Oregon - June 2026 - Part One

 

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Before They Are Gone

 

It was dawn as we quietly drove around Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe's west side. We traveled north, beginning this adventure to Oregon. We had planned to venture further - Idaho, Wyoming - but we got distracted. We found, all around us, places we wanted to see before they are gone.

 

“We’ve never been to…..” This short statement also defined this trip. We looked at the map after filling the truck’s tank with gas in Susanville. “We’ve never been to Eagle Lake,” the Lady noted. I added, “And further north, we’ve never been to Lava Beds.” Our trip was evolving and taking shape. The area and campgrounds around Eagle Lake catered to boaters and the large RV crowd. It did not interest us, although I have friends who fly fish here for the native Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout subspecies, now a hatchery supported population.

 

So it was on to Lava Beds National Monument.

 

 

 

 

 

We entered the Monument from the south. Much of the area had recently been overrun with fire. We stopped at the Visitors Center and talked with a wonderful NPS employee. She was into wolves and igneous rock, a well suited combination for far northeastern California. The campground was too busy for our taste. We found a very nice dispersed site on USFS land that borders to the south. Our USGS 7.5 topo map indicated two lava tubes about a mile from camp so searching for them became our evening walk with the benefit of being all alone in this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We reentered the Monument early the next morning and visited Hidden Valley and Mammoth Crater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the Visitors Center and entered Mushpot Cave. Mushpot is an excellent introduction to lava tubes and a good start if you’d like to explore other caves at Lava Beds. Since we’re always on the search for rock art, we visited two caves with storied rock.

 

As mentioned earlier, the area was burned in a recent wildfire, and invasive cheat grass has moved in.

 

 

 

 

 

Wildflowers stood out against the black basalt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Painted Cave was our first exploration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few petroglyphs near the opening, and the talus slope had pictographs, as DStretch illustrates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Symbol Bridge was, by far, the highlight of cave rock art with its abundant pictographs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was time to climb up from the underground and climb up to a fire lookout.

 

 

 

 

 

Snow covered Mount Shasta was visible far to the southwest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up were the Fleener Chimneys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop in the Monument this day - Gillems Camp - began our introduction to the Modoc War.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lava flows at Lava Beds National Monument spilled out from the Medicine Lake Volcano - a shield volcano, and the largest volcano by volume in the Cascade Range. Medicine Lake now sits in the volcano’s caldera. The kind woman at the Visitors Center did not know if the road to the lake was still closed due to snow. We decided to find out.

 

The dirt road - our route south from the Monument - was wet in a few places from recent rain, but open. The two campgrounds on the north shore were empty. There was no fee as the sites were not yet open for the season with the water turned on or garbage service. We found a wonderful site with access to the shore.

 

 

 

 

 

How could we be so lucky to be the only ones up here? We were. The idea to visit and camp at Medicine Lake started like this, “We’ve never been to Medicine Lake.” The following morning was glorious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the Monument and started the day at Petroglyph Point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A loud crop duster worked fields to the south in the calm morning air.

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop was Captain Jack’s Stronghold, where a small band of Modoc Indians (led by Captain Jack) held off the U.S. forces during the Modoc War.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Jack’s cave.

 

 

 

 

 

And Mount Shasta.

 

 

 

 

 

Our eyes also were drawn to the flow patterns still visible in the basalt.

 

 

 

 

 

We entered Oregon and looked at the map, looking for a place we'd like to spend the night. “We’ve never been to the Williamson River,” I said as I pointed at the map. “And I hear it comes right out of the ground; it starts at a large spring. Let’s find that spot.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below the spring the river enters a broad, beautiful wetland, home to an amazing array of wildlife. Wow. And we were alone for the night here.

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was the second largest volcano in the Cascade Range. Our adventure continues in the upcoming Part Two.