CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH TOWNS: Volcano

As the Gold Rush ground on, statehood for California was achieved, and people started to put down roots in what was formerly frontier towns. On the other side of the country, several southern states attempted to secede and create their own, slave owner friendly nation.

In California, people were choosing sides.

The Knights of the Golden Circle were a citizen-formed militia up in the town of Volcano that was aligned with the rebels of the Confederacy. A smaller group, the Volcano Blues, were their rivals supporting the Union.

As it became known that the rebel group we're making plans to steal the locally produced gold to send it to the south, the Blues sought a way to stop them and sent word to the Presidio in San Francisco to send troops for backup. None were available but the army sent word that a spare cannon was on the docks if they'd like to pick it up.

Arrangements were made to hide the cannon in a casket and haul it up the the Blues militia in Volcano. A local blacksmith built a carriage for it. One day soon after the cannon was delivered the Knights massed to face off with the Blues in the middle of town.

Crying out to the Blues to give up because they were outnumbered, the Knights made a formidable line. The Blues, however, had a ace up their sleeve...their ranks parted, revealing a grinning miner with a flame ready to light the fuse of the cannon, whose business end was pointed squarely at the Knights.

Luckily, the Knights quickly dispersed and the cannon was not fired that day. Later, an artillery expert came up from the Presidio to unload the cannon...the miners didn't know how to do this...and it was discovered that triple the amount of gunpowder was in the cannon. The ensuing explosion would have decimated the militia and anybody else that was around.

Now trained on proper use of the cannon...given the name "Old Abe"...the Blues would load it with a double blank charge and set it off upon word of a Union victory. Allies of the Blues would be warned to open their windows before the blast while the Knights and their confederates would be in the dark and have their window panes shattered.

Today, Volcano is a sleepy little former mining town of 115 souls, down from about 5,000 in the Rush, sitting on the banks of the gold-rich Sutter Creek. Looking a few feet up Consolation Street ,off of the corner of Charleston Street, a small wooden shed sits. Inside the chain link covered doors, you can gaze upon Old Abe, still sitting in a place of honor in downtown Volcano.

Name for the crater-shaped depression the town sits in, Volcano isn't' actually a volcano. The name was simply a geologic mistake by early settlers. Tiny even by Amador County standards, the town is situated well off the beaten path. Either you drive the 11 miles of bumpy Sutter Creek-Volcano Road from highway 49 in Sutter Creek or the 3 miles of smoother Pine Grove-Volcano Road from highway 88 in Pine Grove. The second option also takes you by Grinding Rock State Park, a very worthy stop where ancient Americans ground acorns and drew petroglyphs in the giant rock that is still pockmarked by hundreds of depressions used for that purpose.

Find a spot to park, mostly limited street parking although there's a vacant lot behind the post office that no one minds if you park in, and start exploring. The town is tiny, just two blocks of what can generously be called a downtown, bookended by two hotels...the St. George to the south and the Union Inn to the north.

The Union Inn, owned by Mark and Tracy Berkner of Taste Restaurant in nearby Plymouth, is the fancier of the two. 

Accessible via a ramp in the garden, the menu here is a little more "pub" friendly compared to the flagship Taste restaurant, which is consistently rated one of the best restaurants in the state.

Anchoring the other end of town, the St. George is accessible from a bumpy, slab sidewalk out front. Like many buildings here in the Motherlode, the old split doors can be opened fully upon request to allow chairs to go through. The St. George also has the distinction of having the only accessible accommodations in town.

In between, you can get snacks and burgers at the general store, which has been in operation continuously (and looks like it) since the Gold Rush. Only the store is accessible as there are a few steps down into the dining area.

Next door, Kneading Dough Bakery has some delicious sweets (old double door, too...ask them to open it) in a small space.

Across the street is the Volcano Theatre Company which mounts very good stage productions during the warmer months in their outdoor amphitheater.

Around the corner, you'll be back at Old Abe's barn and the Union Inn.

Volcano is a tiny, peaceful place. It's good for a day visit while you're up in the area or even an overnight. The town is little changed from the days miners pulled out hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold from the ground and access can sometimes be a challenge but it's a cute place and you'll be able to see the good stuff from your chair.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2020 - All Rights Reserved

CLASSIC TRIP - Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California 2000

Beware of falling into the earth!

The heat steams up from the bowels of the earth and the creeks boil. Mud pots erupt and you’re warned to stay on the trail or risk being swallowed by the earth. So lies the adventure in visiting this out of the way and pristine national park.

Mt. Lassen lies about an hour’s drive east of Redding, California. Any further north and we’d risk having to start another page on Oregon. A Redding Chamber of Commerce brochure optimistically says that the city is a 90 minute drive north of Sacramento. That would be if you drive like Jeff Gordon at Daytona. Realistically, it’s a good 2 ½ hour drive from the state capitol.

