Hike Coordinator Richard O’Neill
Narration by Richard O’Neill
Another hike, another rainy day forecast. However, we really skated weatherwise because the only rain on the day was on the drive to and from the hike. The day was overcast and the temps cool and just perfect for hiking.
Sterling Mine Ditch is the remnants of a flume ditch hewn into grassy slopes, the purpose to siphon water into the hydraulic and placer mining activities in the late 1800’s. Today, the ditch is still eminently visible and its banks make for a nice trail for the hiking and mountain biking crowd. The steady grade means the trail is mostly level, although there was a pretty good uphill pull when the route left the ditch and contoured around some private property.
The windblown slopes were sparsely vegetated, consisting mostly of yet leafless oaks, madrone, and manzanita, but mostly it was grass. The lack of vegetation allowed for what normally would be expansive views of the Siskiyou Mountains. We could see down the deep Little Applegate valley all the way where it joined up with the much larger Applegate Valley. Wildflowers were beginning to bloom and we all enjoyed our first look at the elegant grass widows and Henderson’s fawn lily.
At about the 5 mile mark, we stopped to visit the Sterling Mine Ditch tunnel. Because Tunnel Ridge was too formidable an obstacle to dig a ditch around, a tunnel was cut into the intervening ridge. We all felt sorry for the workers (mostly Chinese laborers) who did the actual work of boring through the ridge.
A short walk down the exceedingly beautiful Tunnel Ridge Trail delivered us to the end of this hike.
More about this hike on Richard O’Neill’s Blog
More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page
Pictures below by Richard O’Neill
