Culbertson Lake - Nevada County, California

 

Visited on 10/25/2019, Jeff and I decided to travel to Tahoe National Forest and go on a 7.5 mile hike with our dogs and packed a lunch for our day trip journey.  Culbertson Lake is a 71 surface acre lake at an elevation of 6,520 feet above sea level.  The Lake is named after J.H. Culbertson who built the original dam in the 1850’s.  This lake is located in the Grouse Ridge Recreation Area of the Tahoe National Forest which is located 8 miles north of Highway 20 just off of Bowman Road then 4 miles until you reach the Lindsey Lake Campground.  The last 4 miles along the Lindsey Lake Road is a little rough and a 4x4 vehicle is advised due to clearance, but we made it just fine with our Jeep Wrangler.  We parked at the designated backcountry parking area just below the Lindsey Lake dam.  We hiked up the grade thru the campground where four separate shoreline campers were enjoying a relaxing day along the northern shore of Lindsey Lake.  We ventured thru the gate accessed with a trail head sign and a map of the area.   About a mile along the hiking path (private road) we decided to take a right turn at Middle Lindsey Lake and hike along the eastern shore until we reached the much smaller Upper Lindsey Lake.  We continued along the creek until we got our first view of Culbertson Lake approaching from the southwest end of the lake. 

The view of the Lake was gorgeous with the Fall colors exploding and it was such a perfect weather day.  Very little wind, 64 degrees as a high and we only saw one other hiker on the trail the whole way.   We stopped and had lunch on the western shore of Culbertson and soaked in the serenity and peaceful surroundings while enjoying a few ducks swim across the lake in the distance.  We continued along the western side of the lake until we joined back up with the main hiking trail and private road.  We continued to the most northern point of Culbertson Lake where the dam is located.  There are two or three resident homes along the lake near the dam.  Our dogs enjoyed us tossing the stick into the lake a few times before we made our way back to where we parked our Jeep Wrangler at the parking lot.  We covered over 7.5 miles and enjoyed our day at Culbertson Lake.  We both agreed this was one of the most enjoyable hikes to a remote lake that we have taken.

There we are at Culbertson Lake enjoying the peacefulness and serenity of this beautiful 71 surface acre lake at an elevation of 6,250 feet above sea level. We are standing on the dam on the north end of the lake.

Lake Manzanita - Shasta County, California

Jeff and I enjoyed a wonderful day with our two Chocolate Labs, Summer and Skye exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. We entered on the northwest entrance at Manzanita Lake. Manzanita Lake is 26 surface acres at an elevation of 5,988 feet above sea level. Manzanita Lake was formed when Manzanita Creek was dammed 300 years ago by a rock avalanche from the northwest slope of the Chaos Crags, which also resulted in the debris formation known as Chaos  Jumbles.  This National Park is only 175 miles north of our home.

While visiting this amazing National Park we learned so much about this wonderful place and captured beautiful scenery along our 30 mile journey through the main section of the Park. We made all 16 stops on the self-guided point of interest drive through the heart of the Park. First stop was the National Park sign group shot, then we captured amazing super cloud reflections casting off of Manzanita and Reflection Lakes. We then visited many of this parks features including: Chaos Crags; the Novles Emigrant Trail; Hot Rock; the Devastated Area with it's very informative 1/2 mile trail describing the Lassen Peak in 1915; beautiful Hat Creek Lake and meadow; Kings Creek and Meadow; Lassen Summit trailhead at a staggering 8,512 feet; Helen and Emerald Lakes which are still iced over; Sulphur Works with it's boiling sulfur pools and pots; and concluding with a nice picnic lunch for both us and our dogs at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center which is the southwest entrance to the park.

Lake Merritt - Alameda County, California

We visited Oakland, California on 3/31/19 during a weekend camping trip to the South Bay Area.  Lake Merritt is a 155 acre large tidal lagoon located at an elevation of 43 feet above sea level in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designated in 1870, and has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1963, and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966. The lake features grassy shores; several artificial islands intended as bird refuges; an interpretive center called the Rotary Nature Center; a boating center where sailboats, canoes and rowboats can be rented and classes are held; and a fairy tale themed amusement park called Children's Fairyland.  A popular 3.4 mile walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter.