We stayed at the Amerihost Inn (now Baymont Inn) just south of Redding in the town of Anderson. They have a beautiful wheelchair accessible room with one problem...it only has one bed. After complaining to the front desk manager (we’d confirmed two beds when we reserved), they finally comped us to the adjoining room giving us two more beds and another bathroom (good thing it was vacant). The accessible room had a roll in shower and room to turn around in. The shower was on a hose but the spray was all over the place and it had no way to adjust it.

Amerihost likes to brag on its brochure that every Amerihost is “exactly the same”, so I guess if you need more than one bed, you may want to look elsewhere. The hotel also had a pool, spa, spacious handicapped parking, and continental breakfast. Price was around $75 per night.

After a good night’s rest, we head over to the north entrance to Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park. There is a 35 mile drive, north to south, through the heart of the park allowing you to make an all-day loop of it. The day we went there was a lot of construction taking place on highway 44 over from Redding. After about an hour’s worth of delays, we were glad we would not be taking this road back.

Before Mt. St. Helens blew its top in the 80's, this park was the closest you could actually come to seeing a volcano in action in the lower 48. Back in 1915, Mt. Lassen blew (with much less devastation than St. Helens). It was made a national park soon after due to the unique opportunity to study an actual living volcano.

Immediately after entering the park, we come to the visitor’s center. Inside, we see many photos of the eruption and watch a video about it. We learn that Mt. Lassen is actually a remnant of a much larger ancient volcano called Mt. Tehama and that most of the park is the crater of this old volcano.

What we’ve come to see are the ongoing volcanic features of the park which reside mainly in two areas. Bumpass Hell, a Yellowstone-like area of fumaroles, mud pots, and steam vents, and the Sulphur Works, a much smaller version of Bumpass Hell. Talking to the ranger at the visitor’s center puts the kabosh on that plan...the trail into Bumpass Hell (3 miles round trip) is not wheelchair accessible.

Disappointed at this, we nevertheless are determined to push on. The ranger gladly marks up a map of the park where all the accessible features are. It’s not a whole lot, but on the bright side, it can all easily be done in a day.

One of the beautiful alpine lakes in the park

The first stop on our accessible tour is the Devastated Area. Here is where lava, ash, and rocks rained down from the mountain and landslides scoured the earth bare of any trees. 80 years have shown that the forest can make a remarkable comeback but the area can still be seen in contrast to the undamaged areas adjacent to it.

An accessible, paved hiking trail about ½ mile long winding through various types of lava rocks and scenes of volcanic destruction. You also have a marvelous view of the old crater itself from here.

A field of Lassen wildflowers

On up to the next stop is a parking area at the highest point of the road. Along the way we are treated to colorful fields of wildflowers being watered from the icy cold melt water of the glaciers above. At this altitude, August is springtime.

We continue up to the summit parking area. From here the 10,457 foot peak is ribbed with year round glaciers and tantalizingly close. Alas, the ranger told us this trail is not accessible...although at least the first half mile in view of the parking lot doesn’t look like it would pose a major problem for chairs. We’ll leave it up to someone who is more adventurous to determine just how accessible it is.

Just down the road we come upon the Sulphur Works, a small geologic showplace. A large steam vent directly adjacent to the road is easy for wheelchairs to get a good look at. A bumpy boardwalk allows wheelers to go about 100 yards to see more steam vents, mudpots and a boiling creek. The view is great and ominous signs warn visitors to stay on the path or risk falling through the thin crust to a hot death!

The boardwalk allows you an up close look at the volcano's features

The boardwalk continues about another 200 yards but stairs block access to the rest of it. Most of the volcanic activity is concentrated in that first 100 yards, so you’re not missing much on the rest of the trail.

Not far beyond here the road leads out the south side of the park. All wheelchair accessible activities can be accomplished in half a day. In all, the park is very minimal in its accessibility and the largest, most scenic and spectacular parts of the park are off limits to wheelchairs at this time. On the plus side, you and your party don’t have to pay the entry fee by using the Golden Access pass.

The accessible trail crosses a beaver pond in Redding

Back in Redding, we visit Caldwell Park to the south where we find a amazingly accessible trail that winds for miles through cottonwoods, beaver ponds, and alongside the Sacramento River. This is a beautiful wheelchair hiking trail. (Park next to the picnic pavilion and look for the trail head to the east.

We had a lovely dinner on a deck overlooking the mighty Sacramento River at Amigos Mexican Restaurant which has great access to the best views of the river. Back at the Amerihost, we find an old cemetery out back behind the hotel where we have a game of who can find the oldest headstone. Tim wins with 1853.

-Darryl
Copyright 2000 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved