While much of the country is just
shaking off the mantle of snow and ice that is a rugged winter, out here on the
left coast, we are about half way through spring. An annual trek I take is to visit the display of wildflowers
carpeting Table Mountain outside of Oroville in Butte County, California. I’ve done it on every motorcycle I’ve
ever owned beginning with that Honda Trail 90 back in 1970. And I’m never disappointed.
This day, the road through Cherokee which “backdoors” the
flat top of the mountain was dry and clear and travelled by a least a couple of
motorcycle clubs as well as a group of vintage British sports car
enthusiasts. While it is said that
the journey is as grand as the destination, it’s tough to suggest that the
destination itself wasn’t pretty damned grand.
A relatively dry spring has rendered the creeklets across
the top of the basalt mesa pretty impotent. Yet they provide enough sustenance for a nice display of
whatever these little white gems are that grow along the banks of the
rivulet.
Exploring the area, I find myself walking on a carpet of
clover – clover abloom with dainty pink blossoms. Each one I want to savor and not step upon. Each one making me glad I stopped at
this popular place to stretch my legs a bit.
Cattle country, this has become, since the gold played out
150 years ago. Intrepid ranchers
attempted to carve up the land by wire-fencing sections planting wooden posts
into a basaltic hardpan that must have required dynamite in order to pierce. Eventually the hand-hewn posts rot and
the once-taut wire lies across the top of the mesa.
Underfoot, acres of lupine stretch in all directions. Where the environment is just so, a
cluster of owl clover may rear it’s beautiful head.
Poppies tend to seek the sunnier, drier locations…
…while a Monkey Flower has found a home in the middle of a
seasonal stream course.
Atop the dry, chunky basalt, an alligator lizard hopes to be
overlooked.
On this April Saturday, flocks of people enjoy this renowned
locale. The further one ventures
from the parking area on Old Cherokee Road, the less dense the number of
visitors. Here a hiker and her
companion explore a verdant hillside looking so much like someone you might spy in the amongst the heather in some Irish musical.
Through some sort of cooperative venture, the public is
allowed to explore this rangeland.
Port-a-Johns are set up at a parking area from which trails branch out
in all directions. But no matter
where one hikes, they are always beneath the watchful eye of a bovine sentinel
or two.
Table Mountain affords a delightful display of wildflowers
as well as a commanding view of the northern portion of the Sacramento
Valley. The best times to visit
are from mid-February to mid-April depending on the season’s rainfall. Folks traveling State Route 70
northeast out of Oroville would do well to plan on an hour’s saddle respite up
this way.
o0o
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| Nearby Oregon City Covered Bridge |
Today’s Route: State Route 70 to Oroville; exit Grand
Avenue. East on Grand Avenue; left
on Table Mtn. Blvd. Right on Cherokee
Road (a couple of blocks.) Cherokee
Road twists up through basaltic draws.
Six or eight miles on, a parking area is evident. Return: Continue on Cherokee Road to the old Cherokee town site –
consider taking a stroll through the historic cemetery. Continue north-northwest to State Route
70. Left takes you back to
Oroville. Right leads up the
incomparable Feather River Canyon to Quincy through the northern-most reaches
of the Sierra.
© 2013
Church of the Open Road Press
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