. I had a friend who ran pack trains to the mines in the upper Downie River (North Yuba) region in the 1930s and 1940s. He said that they always planted apple and pear cores at places where they stopped to water animals and take breaks. Sure enough, I’ve been to many of those places and there are indeed fruit trees growing there. Oranges on the other hand never grow in conifer forests and it’s slightly jarring to find a vivid display of orange peels in the typically restrained palette of forest colors. They tend to hang around for the season and just don’t belong there. I know it sounds fussy, but the forest is not a dump – pack it in, pack it out.

 

SANITATION

For starters, do your business away from the trail, please. Generally speaking, the most effective enzymes for breaking down fecal matter are located in the top eight inches of soil. You want to dig a hole deep enough to inhibit the movement of disease-carrying organisms by humans or animals, by storm runoff and flying insects. Find a place far from bodies of water, streams, campsites and trails.

 

Above the timberline the bacterial element in soil is virtually non-existent. Ideally, we’d pack it out but realistically that seldom happens. However, with so many careless people out there, it might someday be required. So, in the meantime, dig a hole and cover the waste, discouraging animal curiosity with an adequate rock.

 

None of us likes to see toilet tissue alongside the trail or blowing in the wind. This is an aesthetic and biological affront and bad behavior by any measure. Create a simple toilet kit with plastic baggies for takeaway, hand sanitizer, etc. One more thing, don’t burn toilet tissue. In 1998, a man while burning his toilet paper, inadvertently started the “49er Fire.” That fire consumed 33,500 acres, 148 homes and 356 other structures. Today, because more people have moved into the grasslands and forests and the climate is so much drier, fires are far more catastrophic.

 

Valley Oak – Lower Yuba River

FIRE

Smoking during fire season is dangerous and anti-social. Especially in California where we get dry summers and I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s getting dryer. It’s hard to imagine but now safety, etiquette and sanity demands that we camp without campfires. Don’t assume that because you are aware of the situation you can be the careful exception. I’m writing this on my deck in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in the first week of June where it’s hot and dry. The subtle breeze intermittently bursts into short bursts of strong winds coming from various directions and I can hear sirens off in the distance. There used to be a “fire season” but now, we who live here, find ourselves thinking about fire all year. If you’re visiting, it’s less of a concern to you. Add a less concerned attitude and no concern attitude and multiply that by 80,000, the number of visitors we had last year, and you can see why the locals might see you as a potential fire hazard.

 

WHERE ARE WE

Pay attention! Every group of hikers includes people fidgeting with their glowing devices. They are seeking a message from on high about where they are. There is no denying that satellite navigation is valuable, but it does mitigate direct experience. Don’t lose your ability to mentally note landmarks, vegetation, features and vistas along the trail. Engage with the landscape to get to know a place.

 

Sand Pond – North Yuba River

Be safe but don't dampen your enthusiasm. I'll leave you with a quote from The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, "In the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing the lawn. Climb that goddam mountain." 

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WE CALL OUR ELDERS OLD TIMERS

Baba G, Blissing

Lois was in her 90's but I optimistically assumed that I’d have enough time to record a conversation with her – it didn't work out that way.  Now she's gone and with her went an important page of local history.  Her family was here for generations, she was the first woman to work in a local sawmill and you just know there was a lot more to her story.  This has happened before.  In the early 1980s I was on my way to Graniteville to record the last known ditch tender, just outside of town I stopped at the cemetery and there was Lester, despite his assurance that “I’ll be at home, stop by anytime.”  So much for casual arrangements and assumptions about the future.  We all know someone who has a long history in a particular place, is articulate and full of good stories, someone who is knowledgeable, and should be recorded.  In my own lifetime I’ve audio-recorded about 80 people who have contributed a mouthful to the mélange of local history.

Recently I was approached for an interview by a historical researcher, and it surprised me, although it shouldn’t have, I’m old.  Some of our elders are truly awesome for the scope of their memories and some of them approach what the Japanese call "holders of intangible cultural properties."  This is especially true, if they can remember a time before mass media, when the world was truly social.  Americans seldom use the word elder, we call our elders “old-timers”, unless they’re Native Americans.

