The Klickitat County Agriculturist, Goldendale, WA., August 19, 1921, page 5
FRED LOCKLEY CHARMINGLY TELLS US ABOUT THE WESTERN KLICKITAT COUNTRY
A fine sketch of the western part of Klickitat county
is given in the Portland Journal this week by a staff writer, Fred Lockley.
His story is so highly interesting and valuable that
we quote at length. By all means read it, -- or you will miss a great treat.
Mr. Lockley says.
Standing on the summit of Mount Adams, you are 12,307
feet above the sea. From its summit, on a clear day you can see Mount Rainier,
which towers over the lesser peaks and seems to prop up the sky; its altitude
is 14,408 feet. Across the Columbia Mount Hood lifts its head proudly, while
Mount Baker with its 10,730 feet; Glacier peak, 10,436 and St. Helens, whose
symmetrical cone reaches 9470 feet, are all visible. Mount Adams lies on
the border line of Skamania and Yakima counties, and is about 40 miles north
of the Columbia river.
A few days ago I went from White Salmon to Trout Lake
and Guler on the auto stage. Guler is near the south slope of Mount Adams,
whose summit is less than 12 miles distant. Perry, the stage driver, has
been on this run many years and knows every man, woman and child along his
route, to say nothing of the dogs, by their first names. Husum was our first
stop on our northbound journey. It is located by the banks of the turbulent
White Salmon river. A tourist camp, with stoves, tables and sanitary
conveniences, has been established on the banks of the river.
There are more upgrades than down on the road to Guler,
for the elevation at White Salmon, on the bluffs 300 feet above the Columbia,
is 586 feet while at Guler 28 miles distant, the elevation is 2005 feet.
At Husum the road divides, the western one being the road to Trout Lake,
while the right hand road goes to Glenwood, a prosperous farming community
having a population of about 100. It is the trading center for the dairying
and hay producing country thereabout.
The road to Trout Lake follows the course of the White
Salmon river, which in many cases is exceedingly picturesque. For untold
ages the sea-seeking water has cut its way thru the rock till in places the
river looks like a streak of shimmering silver at the bottom of a knife cut
in the black rock walls. Innumerable springs fed from the snowclad slopes
of Mount Adams are the sources of small streams which, falling from the tops
of the rocky banks of the river in milk-white spray, present a vivid contrast
to the masses of delicate Nile-green maidenhair fern growing in the crevices
of the fire-formed rocks that rise abruptly from the rivers edge.
About six miles to the southward of Trout Lake, Perry
stopped the stage and said, "While the engine is cooling we will walk a hundred
yards or so to see the Periodical springs. A short walk thru the heavy forest
growth brought us to a hillock from the base of which gushed a spring a foot
deep and several across.
For several hundred yards additional springs made their
way from the solid rock, merging their waters to form a large stream, ice
cold.
"No one knows what makes this spring flow for days and
weeks and then suddenly stop and then as suddenly start up again," said Perry.
"Some people think there is a vast underground reservoir and that when it
becomes full siphons out till all the water is gone, and then the stream
stops until the reservoir again becomes full."
Emerging from the yellow pine forest we came to a fertile
and beautiful valley where emerald green fields of corn, wheat, timothy,
and oats showed how rich the valley soil is. "That field of oats will run
upward to 100 bushels to the acre," said Perry, as he pointed to a field
of heavy-headed oats. "This valley has an abundance of water for irrigation,
as you can see by the numerous ditches we have crossed or passed, so alfalfa,
fruit and berries make big crops. Lots of hay means cows, as you can see
by the milk cans in front on many of the farm houses.
In many fields I noticed disintegrating heaps of earth.
Some were red, some white as chalk, others yellow, and some black as lava.
Pointing to them I asked Perry, "Where do those hummocks of earth come from?"
With a wave of his hand Perry indicated Mount Adams, and responded, "There
used to be a great peak where now is a deep crater full of water called
Goose Lake. When the lava flowed over this country
that mountain was indulging in fireworks and shooting these chunks of earth
off into space as though it was a blooming Roman candle. They lit all over
the valley. If there were any people here, then I'll bet they did some lively
dodging. Most of the hummocks are composed of what looks like burnt rocks
and clinkers."
We stopped at the Trout Lake post office to deliver and
receive mail and to take on a lot of individual mail sacks, for the stage
driver is the rural mail carrier also and delivers mail to 50 or 60 ranchers
between White Salmon and Guler.
Five miles farther we drew up at J.E. Reynolds' hotel
at Guler and I disembarked. Around the hotel are grouped a score or so of
tents, and during the summer there abides here a Little Portland, for many
of the campers hail from the Oregon metropolis.
Chris Guler, for whom Guler is named, took me in his
Dodge car all over the valley as well as to the Lava Caves. We provided ourselves
with pitch pine kindlings and, climbing down a ladder 40 feet in length,
explored the cave. It is a tortuous tunnel large enough for a train to utilize.
The bottom of the tunnel is very rough, being formed of waves of lava that
have cooled as they flowed.
If you can imagine the sea on a windy day when the waves
are choppy suddenly cooling, you will have a very good idea of the floor
of the tunnel. The sides and roof are equally rough. The tunnel can be traversed
about three-fourths of a mile. It was undoubtedly formed by a molten stream
of lava flowing from the side of Mount Adams. As it flowed onward the top
cooled and formed a thick crust, while the molten interior flowed on, leaving
the hollow core, which during untold centuries has been buried by volcanic
dust till now it forms a subterranean chamber. The lava caves are about two
miles from Guler, the Ice Caves six miles, and Goose Lake 14 miles.
