fat bear ranch

critters

2009-10-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

big bad bear

four point black tail buck

the list of critter sightings is endless. the photos are pretty limited but here are a few. as for the complete list..... ok lets try.... black (and cinnamon black) bears, coyotes, black tailed deer, ring tail cats, raccoons, gray foxes, mountain lion, beaver, river otters, mink, ground squirrels, gray tree squirrels, california king snakes, gopher snakes. ring neck snakes, garter snakes, river turtles, tree frogs, wood frogs, toads, giant pacific salamanders, western newts, alligator lizards, fence lizards, western skinks, scorpions, bald eagles, golden eagles, red tailed hawks, red shouldered hawks, sharp shinned hawks, goshawk, spotted owls, barred owls, barn owls, saw whet owls, pygmy owls, wood ducks, canada geese, common mergansers, mallard ducks, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, great blue herons, ravens, turkey vultures, flickers, pileated wood peckers, downy wood peckers, western tanangers, too many song birds to mention, coho salmon, chinook salmon, steelhead trout, brown trout, crayfish, lamprey eel, and holy smokes! that's enough creatures for now. keep in mind these are all real sightings, there are a few other remarkable creatures to see that we have not yet encountered. i remember wondering what our cabin would look like if every creepy crawly on the ranch was stuffed in there at the same time..... yikes!

coyote

wild turkey with chicks

ruffed grouse

barred owl

a friendly gopher snake

a pair of canada geese

a turtle on a cross country hike

firewood

2009-10-17T20:18:00.001-07:00

tools of the trade

katie is ready for some work!

yes folks, it's not all pretty scenery, wild animals and great fishing...... we got bills to pay and firewood is a big part of how we do it. it is a truly sustainable way to work the land as we only cut what falls down over the winter and what we get from brush thinning. over time the harvest of all that wood has actually improved the forest by removing wild fire fuel and opening old meadows that have been filling in over the last century. the first two years were brutal as we tried to get some semblance of control over our land payments by digging into the overwhelming backlog of firewood that had accumulated for generations. we cut trails, dragged logs bucked them to rounds and split them at a pace i hope to never repeat. two cords a day, seven days a week for the better part of a year. rain AND shine. i could bitch about the quad wrecks, back spasms, dislocated shoulder, 500 pound logs to the side of the head and the hot water on the hands to get them open in the morning. i had a couple of very close calls. but what i like to think of most are the 365 days of the year i spent working outdoors. there is nothing so satisfying as hanging up the saw at the end of the day as a shimmering fall sunset takes control of all your spent senses and breathes purpose into your life like nothing else ever could. the smell of a hot chain blade sizzling through a half cured oak log is pure nostalgia. looking over to see my mother and my wife to be both pouring a heavy sweat right along side me all in the name of trying to make this dream a reality gives a feeling that really can't fully be explained.

a @#$% load of firewood

mom tears into the money tree

trinity river fishing

2009-10-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

a nice little salmon

katie with the biggest steelhead of her life!

the river fishing in our back yard is truely world class. and the fact that it occurs in the state of california makes it all the more miraculous. it is not "sit by the lake with a beer in hand while soaking a worm" type of fishing, it is white knuckle white water punctuated by rod rippin', reel strippin', line burnin', cartwheelin',backflippin' steelhead madness. it is mainly a fall affair and while salmon and sea run brown trout are caught too, it is the steelhead fishery that really gets the blood pumping. the upper run is shorter but the white water and wild scenery is off the chart. the lower run is mellower and has more good fishing water but is not quite as private.

ron with a dandy summer run steelhead

jerry and tom with a BIG summer run steelhead

ken and kevin with one of the nine fish we hooked that day

terry and katie with a sea run brown trout

even forrest likes to get in on the action!

a fat salmon from the super riffle. we don't call it super for nuthin'

running the "Q"

the swirlpool is always good for a few seconds of "heart in mouth"!! that wall down yonder comes up pretty quick!