Gus Poggi – Downieville, Ca

 What follows is a compendium of suggestions for conducting interviews because at the end of the trail people can slip away unexpectedly.  Get on with it – it can be an enriching experience and valuable to the greater community.

 

INTERVIEWING

Note: “Interviewee” is an inadequate and sterile word and so is the out-of-step word, “informant.” The word “subject” suggests an interrogation. Any suggestions for a new word out there, one that is warmer and suggests cooperation?

 

Why are you recording your subject? Is this person a family member, part of a particular community, or is this a school assignment?  If it’s the latter your motivation to do a good job could be weak. I feel that you must be genuinely interested because the interviewee can tell if you are interested in their lives and the eras they’ve experienced, and your interview may be their last one. Don't squander the opportunity.

 

Leland Pauly - Camptonville, Ca.

If your interview is part of a series on a certain topic organize your thinking and do your homework.  It’s worthwhile to do some research because it will give structure, inform your questions and the fact that you can ask pertinent questions shows that you value your subject’s knowledge.  The research should be deeper than hear-say and clichés.  Get curious and get beyond simplistic popular history by reading a little about what was happening on the local and national levels.  It makes a big difference if you know the geography and broad patterns of regional history.

 

This is an opportunity to learn or clarify something and have it corroborated by someone who was on the scene.  Your informed questions will improve the interview and resonate with your subject.  And, if you have some depth, you’ll be able to ask follow-up questions.

 

Be humble, they are the authorities, otherwise you probably wouldn’t be talking to them.  Listen to their responses – learn to converse.  Many children grow up without elders around, as a result, there is a real tendency for youth and adults to avoid seniors and disregard them.  It’s not deliberate behavior but it is palatable, and I’ve experienced it myself.  If you can’t enjoy the company of seniors don’t attempt to interview them.

 

Put parameters on your inquiry – you can always add footnotes and commentary later.  Get the basics, like date of birth, date of the interview and who’s conducting it, include a basic family genealogy and the occupations of key figures.  Create an outline of some sort so that you don’t forget something, and you can use it as an aid to get you back on track should the interview wander.  Have a few pointed questions on that list.

Cata and Rama - San Juan Ridge, Ca

Don't assume that the interviewee is necessarily wise because of their age.  That’s just not true.  In many cases people relate what they have been told and/or pass on information that was incorrect to begin with.  History and folklore are different categories although they sometime overlap.  I’ve met some wonderful people whose opinions I respect - they need not be educated to be intelligent, to say nothing about other kinds of intelligence.  Nor are those who were on the scene infallible.  When we recollect or tell stories we subtly edit and/or reshape them in the retelling and we don’t typically glorify our bad behavior.  In retelling my own stories, they are re-edited and reshaped for a contemporary audience whether it’s a personal story or a selection from the forest of facts that most people experience as history.  I’m reminded of the Talking Heads line, “Facts don’t do what I want them to”, (Crosseyed and Painless:1980).

There are ways to document community as well.  Photography has been around since the mid-19th century and before that was writing and before that, pictographs. At least one community is using tapestry to document their generation's experiences.  It's recording your local history as it unfolds and many people get to participate in its telling.

The Tapestry Project - San Juan Ridge

In reviewing what I felt were my best interviews in terms of content, personal connection and proficiency I came away with these insights: 

• I had to demonstrate that I had enough awareness of the topic to ask an intelligent, and respectful, question.  Shallow questions get tiresome.

• It’s surprising how much our conversations hinged on geography.  When a person was mentioned it was usually followed by a qualifying remark about where they lived or came from.

• Descriptions of place were rich with detail.  In some cases, if you hadn’t been there, it would be difficult to engage in conversation.

• They tended to respond to specific questions and offer a side story only if they were comfortable with you.

• They know how to converse, you know, I talk –you talk?  Usually we tend to comment on each other's monologues.  Listen – conversation is exhilarating.

