Caribou Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Caribou Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area created by the Wilderness Act
of 1964 and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System
. It is located 60 miles (96.6 km) east of Redding
in the state of California
, USA. The Caribou Wilderness comprises 20546 acres (83.1 km²) and is adjacent to the east side of Lassen Volcanic National Park
. Both the park and the wilderness are within the Lassen National Forest
. The U.S. Forest Service manages the wilderness.
Elevations range from 6400 feet (1,950.7 m) to 8374 feet (2,552.4 m).
The terrain is a volcanic plateau
with 75% covered by water and conifer forests and the remainder being barren rock such as cliff faces, talus
slopes and cinder cones. Most of this area has been preserved since 1932 which makes the Caribou Wilderness one of the few remaining pristine forests of the California Cascade region. There are 23 named lakes, innumerable unnamed ponds and tarns, cinder cones and volcanic buttes within the wilderness. Although there are no year round surface streams, the area provides high quality water for the headwaters of the Susan River
, and Bailey Creek, a tributary of the Feather River
. The high point is Red Cinder (8,363 ft) located near the boundary between the wilderness and the park. Other peaks are North Caribou (7,785 ft), South Caribou ( 7,753 ft) and Black Butte in the northeast at 7,989 ft.
Recreational activities include day hiking
, backpacking, fishing, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, nature photography
and rock climbing
. The Forest Service encourages the practice of Leave No Trace
principles of outdoor travel to minimize human impact on the environment.
The forest is lodgepole pine
, Jeffrey pine
, Ponderosa Pine
, Douglas Fir, white and red fir
, western white pine
, Incense Cedar, and hemlock
.
21 of Caribou's lakes are stocked by air with rainbow trout
. Black-tailed deer
and black bear
s along with squirrels, chipmunks, and the protected (from hunting) pine marten
live here. There are bald eagles and osprey
s overhead, mergansers and grebe
s on the ponds and lakes.
Much smaller in size, but critically important to the forest ecosystem are the fungi.
The cup fungus
, for instance, can be found in the Caribou. As the sanitary agents of the forest that consume dead organic matter, fungi spread on the floor of a conifer area. Fungal spores blow in on the winds and take up residence at the foot of trees. One type, called the king bolete
, is the edible mushroom most sought. Not all fungi have a symbiotic relationship with the trees, some fungi are parasitic, causing heartwood rot.
Along some trails in the Caribou, hikers will see a timber-destroying (causes brown rot) pore fungi called the red-belt fomes
. It is a white and yellow fungi on the bark of both white fir and red fir trees. An interesting aspect of red-belt fomes is that it has a laquared feel if touched.
Before this area became a federally protected wilderness in 1964, it had been previously protected as a primitive area since 1932. When the National Park Service was created in 1916, most of the first National Parks were carved out of National Forest Lands.
Beginning in 1929, The United States Forest Service set some areas aside as primitive areas to keep the Park Service from continuing to acquire forest lands. At least that is the conclusion of economist David Gerard, who wrote about the competing interests between the two federal agencies: The Park Service under the federal Department of Interior and the Forest Service, managed by the federal Department of Agriculture.
The forest service already managed 151 million acres (611,075.9 km²) of forest reserves before the National Park Service was even in existence. And each new national park had to be approved by the U.S. Congress.
These political maneuverings by the US Forest Service in the years 1929 - 1964 helped in the development of the wilderness preservation system of today.
The Caribou is one of the areas protected by the first major legislation for setting aside lands from development and resource extraction. The 1964 Wilderness Act created the Caribou Wilderness out of what was a primitive area since 1932. As a result, an almost pristine, old-growth forest describes the Caribou.
Three trailheads give access to the wilderness; Hay Meadows in the south, Cone Lake in the north and Silver Lake on the east which is also the most popular entry point; as well, the Wilderness can be accessed by trails leading in from Lassen Volcanic National Park
to the west. Travel by foot or horseback is easy because the landscape has only moderate hills and valleys. No wilderness permits are required, only a California campfire permit for open fires.
