Anyway, back to the Klamath River.

As I drove down the river tonight I recalled all the times I been here with my mother, both when I was young and again when I was older. As a child I didn’t realize that the six hour journey that it took with my mom driving could be but a 3-1/2 hour trip with my dad driving by a different, slightly more curvy route. When I was older I visited the spot again. My mother had not let the absence of the sons that thought it not cool to keep her from this special place. She was there again soaking up the beauty and solitude of the place that we came to call “the cabin” The cabin had ceased to exist after the ’64 flood, being washed away by the high water. At one time someone had tried to make a home of Walker Gulch. They had built a rough 20’ X 20’ single walled cabin complete with galvanized roofing as well as a carport open on all four sides and hewn out of small trees and poles. Mom would make her yearly trips here by herself after Chuck and I stopped going with her.
After working the summer I got a wild idea that I needed to have some type of trip to call Summer Vacation. I took off and hitchhiked over to Mt. Lassen. I had always seen it from afar and I wanted to actually climb it. I don’t recall how I got there, but I do remember walking up to the top and planning to camp the night. In fact, I even had my camp all laid out and I was watching the beautiful sunset to the west. All of a sudden instead of just the sunset I saw lightening flashing in the distance, then the sound of thunder, the lightening closer. Suddenly spending the night atop a volcano didn’t seem like such a great idea. A day or so later I found myself walking down Hwy. 96 after getting dropped off at the rest area at the junction of the Klamath River and I-5. It took me about 2 rides to get the 50 miles downriver to the turnoff to Ladd Road. Walking the last 3 miles and arriving just before dark Mom was much surprised to see me come walking up.