 

I remember interviewing a man living in a cabin with his protective dog.  This muscular and active dog kept wedging himself between me and his “master.”  I’ve forgotten the dog’s name, but he was definitely in charge.  When we attempted to review a few maps (the large USGS 7.5’ Quad maps) his dog kept crashing into the maps and mangling them.  I quickly abandoned this strategy, which proved to be a good idea because the audio recording was dominated by the cacophonous sound of crushing, almost crashing, maps in mid-crumple.

 

Years ago, I met an elderly woman on a remote part of the Henness Pass Road, near her family gold mine.  Her name was Irene and she lived in Sierra County for most of her life, where, as a young woman, she ran pack animals to various mines.  She was informative and was very sharp.  This impromptu encounter was a much-appreciated gift that I was able to record with my trusty pencil and notebook.  

 

Gus was an upcountry packer in the 1930s and he “rodeoed some.”.  We shared lively conversations because we both were trail enthusiasts.  Leland was alert, but a little bit cranky.  As a former postman from a family that lived in the area for generations, he knew his stuff and was worth the gruff.  George was always cheerful and joking but deceptively sharp, he was especially authoritative about the lumbering industry.  My recordings of him are frequently enhanced by his noisy parakeet.  Wes was a history buff who roamed the lower Bear River from the time he was a child while keeping notes on features and artifacts that he found.  He finally stopped hiking at age 90.  All these people are gone now but it was a genuine pleasure to have known them.

David Comstock - Chalk Bluff, Ca

Dave is a historian, book designer, publisher and friend who is in his 90s and he’s still working.  Brita, also in her 90s, is an alert volunteer at the local history center and Cathy, always enthusiastic about local history, manages a small museum in Nevada City.  These people are inspirational.

 

• • •

HIKING WINTER TRAILS

 

Early snow at Upper Lindsey Lake (6,700'). We couldn't keep climbing without snowshoes or slowing way down.

Here in the North-Central Sierra Nevada we’ve all been longing for cleaner air, cooler weather, more water in the streams, greener vegetation and less fire danger.  That time has arrived – it’s called winter, and it’s best enjoyed by participating in it.  Winter is another superb season for hiking in the Yuba-Bear watersheds.

 

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing” – You’ve probably seen this well-worn outdoorsy quote many times.  It’s usually attributed to Alfred Wainwright, who wrote hiking guidebooks in the British Isles.  First off, this is an untrue comment and dangerously simplistic.  While I get the Be Bold attitude it still sounds as if it was written by a marketer of outdoor clothing.  What’s irresponsible is suggesting that nature is a mere nuisance and not a formidable and often unpredictable force capable of creating weather ranging from merely “inconvenient” to devastating disasters.  Being respectful and aware of the landscape you’re navigating (and dressing sensibly) will provide you the greatest satisfaction and the most safety.

 

Fortunately, among my friends, there is a small band of rugged and enthusiastic hikers who are willing to undergo some rough weather for exercise and cheap thrills.  But, truthfully, I have had a difficult time getting people enthusiastic about hiking in the wind, rain and snow.  Actually, most winter days around here are sunny, bright and crisp with a blue sky that is unattainable in the summer, while on other days skies are in shades of gray, but seldom depressing.  In the winter, I’ve found that it’s often more pleasant outside than it appears from the inside.  The sun may, or may not, “break-through”, but once you’re outside it’s great to be out, regardless.

 

In general, winter hiking takes longer than summer hiking – you tend to move slower and encounter more obstacles – plan accordingly.  Days are shorter in winter, so hit the trail early to avoid being out in the dark and always bring a flashlight or headlamp (spare batteries too).  Contact land managers, etc. to inquire about conditions and high-risk areas.  If you’re in a group, base the plan on the least experienced/able person.  Always tell someone your plan – where you’re headed (include a map), your estimated return time, who you’ll be with, etc.  When in doubt, don’t go out.

 

Inclement weather, however, you define it, provides drama and often interesting photos.  If possible, test your raingear, wind breaker or lug-soled shoes before you’re in a circumstance where you need to depend on them.

