TRYING TO FIND MY WAY INTO THE PAST

Over the last few months I have spent my fair share of time on Google Maps trying to trace my travels over the many forest roads on the National Forests where I worked.    It is not easy to pick out an old road, clear cut unit or some landing carved in to the hill side back 40 to 50 years ago.    Many of the roads are no longer maintained and have been consumed by encroaching vegetation.  Clear cut units have turned into over- grown plantations, and some of those have been consumed by wildfires over the past decades.   Even some of the most noticeable log landings carved into steep slopes on the Gold Beach District have disappeared.   It is hard to make out the cutting boundaries of old clear units since many of the adjacent leave strips of old growth trees have been cut out since my days in the woods, along with more roads that I don't recognize.   

One road I could retrace is on the Orleans Ranger District.  It is the Cedar Camp Road going north off Highway 96 and winding its way up into the Forest.   There was a pig farmer that owned a chunk of land on the lower portion of this road all surrounded by National Forest land.   I think his name was Moses.  He drove an old 1948 or 49 Chevy truck, lived in an old moss covered house back off the road in the woods and let his pig feast on acorns.  It was nice to drive up this road because there was no log truck traffic on it, since commercial hailing was not permitted through the pig farmers property.   Beyond the pig farmer's place the road tied into other roads that went all over the north end of the District.    If I had to drive it today I would probably never find my way back to Highway 96.