sharber creek

2009-07-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

although sharber creek is not on the property it is very close and a sister stream to quimby creek. the biggest difference between the two is that sharber has a slow meandering lower section that is prime habitat for endangered coho salmon. they are a real treat to watch in the fall when they return to spawn.

like quimby creek, the upper sections of sharber creek are very steep and have some dramatic waterfalls that you will not find on any map. this is very remote country where mountain lions far out number human visitors.

these streams can get quite high in the wintertime and are really more like small rivers when they are at full flow. in 2005 they reached flood height and sharber blew out our road. we had to hike about a mile through the woods for a few days to get to our cabin. when the the water went down we realized it had taken a good bit of the road with it.

quimby creek

2009-07-16T23:25:00.001-07:00

this picture and the one below are of the same spot in june and in january.

quimby creek is a sizable creek that flows through one corner of the ranch. it is very steep and gets very high and turbid during big winter rains. the lower mile or so is a black slate gorge that is so steep that one nearly needs a rope to get anywhere. the combination of the inaccessibility of this creek and its old growth forests make it one of the wildest areas around here. the bears and mountain lions like to call it home.

the slate gorge

upper quimby creek in winter.

this is the grandfather tree. it is an old growth doug fir that is at the upper end of the slate gorge.

quimby creek lookout

2009-07-16T18:54:00.001-07:00

although it is not technically on the property the quimby creek lookout can really only be reached from our ranch. it is a stiff hike up a steep mountain through thick brush but it is always worth it. the view is spectacular. lower quimby creek is truly remote and the lower end is full of old growth trees. the eagles love this spot and when one is sighted one is usually looking down at it as it flys by.

the bird perch

2009-07-16T12:52:00.001-07:00

spring

summer

there are two mountains on the property one is called the oak knob and is lower and more of a hill that separates the two lower fields. the other we call the high knob and is much higher and on top is the best look out point of the ranch that we have. it is a rock outcrop that has a birds eye view of the entire valley. every other high vantage point has such thick tree cover that not much of a view can be found. like the river view the seasons just jump out at you from this high vista.

fall

winter

the beach

2009-07-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

the prize location of the ranch would have to be the beach. during all seasons it is pretty much the perfect place to be. summer gives up the quintessential beach experience with swimming, hot sun and cold drinks chilling in the spring.

just watch out for the tubers. they like beer.

fall is another great time to experience the beach as it is a prime starting point for a driftboat fishing trip to willow creek. the river above the ranch is another fun run with a bit more whitewater to contend with. from the boat there is good fishing in the home pool. i have caught fall steelhead and coho salmon from this spot.

winter is the quiet time on the beach. there is fishing to do at this time as well. when the river is high enough to almost cover the beach the steelhead and sea run brown trout like to come right in close to the shore and fishing can be good casting right from the sand.

spring is the time of the high and swift snowmelt water. the beach is underwater a good part of the spring. during periods of high water the upper sand flat comes into play. during periods of high flow our white water jet boat also comes into PLAY! the run from the ranch to grays falls is a real adrenaline soaker.

the flats

2009-07-14T10:27:00.001-07:00

the forested area between the home and far fields is the area of the ranch that we call the oak flats. they are not really flat, but they aren't the side of a mountain either. this is prime mixed hardwood and conifer forest and one of the few areas where the ground under the trees grows grass is not choked with brush. this type of forest is something rarely seen in the klamath mountains anymore because it requires regular burning to maintain. the doug fir trees dominate the conifer side of things with a few old growth trees still present. the hardwoods are madrone, manzanita, live oak, black oak, white oak and some tanoak. there is a sprinkling of dog woods, big leaf maple and an area of thick red bud which we call red bud alley. eventually as we work the land i hope to return more of the property to this type of tree mixture.

winter flats, post burn

a dog wood in fall color

a coyote on the hunt in the flats

spring red bud in bloom

the piles are ready ....... let er rip!!!

work in progress on a fall night.

upper field

2009-07-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

as you can see from these pictures the wild flowers up here in the upper field can be outrageous. some years the field is covered in purple lupine and some years only yellow flowers.
it seems to bloom every year we just never know what it will look like
one thing is certain, it never fails to please......