Winter on the South Yuba, near Purdon Crossing about 1986 

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

Wear a hat, the value of a wool hat and scarf can’t be overemphasized – about 4 % of body heat is lost through the head, neck and shoulders.  Pack gloves, dry socks and bring enough food and water.  Hiking poles absorb shock on descents and provide stability on slippery surfaces.

 

Technological devices can malfunction in cold temperatures or when wet, so bring extra batteries/battery packs.  Don’t rely on your phone.  A few years back, in September, we were up near Gold Lake/Sierra Buttes when we were surprised by a summer squall with heavy rain.  Suddenly everyone was scrambling to get their cell phones deep inside their packs where the rain couldn’t reach them.  Still another use for the versatile Ziploc baggie.

 

I also carry a topographic map, a whistle, a pocket-knife, a compass, a small first aid kit, plastic bags for wet clothing or garbage, toilet paper, sun block or sunscreen, packets of trace minerals and a lighter.  I always carry a bandana as well because they come in handy.  They make a decent sling or bandage and they’re good for wrapping treasures like that bird wing or fox skull that you need to take home.  Be aware.  It only takes a light dusting of snow to obscure trail splits and turns.  If you’re not sure of your location in a particular situation, you’ll be glad that you have GPS and/or a topo map with you.  

 

Food is fuel – bring enough.  Just as a wood stove requires logs to create warmth so does your body need calories to generate warmth and energy.  Bring more of the various energy bars, nuts, and cookies than you think you’ll need and share them.

 

One more thing.  Some trails because of their slope, soil, or use patterns can take a beating in the wet season and suffer erosion, landslides, etc.  If you see a trail that’s being overused or has been damaged please stop using it, advise your friends to stay off of it, and report the damage to the agency managing the trail.

Near Maybert, on the South Yuba above Washington

 

BASIC LAYERING:

Dress for the known weather conditions but be prepared for the unknown.  Each layer has a different function in the creation of a microclimate around your body.  When hiking in cold weather, you should wear three layers.  If you get hot, shed a layer before you get too sweaty.

 

The inner, or base, layer is meant to transport body moisture away from the skin so that wet undergarments do not rob the body of heat.  Polypropylene, silk, wool or cotton-net undergarments are recommended.  A middle layer allows for insulation against cold air.  This would include such items as a long-sleeved shirt, a wool sweater, a vest or a jacket.  The outer layer is meant for protection in case of adverse conditions like snow, rain and high winds.  Typical outer, or shell garments, are Goretex jackets, windbreakers, coated nylon shells or waterproof parkas.

 

Avoid sweating to the point that your clothing gets wet.  Most outer garments have features to allow for the escape of heat.  Of course, you can always open your parka or even remove a layer of insulation.  Naturally you heat up when you’re moving but when you stop for a break, put something on.  Dress before you start to get cold.  Anticipate your metabolism slowing down and keep a warm body core by putting something on.

 

Wool has the miraculous ability to retain heat and warmth even when it’s soaking wet.  The investment you make in a good wool sweater, jacket or hat is worth it because it’s going to protect you.  Leave extra clothing in your vehicle for when you get back – dry clothes are always welcome.

Chilly, but cool.

COLD

Hypothermia. Be aware of it because it can sneak up on you and take your life!  When you begin to lose heat faster than your body produces it, the process begins.  Wet clothing facilitates the progression.  If exposure continues until your energy reserves are exhausted, cold eventually reaches your brain, depriving you of judgment and reasoning power.  You will not be aware this is happening.

 

The symptoms of hypothermia include uncontrollable fits of shivering, slow and slurred speech, memory lapses, incoherence, immobile and fumbling hands, a stumbling and/or lurching gait and drowsiness.  The desire to lie down and close your eyes is nearly impossible to fight off, but it is crucial to remain awake.  A victim of hypothermia will lie down to rest, fall asleep, lose more body heat and die.  I have had several close calls with hypothermia that have made me very respectful.