Indian Race Track and Red Mountain are favorite places
for hikers and tourists. On the top of Red Mountain, which is about 5000
feet in height, the government maintains a lookout station to watch for forest
fires and notify headquarters so they can be effectively and quickly handled.
The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., September 2, 1921, page 4
by Fred Lockley in the Oregon Journal
WELL KNOWN WRITER DESCRIBES SCENIC TROUT LAKE DISTRICT
Standing on the summit of Mount Adams, you are 12,307
feet above the sea. From its summit, on a clear day you can see Mount Rainier,
which towers over the lesser peaks and seems to prop up the sky; its altitude
is 14,408 feet. Across the Columbia Mount Hood lifts its head proudly, while
Mount Baker with its 10,730 feet; Glacier peak, 10,436 and St. Helens, whose
symmetrical cone reaches 9470 feet, are all visible. Mount Adams lies on
the border line of Skamania and Yakima counties, and is about 40 miles north
of the Columbia river. A few days ago I went from White Salmon to Trout Lake
and Guler on the auto stage. Guler is near the south slope of Mount Adams,
whose summit is less than 12 miles distant. Perry, the stage driver, has
been on this run many years and knows every man, woman and child along his
route, to say nothing of the dogs, by their first names. Husum was our first
stop on our northbound journey. It is located by the banks of the turbulent
White Salmon river. A tourist camp, with stoves, tables and sanitary
conveniences, has been established on the banks of the river. There are more
upgrades than down on the road to Guler, for the elevation at White Salmon,
on the bluffs 300 feet above the Columbia, is 586 feet while at Guler 28
miles distant, the elevation is 2005 feet. At Husum the road divides, the
western one being the road to Trout Lake, while the right hand road goes
to Glenwood, a prosperous farming community having a population of about
100. It is the trading center for the dairying and hay producing country
there-about. The road to Trout Lake follows the course of the White Salmon
river, which in many cases is exceedingly picturesque. For untold ages the
sea-seeking water has cut its way thru the rock till in places the river
looks like a streak of shimmering silver at the bottom of a knife-cut in
the black rock walls. Innumerable springs fed from the snowclad slopes of
Mount Adams are the sources of small streams which, falling from the tops
of the rocky banks of the river in milk-white spray, present a vivid contrast
to the masses of delicate Nile green maidenhair fern growing in the crevices
of the fire-formed rocks that rise abruptly from the rivers edge. About six
miles to the southward of Trout Lake, Perry stopped the stage and said, "While
the engine is cooling we will walk a hundred yards or so to see the Periodical
springs. A short walk thru the heavy forest growth brought us to a hillock
from the base of which gushed a spring a foot deep and several across. For
several hundred yards additional springs made their way from the solid rock,
merging their waters to form a large stream, ice cold. "No one knows what
makes this spring flow for days and weeks and then suddenly stop and then
as suddenly start up again," said Perry. "Some people think there is a vast
underground reservoir and that when it becomes full siphons out till all
the water is gone, and then the stream stops until the reservoir again becomes
full."
Emerging from the yellow pine forest we came to a fertile
and beautiful valley where emerald green fields of corn, wheat, timothy,
and oats showed how rich the valley soil is. "That field of oats will run
upward to 100 bushels to the acre," said Perry, as he pointed to a field
of heavy headed oats. "This valley has an abundance of water for irrigation,
as you can see by the numerous ditches we have crossed or passed, so alfalfa,
fruit and berries make big crops. Lots of hay means cows, as you can see
by the milk cans in front on many of the farm houses. In many fields I noticed
disintegrating heaps of earth. Some were red, some white as chalk, others
yellow, and some black as lava. Pointing to them I asked Perry, "Where do
those hummocks of earth come from?" With a wave of his hand Perry indicated
Mount Adams, and responded, "There used to be a great peak where now is a
deep crater full of water called Goose Lake. When
the lava flowed over this country that mountain was indulging in fireworks
and shooting these chunks of earth off into space as though it was a blooming
Roman candle. They lit all over the valley. If there were any people here,
then I'll bet they did some lively dodging. Most of the hummocks are composed
of what looks like burnt rocks and clinkers." We stopped at the Trout Lake
post office to deliver and receive mail and to take on a lot of individual
mail sacks, for the stage driver is the rural mail carrier also and delivers
mail to 50 or 60 ranchers between White Salmon and Guler. Five miles farther
we drew up at J.E. Reynolds' hotel at Guler and I disembarked. Around the
hotel are grouped a score or so of tents, and during the summer there abides
here a Little Portland, for many of the campers hail from the Oregon metropolis.
Chris Guler, for whom Guler is named, took me in his Dodge car all over the
valley as well as to the Lava Caves. We provided ourselves with pitch pine
kindlings and, climbing down a ladder 40 feet in length, explored the cave.
It is a tortuous tunnel large enough for a train to utilize. The bottom of
the tunnel is very rough, being formed of waves of lava that have cooled
as they flowed. If you can imagine the sea on a windy day when the waves
are choppy suddenly cooling, you will have a very good idea of the floor
of the tunnel. The sides and roof are equally rough. The tunnel can be traversed
about three-fourths of a mile. It was undoubtedly formed by a molten stream
of lava flowing from the side of Mount Adams. As it flowed onward the top
cooled and formed a thick crust, while the molten interior flowed on, leaving
the hollow core, which during untold centuries has been buried by volcanic
dust till now it forms a subterranean chamber. The lava caves are about two
miles from Guler, the Ice Caves six miles, and Goose Lake 14 miles. Indian
Race Track and Red Mountain are favorite places for hikers and tourists.
On the top of Red Mountain, which is about 5000 feet in height, the government
maintains a lookout station to watch for forest fires and notify headquarters
so they can be effectively and quickly handled.
[HOME]
© Jeffrey L. Elmer