slgwv's photos with the keyword: Middle Fork

Where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the Middle Fork of the Feather River, in the northern Sierra Nevada, California. According to the fire maps this bridge was in the middle of the area burned off in the North Complex Fire in the last few weeks, and I don't know if the wooden planks survived.

View easterly from near Lookout Rock on the Pacific Crest Trail, in the vicinity of the Middle Fork of the Feather River, in the vague northern part of the Sierra Nevada, California. The prominent left-right trending canyon in the middle distance holds the Middle Fork, and the Pacific Crest trail more or less follows the outlined ridge to its right. The trail crossed the Middle Fork on a steel footbridge (center insert) and follows a route that ends up traversing the near ridge to the right. It comes up to the photo point. We did much of this part of the PCT as day hikes last fall. The Middle Fork is a so-called Wild and Scenic River, so is completely undeveloped, and much of the area is effectively wilderness. Or rather, this view is how the area looked last fall. Most of this area was burned off in the last few weeks by the Bear Fire, part of the North Complex of California wildfires. The fire started from lightning on Aug 17 in the upper Middle Fork canyon (see note), and didn't grow much initially. Since it was burning in wilderness and no structures were threatened, only minimal attention was paid to it--other wildfires had first claim on resources. However, on September 8 a cold front moved in from the northeast, bringing strong katabatic winds blowing southwesterly, and the fire exploded in that direction. It was reported at one point to have spread 30 miles (50 km) in 24 hours. Several small communities were obliterated, and the fire got all the way to Lake Oroville, even jumping it on the south. There were also a number of fatalities. Containment is currently around 80%, and total acreage burned is over 300,000 acres (>120,000 ha), making it the 5th largest in California history. Last July we tried to access the PCT at a point beyond that ridge on the right. We were defeated by steep terrain and lots of deadfall, and thought that the forest was seriously at risk for fire (right insert). Well, we (alas) were right. All the forest litter in that pic, as well as the trees, are completely burned off now, to judge by the fire maps. We're glad we got to see the area before it burned, but it's depressing to contemplate its current condition. I don't know at this point if the wooden planks on the bridge over the Middle Fork survived.

Carrying California SR 162 over the Middle Fork of the Feather River, now swollen into Lake Oroville here after construction of the Oroville Dam in the mid 1960s. It seems like kind of overkill for this secondary road! This bridge replaced an original suspension bridge, dating to 1855, whose site is now inundated under several hundred feet of water. The old bridge is now located elsewhere on Lake Oroville and is open to foot traffic. I would guess that preserving this thoroughfare was part of the political agreement on building the dam, and _that_ probably accounts for such an expensive bridge.

On the Pacific Crest Trail, where it crosses the Middle Fork of the Feather River in the vague northern part of the Sierra Nevada, California. It's a rather substantial bridge for just a footpath! It's also a ways from the nearest road, so it must have been quite a chore to get the materials in to build it. The Middle Fork is a designated "wild and scenic river," so there are no dams or other control structures.

Middle Fork of the American River, Sierra foothills, California, USA. Third-party photo--I'm in the boat under the spray somewhere, along with my wife, son, and nephew. We're all holding our paddles up so as not to bang them (and maybe lose them) into the sides of the chute. This is a man-made rapid--during Gold Rush days, some of the 49ers decided to bore a tunnel thru a ridge, cutting off an incised meander in the river. The idea was that the gravels in the now-dry meander bend would be easier to work. Unfortunately for them, after all that work they found the Chinese had already extracted most of the values! But to this day the Middle Fork drops thru this chute and into the tunnel.

Frenchman Lake, a reservoir on Little Last Chance Creek, one of several reservoirs in the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Feather River, California. At least it had some water last year, but there should have been lots more snow around in February. This year, by contrast, the reservoir overfilled--I'll post some pix when I get some. The inset shows another view.

An ill-defined set of channels, shallow streams, and ponds that constitute the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Feather River. Sierra Valley, California, USA. Looking west.

Middle Fork Willamette River, Oregon, USA. On top of the dam, looking north toward the spillway gate.

On the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, Oregon, USA.

Formed by Lookout Point Dam on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, Oregon, USA. Looking southeast.