CABIN FEVER

It is now the first of March of 2023 and we all have had our fair share of winter weather and confinement to the house due to snow and icy roads, better known as cabin fever.   This got me thinking back on my younger days when I worked for the Forest Service in Orleans, California living in a small house that was half trailer comprising of the bedroom and kitchen all attached to a wooden structure that made up the bathroom and a small living room.  I guess you could call it a shack, all for $70 a month.   I was a full-time employee and I think the only single employee working on the Orleans Ranger District, except for most the seasonal employees that had 180 day appointments or about six months of work before being laid off.   The winter months of 1971 to 1974 could be lonely with no seasonal employees to hang out with after work, no woman in my life while most the other permanent employees were married and had families.   The days of winter were short, the weather could be dismal and Orleans did not offer much entertainment or social events, except sitting in one of the three taverns drinking beer with the local Indian population that were not too friendly when they had a belly full of beer.   This led me to drinking at home in the evenings and usually consuming poor quality cheap wine, the kind that had no cork in the bottle.  Having consumed a good portion of this stuff sleep was not a problem.  My reading material consisted of monthly subscriptions to Mother Earth News, The Alaska magazine and a few others.   On weekends outdoor activities such as fishing or hiking were limited due to the rain and snow at the higher elevations.  I did have a dog for company by the name of Herman, a black mutt male that I found as a puppy wandering lost along the highway one weekend.   Sometimes after heavy rain storms the highway out of town would be closed due to landslides up to a week or more.  This would prevent the delivery of the basic essentials to the local market, including beer and wine.  Sometimes panic would set in after going to the market and seeing very little available on the shelves, especially beer and that cheap wine.  

By spring time it was a relief to see some of the seasonal employees return, people to go to the tavern with or into Eureka or Arcata on the weekends.  In  January of 1975 a new receptionist was hired by the name of Christine, we were married in August of 1975 bringing an end to those lonely winters.

 

CELIA AT THE CABIN

 This picture was taken on 2/5/2011 at the cabin where Celia did many of her paintings.   She was taking a break and enjoying her favorite can of beans.  My kind of woman!

Jance & Jack's Cabin

 

                                           JANE AND JACK’S CABIN

 

As a family we would drive up to Jane and Jack’s cabin near Mill Creek, California.   The cabin belonged to Jane’s uncle and I remember our family making trips to it during the 1950’s while living in Willows.   Jane and Jack Hendricks were friends of our parents and also lived in Willows before moving to Red Bluff in the 1960’s.  Jack and our dad had met while going to the University of California at Davis between 1945 and 1947. 

 It was about a two hour drive from Willows to Mill Creek.  We would drive up to Red Bluff where we turned onto highway 36 leading up into the mountains.   After leaving the Sacramento Valley we would enter the foot hills with scattered oak trees and many rocks from the volcanic eruption of Mt. Lassen in 1914.   As we got higher up in elevation the oak trees would gradually start mixing with pine trees.   Eventually we would drive into the pine and fir forests near the community of Mineral where we turned onto the small winding paved highway to Mill Creek.  

The fond memory of arriving at our destination and smelling the wood smoke from the cabin chimney was always inviting.   As soon as we got out of the car we would hear the sound of the stream that was nearby with a little foot bridge crossing it and a spring box beside it where there was a water melon kept.   The cabin was located up a small dirt road off the highway just above the small community of Mill Creek.   We would pass two other cabins before arriving at Jane and Jack’s cabin.   The cabin was rustic looking with a stone fire chimney, a brown exterior, a shake roof with large pine and cedar trees surrounding it.  There were many large pine cones we would collect to take home or put in the cabin fire place.  Our family would stay upstairs where sleeping rooms were separated by curtains.  Jane and Jack’s family stayed downstairs.  In the morning we would wake up to the smell of pancakes cooking downstairs.   The great adventure would be to hike up the creek to find the water source.  There were two other cabins a short distance uphill from Jane and Jack’s cabin.   There was never any people staying in the adjacent cabins that I remember as the windows and doors were boarded up to keep the winter snow out.  The head waters of the creek consisted of springs scattered on the mountain side and it was impossible to determine where the actual upper head waters were.  There were two large wooden tanks that stored water from the springs for use in the cabins below.   These tanks had water leaking out their sides as they were held together with large metal rings.   The small community of Mill Creek was made up of scattered resort cabins, used mostly in the summer, a post office, a small store including a soda fountain where we would get ice cream or a milk shake.   The store also sold basic food stuff, such as dairy products, lunch meats, bread and some can goods. 