There are many other trails connecting to other lakes such as Evelyn Lakes as well as trails to the national park's backcountry wilderness area on the west. Backpacking and day hikes are possible with a variety of one-way or loop trips of any length. There are lakes within two miles (3 km) of any trailhead as well as volcanic cinder cones and rocky cliffs for the more adventurous visitors. Off-trail travel is possible but challenging due
to many large fallen trees and brush between wet meadows which is the nature of a wilderness area.
A wilderness addition was proposed for areas just outside the present boundaries including Indian Meadow (near Hay Meadow) and the lake for which the wilderness is named. These 2000 acres (8.1 km²) have been identified by the forest service for having ancient forests of white fir, western white pine, sugar pine, lodgepole pine, red fir, incense cedar and Jeffrey pine. This proposed addition did not make it into the 2006 Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act
.
Wilderness Act
The Wilderness Act of 1964 was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some 9 million acres of federal land. The result of a long effort to protect federal wilderness, the Wilderness Act was signed...
of 1964 and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System
National Wilderness Preservation System
The National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...
. It is located 60 miles (96.6 km) east of Redding
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
in the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA. The Caribou Wilderness comprises 20546 acres (83.1 km²) and is adjacent to the east side of Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a United States National Park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak; the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Range...
. Both the park and the wilderness are within the Lassen National Forest
Lassen National Forest
Lassen National Forest is a national forest of 1,700 square miles in northeastern California. It is named after pioneer Peter Lassen, who mined, ranched and promoted the area to emigrant parties in the 1850s.- Overview :...
. The U.S. Forest Service manages the wilderness.
Elevations range from 6400 feet (1,950.7 m) to 8374 feet (2,552.4 m).
The terrain is a volcanic plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
with 75% covered by water and conifer forests and the remainder being barren rock such as cliff faces, talus
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
slopes and cinder cones. Most of this area has been preserved since 1932 which makes the Caribou Wilderness one of the few remaining pristine forests of the California Cascade region. There are 23 named lakes, innumerable unnamed ponds and tarns, cinder cones and volcanic buttes within the wilderness. Although there are no year round surface streams, the area provides high quality water for the headwaters of the Susan River
Susan River (California)
The Susan River is a northeastern California river of approximately length that drains from an arid plateau of volcanic highlands along the Great Basin Divide to intermittent Honey Lake. The river flows from eastern Lassen County from east of Lassen Volcanic National Park generally east past...
, and Bailey Creek, a tributary of the Feather River
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
. The high point is Red Cinder (8,363 ft) located near the boundary between the wilderness and the park. Other peaks are North Caribou (7,785 ft), South Caribou ( 7,753 ft) and Black Butte in the northeast at 7,989 ft.
Recreational activities include day hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, backpacking, fishing, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, nature photography
Nature photography
Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures...
and rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
. The Forest Service encourages the practice of Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace is both a set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or...
principles of outdoor travel to minimize human impact on the environment.
Flora, fauna and fungi
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
, Jeffrey pine
Jeffrey Pine
The Jeffrey Pine, Pinus jeffreyi, named in honor of its botanist documenter John Jeffrey, is a North American pine related to Ponderosa Pine.-Distribution and habitat:...
, Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
, Douglas Fir, white and red fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
, western white pine
Western White Pine
Western White Pine, Pinus monticola in the family Pinaceae, is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Range, and the northern Rocky Mountains. The tree extends down to sea level in many...
, Incense Cedar, and hemlock
Tsuga
Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....
.
21 of Caribou's lakes are stocked by air with rainbow trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
. Black-tailed deer
Black-tailed Deer
Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupying coastal temperate rainforest on North America's Pacific coast are subspecies of the mule deer. They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all recent authorities maintain they are subspecies...
and black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
s along with squirrels, chipmunks, and the protected (from hunting) pine marten
American Marten
The American marten is a North American member of the family Mustelidae, sometimes referred to as the pine marten. The name "pine marten" is derived from the common but distinct Eurasian species of Martes...
live here. There are bald eagles and osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
s overhead, mergansers and grebe
Grebe
A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...
s on the ponds and lakes.
Much smaller in size, but critically important to the forest ecosystem are the fungi.
The cup fungus
Cup fungus
The Pezizaceae are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota which produce mushrooms that tends to grow in the shape of a "cup". Spores are formed on the inner surface of the fruit body . The cup shape typically serves to focus raindrops into splashing spores out of the cup...