far field

2009-07-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

the far field is also the "wild" field. this is where most of our bear sightings occur. much of this field has been overtaken by himalayan blackberries which attract the bears in august when they fruit. they also provide cover for many other creatures.the far field also has a small pond which is attractive to all manner of wildlife. there is a major spring that bubbles up from the bottom of an old lake bed or mine pit. the "bear hole" as it is called is full of old fig, apple and plum trees. water + fruit = fat and happy bears! the original homestead was in this field as the mining claim map from the mid 1800's shows. chimariko indians also had village sites in this valley but the only artifacts we have found have come from the current homestead site.

the wild side

the swamp pond

another angle on the pond

piles are ready to burn

winter

mysterious mists

red bud alley at the upper end of the far field

home field

2009-07-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

this is the home field in early summer as seen from the barn hayloft.

here is the same view in winter

chester loves winter.

the ranch is large and to get a true feeling of the place it has to broken down into different areas. there are three fields on the property totaling around 100 acres. the upper field is smaller and drier and the lower fields are part of an ancient river bed. at some point in the distant past the river took a new course and left this old river bend high and dry. it would have been an oxbow lake for hundreds if not thousands of years before gradually filling in with sediment from the springs and hillside erosion to become what it is today. due to their lower elevation and the presence of multiple springs the lower fields can be quite swampy in the winter. wild ducks and geese are regular visitors in the spring and fall. the two lower fields are refered to as the home field or main field and other we call the far field. of the two lower fields the home field is probably the most scenic while the far field is definitely the wildest.this is how it appeared on the first day we saw the place. it is late may 2005

march is a time of green grass and rainbows. this shot must have been taken at the end of the first winter due to the burn piles in the front yard. the place was a mess and took years to clean up.

here is some classic fall light and color. probably taken in October. our firewood piles can be seen in the upper end of the field.

this is the view from the upper end of the home field looking down towards the homestead. the walnut orchard can be seen in the distance with hennessy ridge in the backround.

this is basically the same shot as above but in the early spring.

and a zoom in of the walnut orchard

the homestead

2009-07-12T17:13:00.001-07:00

although "only" three acres the homestead is where most of our time is spent. we have the old cabin, which has lots of funky old character and was our sole residence for three years. the roof leaked, the pluming leaked, there was no insulation, no cooking stove, washer or dryer and the hot water only got a little better than luke warm. but it was home. and home to many others as well. we lived with mice, moths, ring tailed cats, skunks, bats, wood peckers and many, many frogs. they liked the leaky pluming. there were a few other interesting creatures and spirits as well but they were not regular visitors.

one thing i can say about the cabin is that it was one of the coziest and most welcoming houses i have ever slept in and have always slept very soundly there. the wood stove is a beast and fire wood is abundant so winters in the cabin, while challenging, were nostalgic and always toasty warm.

in the summer of 2008 we built the kitchen house. it looks like a cabin on the out side but is a work of functional art on the inside. a cooks dream with a view of the garden and all the fancy appliances to turn the food into a dream come true.

it was wonderful to live in the old cabin and experience the "old vibe" of the place but i think we were all pretty happy to enjoy the conveniences of our modern times. even chester seems pretty happy about it. he likes the custom down draft stove that blows all those good smells out side for him to salivate over.

we do our best to keep the new place as cozy as the old cabin. wood stoves are good for that.

the barn is quite a nice building as well and stands guard over our garden.

this is a picture from the first day we saw the place. the open barn door even creaked in the wind.

this is the pre kitchen house homestead.

and then there is the GARDEN!

this is how it looks this year as of early june

so far we have either harvested or planted broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, basil, cilantro, parsley, okra, leeks, sunflowers, cabbage, peas, bush beans, pole beans, spanish onions, beets, carrots, parsnips, eggplants, peppers, tomatos, tomatillos, potatos, butternut, delicata and pink banana squash, zucchini, straight and crook neck summer squash, musk melon, honeydew, water melon....

pumpkins....

and corn, corn, corn!!!!