 

Many years ago, after spending a few days alone on the Pacific Crest Trail near Gold Lake, I was surprised by an early snowfall.  It was wet and slushy snow, so I started downslope toward my car, which was a few hours away.  As I descended there was more rain than snow, and by the time I got close to Gold Lake, I was soaked, and a bit confused about where my car was parked.  I was really getting tired and despite the fact that I was only about a half-mile from the car, I thought that it might be a good idea to lie down for a rest.  My thinking was very fuzzy at this point, but luckily, I stumbled upon a summer camp with wooden buildings that was closed for the winter.  One of the buildings was open, so I went inside and immediately wanted to lie down for a nap on the bunk, despite my wet clothing, which by now had me shivering.  There was a small voice telling me to get out of my wet clothes and into my sleeping bag, but it was not as persistent as the big voice telling me to get some sleep right now.  Somehow, I did get out of my clothes and into my dry down bag.  I’m lucky to be here.  This was stupid behavior that could have been prevented.  Right up front I should have been with a companion who could have noticed my symptoms.  Secondly, where was my rain gear?  Clearly, I was unprepared to begin with, and the hypothermia only made me more stupid.

 

If the weather is cold (but not necessarily freezing) and you get wet from rain, melting snow or perspiration; and if the wind then picks up to increase the chilling effect, you are a prime candidate for hypothermia.  Cold is not necessarily a factor –I have seen the temperature drop after a downpour followed by strong wind in July.  Remember, hypothermia has to do with your body’s ability to retain heat.  Wind and rain can cause heat loss at any time of the year.  When you stop for a break, put a layer of clothing on before you cool down, and don’t sit on a cold rock surface where you can lose heat by conduction; sit on your pack or on a log.

 

First aid for hypothermia involves getting the victim out of the cold and or wind.  Get them out of wet clothing, cover with blankets and offer warm beverages.  If the person is not breathing begin CPR.

 

Frostbite. Frostbite is less likely because it’s caused by exposure to very cold temperatures, whereas most hiking occurs during warmer weather or at lower elevations.  However, because spring and fall weather is so unpredictable, it can’t hurt to be prepared.  Frostbite is caused when crystals form superficially or in the underlying tissue of the skin and in the body fluids.  The extremities—the nose, ears, fingers and toes are most commonly affected. The effects of frostbite are more severe if the body parts are thawed and subsequently refrozen.

 

Symptoms of developing frostbite include skin with a glossy sheen, skin color changing to white or grayish-yellow and numbness and blisters that may appear in the affected tissue.  Frequently victims will not be aware of frostbite until someone else notices their pale, glossy skin.  First aid is to warm the affected area(s) rapidly (but without rubbing or disturbing the frozen tissue, which could lead to gangrene).  Out on a hike the best you’ll be able to do is cover the affected area, get back to your vehicle and out of the weather as soon as possible.  Seek medical attention immediately.

That's me in 1978 out for a few days of spring skiing near Castle Peaks

Most people who hike in winter do so just below the snow line in the mixed conifer forests and on stream-lined trails where there is plenty of moss, lichen and other spore bearing plants.  These lush, bold green plants can dominate and dazzle a landscape in the winter so treat yourself to this seasonal splendor.  If you want to know more about these plants, I recommend Katie O’Hara’s North Yuba Naturalist blog and these two posts in particular: 

https://northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com/search?q=Moss+in+Winter

https://northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com/search?q=Spore+Bearing+Plants+in+Winter&max-results=20&by-date=true

 

Enjoy, but Leave No Trace

In the 1980s I had a cabin on Washington Ridge at about 4,500' .  It was colder then.

  
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If you live in the vicinity of the Bear or Yuba watershed here are a few places to hike in the winter – I’m only offering general locales here.  Details about these hikes are available from various sources online.

 

The Spenceville Wildlife Area contains 11,900 acres of wildlife habitat in the Bear River watershed.  There are many trails, averaging 3 to 6 miles long with little climbing involved.  Most of the area is in a savannah-type setting, featuring blue oak and gray pine.  Elevations range between 200 to 1,200 feet.  Its major perennial stream is Dry Creek.  The trail to Fairy Falls has become a popular attraction and for that reason is best enjoyed in “bad weather.” https://wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/Places-to-Visit/Spenceville-WA

 

Fairy Falls on Dry Creek, near Spenceville.  It's raining.