, for instance, can be found in the Caribou. As the sanitary agents of the forest that consume dead organic matter, fungi spread on the floor of a conifer area. Fungal spores blow in on the winds and take up residence at the foot of trees. One type, called the king bolete
Boletus edulis
Boletus edulis, commonly known as penny bun, porcino or cep, is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus Boletus. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere across Europe, Asia, and North America, it does not occur naturally in the Southern Hemisphere, although it has been...
, is the edible mushroom most sought. Not all fungi have a symbiotic relationship with the trees, some fungi are parasitic, causing heartwood rot.
Along some trails in the Caribou, hikers will see a timber-destroying (causes brown rot) pore fungi called the red-belt fomes
Fomitopsis pinicola
Fomitopsis pinicola, in English sometimes known as Red Banded Polypore, is a polypore mushroom of the genus Fomitopsis. The species is common throughout the temperate Northern hemisphere. An alternative binomial name is Fomes pinicola....
. It is a white and yellow fungi on the bark of both white fir and red fir trees. An interesting aspect of red-belt fomes is that it has a laquared feel if touched.
Area history
Beginning in 1929, The United States Forest Service set some areas aside as primitive areas to keep the Park Service from continuing to acquire forest lands. At least that is the conclusion of economist David Gerard, who wrote about the competing interests between the two federal agencies: The Park Service under the federal Department of Interior and the Forest Service, managed by the federal Department of Agriculture.
The forest service already managed 151 million acres (611,075.9 km²) of forest reserves before the National Park Service was even in existence. And each new national park had to be approved by the U.S. Congress.
These political maneuverings by the US Forest Service in the years 1929 - 1964 helped in the development of the wilderness preservation system of today.
Recreation
Wilderness areas are managed to preserve the natural, undeveloped conditions as much as possible so there are limitations in the use for recreation. No motorized equipment, vehicles or bicycles can be brought into a wilderness. There are no man-made structures or conveniences, although occasionally evidence of prior land use before the wilderness designation, such as old fences and tree blazes are found.The Caribou is one of the areas protected by the first major legislation for setting aside lands from development and resource extraction. The 1964 Wilderness Act created the Caribou Wilderness out of what was a primitive area since 1932. As a result, an almost pristine, old-growth forest describes the Caribou.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a United States National Park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak; the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Range...
to the west. Travel by foot or horseback is easy because the landscape has only moderate hills and valleys. No wilderness permits are required, only a California campfire permit for open fires.
There are many other trails connecting to other lakes such as Evelyn Lakes as well as trails to the national park's backcountry wilderness area on the west. Backpacking and day hikes are possible with a variety of one-way or loop trips of any length. There are lakes within two miles (3 km) of any trailhead as well as volcanic cinder cones and rocky cliffs for the more adventurous visitors. Off-trail travel is possible but challenging due
to many large fallen trees and brush between wet meadows which is the nature of a wilderness area.
A wilderness addition was proposed for areas just outside the present boundaries including Indian Meadow (near Hay Meadow) and the lake for which the wilderness is named. These 2000 acres (8.1 km²) have been identified by the forest service for having ancient forests of white fir, western white pine, sugar pine, lodgepole pine, red fir, incense cedar and Jeffrey pine. This proposed addition did not make it into the 2006 Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act
Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act
The Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act is a U.S. federal law enacted in 2006 that enlarged existing wilderness boundaries and created new wilderness areas for protection under the National Wilderness Preservation System...
.
See also
- Lassen National ForestLassen National ForestLassen National Forest is a national forest of 1,700 square miles in northeastern California. It is named after pioneer Peter Lassen, who mined, ranched and promoted the area to emigrant parties in the 1850s.- Overview :...
- Lassen Volcanic National ParkLassen Volcanic National ParkLassen Volcanic National Park is a United States National Park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak; the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Range...
- Wilderness ActWilderness ActThe Wilderness Act of 1964 was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some 9 million acres of federal land. The result of a long effort to protect federal wilderness, the Wilderness Act was signed...
- List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
- List of old-growth forests
External links
- "Caribou Wilderness". Wilderness.net. accessed 18 July 2008