not to mention blueberries, raspberries and strawberries out the wazoo!!!

fat bear ranch tour

2009-07-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

so now that the fat bear has inspired the skinny bear to use his computer again i will try to put some more interesting stuff up for all to see. how about a virtual tour of the ranch and the places nearby that fit into the "idea" of what this place is. i am unlikely to take much time in the summer for regular blogging as there is just so much work to do here, but posting a tour one place at a time just might work. i will leave the regular stuff to the missus.

lets start with the front gate......

the front gate gives us our best river view and the scene pretty well takes your breath away before you even cross the property line. we live far enough inland to have definite seasons but they are the most noticeable when looking at the river. the river can be as low as 5oo cubic feet per second (cfs) or as high as 50,000 cfs in the winter. in the summer and fall it is usually running about 600 cfs. we are blessed to own both banks of the trinity river as it flows through one corner of our property. the river frontage extends almost all the way to the bridge in the distance. this is a very quiet and wild section of river and the river creatures are less wary here than they are elsewhere.

this is how the river looks in the fall low flow on a year with no fires and no fall rains having yet raised the river level. this picture is taken at the time of the year when the salmon are returning and the eagles and bears are actively hunting for them.

this is a picture at the end of the summer on a fire year. the klamath mountains burn over very regularly and the summer air quality can leave something to desire. like oxygen..... in a totally natural environment every acre of the klamath mountains would burn on average once every eight years. last year over 100,000 acres burned and we have a 6000 acre fire going right now.

this is pretty much what the winter river looks like. clear but with a green cast to it. there is snow to the river level several times a year. when it snows the river drops and gets clear as the high alpine watershed freezes solid. when a warm storm comes in the river rises and gets muddy. when it snows for weeks and then a tropical storm comes in the river floods as the next photo shows. it can come up so fast one can sit there and watch the water rise.

this is what the river looked like on new years day of 2006. our first winter on the ranch. our beach is under about thirty feet of water as was my driftboat. p.s. never leave an open boat in a flooding river when a tropical storm is in the forecast. i did get the boat back...... the following spring!

this is how the river looks in the spring on a low water year as the water is dropping from the snowmelt flows.

this is a high water spring at a pretty high snowmelt and dam release flow. both pictures were taken in may.

as you proceed up the drive way a lovely falls cascades down from the left from a high crack in the cliff.

the falls comes from this little spring basin. it appears to be either an old lake bed or a mining pit. i'm still not sure which it really is but regardless i refer to this spot as the bear hole. a good place for wildlife sightings. not a good plce to camp.....

if you look to the right as you pass the falls more river can be seen through the trees

as you round the bend our barn and home stead comes into view. if the driveway looks like this then we have no power, hot water or water pressure. and you probably swam to get here. this shot was taken durning the flood of 05/06 when our road washed out and the power was off for about 10 days. life in the country can be rough once and awhile.

some winters are wet and some are snowy. it can be cold in the mountains, but its always warm inside!

we like to keep it warm and cozy in the winter. hot tea anyone?

A Hungry Visitor

2009-07-11T22:12:00.000-07:00

here is the reason we call it fat bear ranch. he's big, he's fat, he's furry and he seems to want to eat chicken. bad bear!!!! no chicken for you!!!!

spring has sprung

2009-04-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Spring is upon us in her full glory with blooming trees, wild weather and... and...BABIES! The garden is going in and the world is turning a vibrant green here. It is also the time of year that we burn off all the brush piles around the place. Burning may look alot like work but i have to admit it is one type of work that i really enjoy and the forest loves it. So does Forrest! He got to see his first burn pile yesterday. He didn't cry so i figure he must have liked it. I'll bet he just can't wait to be big enough to help me burn. Forrest wakes up by six am and squalls until i put him in his rocking swing in front of our giant picture windows to watch the sun come up. I think it is a bit early to get up when there is no fishing involved, but at least it gives me some nice quiet time. A leisurely cup of coffee and some unhurried computer play time is a luxury that I haven't given myself much of until now, thanks Forrest!