Also, in the Bear River basin is the Empire Mine State Historic Park in Grass Valley and its system of trails https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=499

Bridgeport is a former settlement, mining locale and historic resort with a historically significant covered bridge situated on the South Yuba River.  I lived here in a tipi, with my family, in 1973.  It’s now a park managed by the California State Parks system.  The two main trails are Buttermilk Bend, a beautiful 2.2-mile roundtrip, very popular and very easy, and the Point Defiance Loop Trail, which is If you live in the vicinity of the Bear or Yuba watershed here are a few places to hike in the winter – I’m only offering general locales here.  Details about these hikes are available from various sources online.

Also in the Bear River Basin is the Empire Mine SHP in Grass Valley and its system of trails https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=499

 

The Black Swan Preserve is located near Smartsville where elevations range from 750 to 900 feet https://www.bylt.org/trail/black-swan-trail/.  Currently there is a 2-mile loop trail around a former hydraulic mining excavation that is now a pond and wildlife preserve.  Views are impressive.  There is also a side trip to a scenic section of Deer Creek and more options will be added in the future.

 

Bridgeport is a former settlement, mining locale and historic resort with a historically significant covered bridge situated on the South Yuba River.  I lived here in a tipi, with my family, in 1973.  It’s now a park managed by the California State Parks system.  The two main trails are Buttermilk Bend, a beautiful 2.2-mile roundtrip, very popular and very easy, and the Point Defiance Loop Trail, which is 2.7-miles.  In the summer this park is way too overcrowded for me, so I either start way early or wait for winter, when the weather is “uninviting.” 

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=496.  

 

Nevada City is a base camp for several decent trails just as was in the days before the gold rush when the indigenous Nisenan made it an important settlement and trade hub because of favorable topography and a variety of abundant ecosystems.

 

From downtown you can pick up the Deer Creek Tribute Trail and follow the combination of road and trail down Deer Creek to the extremely popular suspension bridge.  This is as far as most people go, but if you follow the obvious trail markers downstream on Champion Road, then onto the Newtown Ditch, you can see the impressive China Bridge as well, located only 2.2 miles from Nevada City.  By getting back on the ditch/trail you can continue following it downstream to Newtown Road, about 3-miles out.  There is no shortage of information about this route. https://www.bylt.org/trail/deer-creek-tribute-trail-chinese-bridge/

 

Another trail beginning in Nevada City is the Hirschman Trail, which if you walk it all, is a 4.8-mile round trip.  Here the landscape undulates amidst mixed conifers and oaks doing a good job of repopulating a heavily mined area.

 https://www.bylt.org/trail/hirschman-trail/

 

There is another short trail currently in the process of realignment.  It’s the called the Sugarloaf Trail.  It’s named after a Nevada City geological landmark, a 3,060’ peak that offers a tremendous view of the town situated in the Deer Creek drainage.  It’s been a favorite local vista for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.  From the top, at a glance, it’s evident that we live in a forest and should behave accordingly. https://www.bylt.org/trail/sugarloaf-mountain-trail/.

 

Lately, the Old Downieville Highway from Nevada City has become popular as a trail, but you would be wise to remember that it’s a well-used paved road, so be careful here.

 

The Cascade Canal Trail, a few miles east of Nevada City, is part of a historic water conveyance system used for gold mining, electrical power generation, and irrigation.  Ditches/canals are part of our legacy and they often make excellent trails. https://www.bylt.org/trail/cascade-canal-trail/

 

Round Mountain is a mixed conifer, black oak environment with elevations from 1,970’ to 3,250’.  There is a limited but very good trail system here and it’s only four miles from Nevada City.  https://www.blm.gov/visit/south-yuba-recreation-area

 

In the South Yuba canyon there are many options like the South Yuba Trail and the trail system at Malakoff Diggins State Park.  The North Yuba River has the Canyon Creek Trail and the North Yuba Trail, both of which I enjoy most in the winter.

 

Realize that I’m only nibbling at the trail possibilities, there are many more.

• • •