The lake was originally an arm of the San Francisco Bay formed where several creeks empty into the bay. It was surrounded by 1,000 acres  of wetlands when the Ohlone people fished, hunted and gathered food along its shores. By 1810, the remaining Native Americans were removed to Mission San José and the estuary and 44,800 acres  of surrounding land was deeded to Sergeant Luis Maria Peralta to become Rancho San Antonio. After gold was discovered in 1848 in present-day Coloma 125 miles  to the northeast, Anglo squatters led by lawyer Horace Carpentier took control of the East Bay area which was to become downtown Oakland, including the estuary known as "San Antonio Slough." In 1856, Peralta fought and won a United States Supreme Court case against the squatters but further court cases between his sons and daughters would greatly diminish their holdings. The Peralta brothers had to sell much of the land to Carpentier to pay legal fees and new property taxes. Oakland was incorporated in 1852 with Carpentier as its first mayor and the estuary became the city's sewer.

Lake Merritt naturally had tidal flows via a broad 600 foot outlet, but this has been steadily reduced with development of the region after 1869. Currently the tidal flows are limited in size and managed for flood control.  For years the lake acted as a waste collector. It was regarded as ideal for sewage because of its chemical contents, which have high acidities that cause it to decompose human feces at very high rates. Sixty miles of brick and wood channeling sent the broken down sewage to the bottom of the lake to then be eaten by bottom feeders. The stench at the lake during the decomposition of the sewage was a problem for Oaklanders on the west shore and residents of Clinton and San Antonio villages on the east.

Dr. Samuel Merritt, a mayor of Oakland who owned property at the shore's edge, was keen to get the body of water cleaned up so that it could become a source of civic pride. In 1868, he proposed and funded a dam between the estuary and the bay by which the flow of water could be controlled, allowing the water level inland to rise higher and become less saline, turning the tidal lagoon into a lake. Sewage was to be redirected elsewhere by two new city projects, though these weren't completed until 1875. The resulting body of water was called variously "Lake Peralta", "Merritt's Lake" and later Lake Merritt.

The lake at that time still had thick wetlands fringing the shores and it continued to attract large numbers of migratory birds. In order to protect the birds from duck hunters and stop the noise and danger of gunfire so close to the city, Dr. Merritt proposed to turn the lake into a wildlife refuge in 1869. The state legislature voted Lake Merritt Wildlife Refuge into law in 1870, making it the first such refuge in North America. No hunting of any sort was to be allowed and the only fishing was to be by hook and line.

The Camron-Stanford House was built by Samuel Merritt in 1876 along the southwest corner of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.  The ornate Camron-Stanford House was built in 1876 near the lake's western shore. Tax records suggest that Samuel Merritt built the Italianate Victorian as part of his plan to promote and develop downtown Oakland and the new lake. In 1877, the house's title was transferred to Mrs. Alice Camron, a purchase she was able to make due to an inheritance from her father, California pioneer Dr. John Marsh. She, her husband Will and their two daughters were the first residents of the home. Further fine homes were built on the lakeshore by others following Dr. Merritt's lead, though none but Camron-Stanford remain today. Beginning in 1910, the house served as the Oakland Public Museum. In 1967, the Oakland Museum moved to other quarters, and the Camron-Stanford House is now a separate museum.

Protection for the wetlands was nonexistent and residences kept being built on reclaimed land around the shore of the lake. Cleanliness continued to be a problem because of incomplete sewage projects and the lake kept silting up since the natural tidal flow had been interrupted by Merritt's dam. Dredging of the lake began in 1891, with the removed silt being piled along the eastern shore to make a foundation for a road which became Lakeshore Avenue.

From 1893 to 1915, Lake Merritt saw major changes. Inspired by the new City Beautiful movement which got its start at the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair), the lake became a city-owned park. In 1913 an elaborate Mission Revival pergola was constructed at the northeastern tip of the lake. Adam's Point was cleared of houses, planted with lawns and imported trees and became Lakeside Park.  Eastshore Park was created where East 18th Street brought Trestle Glen's watershed to the lake. Oakland Civic Auditorium was built at the south edge of the lake in 1914.