After departing for home I always looked forward to the next visit with determination to find the water source to the creek. 

Later in life, when I was working for the Forest Service on the Greenville District of the Plumas National Forest from 1977-79, we drove to Mill Creek in search of that cabin.    The entire area had become a housing tract for summer homes under a special use permit with the Forest Service on the Lassen National Forest.    It was not the same and now only a memory. 

Historic Cabins & Places

 This story is about places that intrigued me in my younger days and still do.   Just wish I could go back and see some of them.  Maybe some of you have seen some of these places.

Mike

ps--over the years I have written many stories and starting to put together an index of my writings as some of you may not have seen some of them as the mailing list has grown.    One day hoping to complete My Career with the Forest Service and get it published.   

                                         HISTORIC CABINS & PLACES

 

A few years back I bought a book titled UNCLE SAM’S CABINS by Les Joslin.  It is a visitor’s guide to historic U.S. Forest Service Ranger Stations of the west.   It has many pictures of old cabins used as ranger stations, guard stations and pack stations, along with the history of these places.   Some of these are no longer used by the Forest Service, some are rented out to the public, others have fallen to disrepair and some have been burned down.    Some of the older cabins were rustic, dating back to the early days of the Forest Service when there was only a District Ranger, maybe his assistant and a few seasonal fire guards all on horseback patrolling the forests from these remote cabins.

I have seen a few of these places in my travels, either while working for the Forest Service or on my own.    The Gold Beach Ranger Station where I worked from 1979-88 is shown in the book with a short story about its history along with the old station at Agness, 35 miles up the Rogue River from Gold Beach.     For those of you familiar with the Tiller Ranger Station there is a good write up on that place with pictures and many more.   

There were some Forest Service cabins in wilderness areas.   These cabins always intrigued me as I would give thought of what it would be like to work out of one of these remote places.  When I worked as a seasonal recreational aide on the Summit District of the Stanislaus National Forest in 1970 there were three or four cabins along with corrals in the Emigrant Wilderness used by wilderness rangers on horseback and trail crews.   They were shown on Forest maps along with the trails.   When not occupied by Forest Service personnel they were subject to vandalism by the public.   There was a cabin in Marble Valley in the middle of the Marble Mountain Wilderness, not sure it is still there.   The Trinity Alps Wilderness had a few cabins, some were used by livestock people who had grazing allotments and some were private cabins on mining claims.   Most of these cabins in the Trinity Alps were not shown on maps, except for an old abandoned pack station, called Trinity Summit Guard Station.  Not sure how many of these cabins still exist.   One of the most classic wilderness ranger stations is the Moose Creek Ranger Station in the middle of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho.    Never have been there.   

 

Another good book about the early settlements in the Rogue River Canyon is ILLAHE by Kay Atwood.   There are many pictures and maps of old miner’s cabins, trails and small farms where early pioneers scratched out a living in what is now the Wild Rogue River Wilderness.   Stories of bachelor miners living off venison, beans, coffee and tobacco in their one room cabins up some dry gulch off the beaten trail.  Some of these original pioneers came from the Klamath River area over the Siskiyou Mountains ending up at the confluence of the Illinois River and Rogue River near the present day community of Agness.   Some of these cabins have been preserved including the Billings Ranch at Mule Creek.      

The Bohemia Mining District on the Cottage Grove District of the Umpqua National Forest is a unique area to explore.  Many of the buildings are gone, except for the old post office building as I remember.  There are still some working mines in the vicinity.   The Musick Guard Station was constructed in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corp to provide fire protection and maintenance of trails in the mining district.  It has been preserved and is available for the public to rent.

During the winter of 1972, while working on the Orleans Ranger District a co-worker and I drove up to the Red River Ranger Station on the Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho to look at a job opening there.    The nearest town was Elk City, 13 miles away with a population of 200.    There was a foot of snow on the ground, it was cold and desolate.  It made Orleans look civilized.   Neither one of us applied for the job.    The Red River Station closed in 1998 and was consolidated with the Elk City Ranger Station.   Always have to wonder where life would have taken me if I ended up there?