Lake Merritt's natural wetlands are long gone—converted to parks, pathways and roads. Some of the wetland vegetation has been restored to five "Bird Islands" constructed of dredged silt between 1925 and 1956; islands which shelter hundreds of nesting and roosting water fowl. The islands have a fresh water irrigation system to bring drinking water to the birds. A boom and a rope/buoy barrier protects the islands from recreational boaters.[14]

Under the name Lake Merritt Wild Duck Refuge, the site became a National Historic Landmark on May 23, 1963.

Children's Fairyland is a 10-acre park designed by William Russell Everett, and built in 1950 in Lakeside Park. When Walt Disney was planning Disneyland, he visited Children's Fairyland for ideas.

A "necklace of lights" encircles Lake Merritt. Featuring 126 lampposts and 3,400 "pearly bulbs", the necklace was first lit in 1925. In 1941, the lights were removed to comply with World War II blackout conditions. After a decade-long campaign by the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, the lights were again illuminated in 1987.

During Oakland's annual gay pride celebration, the city replaces the white bulbs with multicolored bulbs.

North Battle Creek Reservoir - Shasta County, California

Our camping adventure in the Lassen National Forest and Lassen Volcanic National Park for the week began the week of June 15, 2020! We found this excellent and very scenic, free dispersed camping spot along side Hat Creek near Old Station, California. Plus, I visited North Battle Creek Reservoir and had my first black bear sighting of the season! North Battle Creek Reservoir is a 78 surface acre dammed reservoir at am elevation of 5,581 feet in Shasta County. North Battle Creek Campground and the adjacent reservoir are operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company. For those seeking the solitude of a remote mountain lake, North Battle Creek Reservoir is worthy of consideration. The reservoir is next to the Lassen National Forest. Sites at North Battle Creek Campground can be reserved through PG&E's reservation system. But, they currently have it closed due to Covid-19.

Non-motorized boats can be used on the half-mile long lake. A car-top boat launch site is available. Late in the summer water levels can drop, making early summer the best time to visit. Five walk-in tent sites are situated close to the water, while the other sites are in a nearby loop.

Upper Truckee Marsh - El Dorado County, California

On 10/19/2019 Jeff and I visited four California lakes and reservoirs on this day and we had a fun time adventuring in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was nice to witness the fall leaves changing colors. We witnessed nice Fall color changes near Carson Pass and ventured to South Lake Tahoe and stopped at the Truckee Marsh. Not much water to see this time of year, but interesting and beautiful in it's own way! The Upper Truckee Marsh of South Lake Tahoe, California, is a 220 surface acre small wetland area, located where Trout Creek and the Upper Truckee River flow into Lake Tahoe.  The Truckee River continues from the northwest shore of the lake in Tahoe City via the Californian town of Truckee to Reno/Sparks and finally flows into Pyramid Lake, Nevada.  The Upper Truckee Marsh sits at 6,225 feet above sea level which is the same elevation as Lake Tahoe.

The Upper Truckee Marsh ecosystem is managed by the California Tahoe Conservancy. Unique populations of plant and animal life in this fragile environment deserve to be protected by and for local residents and visitors.

The Upper Truckee Marsh is located north of Lake-Tahoe Boulevard between Al Tahoe and Tahoe Keys. It is surrounded by patches of pine forest, a harbor and residential areas from where it can be accessed at different points such as the corner at which Macinaw Road, Springwood Drive and Rubicon Trail intersect.  

Upper Truckee Marsh Trailhead -  Interesting fact that this Marsh is the largest remaining wetland in the Sierra Nevada. Nice 1.5 mile hike to Lake Tahoe. Dogs welcome on a leash of course, and it is your duty to pick up their dooty!  Check before you go with your dog on the trail because dogs are not allowed certain times of the year due to nesting birds, etc.

Alpine Lake - Marin County, California

Visited on 8/11/2018, Jeff and I loaded up our two chocolate Labradors and went for a day drive to Marin County to visit several lakes.  This reservoir is located just 3 miles south of the town of Fairfax (Home of the Mountain Biking Hall of Fame), nestled on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California just 25 miles north of San Francisco. At an elevation of 646 feet above sea level, there are great hiking trails that surround and encircle the lake.  Alpine Lake is a 224 surface acre reservoir formed by Alpine Dam, it provides water to the Marin Municipal Water District. Alpine Dam is a gravity dam which was completed in 1917. It is 524 feet long and 143 feet high, with 8 feet of freeboard.  Below the dam lies Kent Lake.   Alpine Lake is to the west of Bon Tempe Lake. Fishing is allowed and Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and trout can be caught. Boats and dogs are not allowed on this lake.

Gerle Creek Divide Reservoir - El Dorado County, California

Gerle Creek Divide Reservoir is a 57 surface acre reservoir located in the El Dorado National Forest, Crystal Basin Recreation Area.  The Reservoir is located just 17.5 miles from Pollock Pines, near Jacobsen which was a historical town in the area.  On the north side of the lake is a newly renovated, beautiful 50 campsite campground is located on the shore of Gerle Creek Divide Reservoir, which is 27 miles north of Highway 50 on Ice House Road and Forest Road 33. The campground is at 5,300 feet and is usually open from Memorial Day weekend to mid-September. The campground amenities feature vault toilets, piped water, picnic tables, grills, fire rings, bear boxes.  The Harvest Trail, a wheelchair accessible interpretive trail meanders around the north side of the lake and includes a nice fishing pier.

The 50 campsites nestled under the lodge pole pine trees at this recently renovated campground are big enough to build a house on and calm Gerle Creek Reservoir (no motorboats allowed) is an idyllic place to paddle a kayak or canoes. There’s even an island where the kids—and Fido—can play pirate while parents watch from the shore.  The lake is no longer stocked with fish, but you'll see plenty of folks casting their lines anyway from a wooden dock. A wheelchair-accessible trail on the lake makes for easy walking and those willing to bushwhack can hike completely around the lake's perimeter.  Access to Desolation Wilderness is available from Loon Lake just up the road.

Lower Bassi Falls is located on the northeast side of Union Valley Reservoir and is a beautiful 4 mile hike up to the Upper Falls.  The water was flowing nicely still early in the summer on June 15, 2019.

Gerle Creek Reservoir is one of a string of lakes—Ice House, Union Valley, Wrights and Loon are the others—in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area used by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District for water storage and power generation. The only drawback for campers at Gerle Creek is that water levels are raised and lowered at unpredictable times, sometimes leaving a ring of sticky mud along the shoreline. Watercraft should be beached high so that a sudden rise in lake level doesn't float them away.

Bears can be a problem in this area, but bear-proof boxes for food storage are provided at every site. The well maintained campground has vault toilets and piped water, but no showers. Bring all the food and provisions you'll need; it's a long way back to civilization! Ice and sundries can be purchased at Ice House Resort about a half-hour away.

Dogs welcome in campsites and on trails but not at the swimming beach. You'll have to bushwhack a bit to find a good place to enter the water from the shore.  

Hell Hole Reservoir - Placer County, California

Jeff and I went on a day trip with our dogs to visit a couple of lakes and to hike to Bassi Falls in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area and the El Dorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Our last stop was Hell Hole Reservoir.  This beautiful mountain lake is a large 1,250 surface acre crescent-shaped lake at an elevation of 4,630 feet above sea level in the Sierra Nevada mountain range 10 miles west of Lake Tahoe. The lake is about 3.5 miles long when at full capacity.  We drove around the south side of the lake and pulled into the Hell Hole Campground to check out the campsites for a possible future camping trip.  We liked campsite #22 because it was closer to the lakeside and it had it’s own nice large picnic and fire ring area on the west side with more room.  One side of the campground was closed due to tree removal, so we were not able to view the higher numbered sites on this day we visited.

The lake was created in 1966 with the completion of Lower Hell Hole Dam across the Rubicon River, which is a major tributary of the Middle Fork of the American River. Hell Hole is named for a deep canyon which is now under the waters of the lake.

How the canyon came to be named Hell Hole is a combination of folklore and speculation. An early author, George Wharton James (1858–1923), visited the canyon in 1913.[2] He attributed the name to an unidentified miner seeking riches during the Squaw Valley mining excitement of 1862. It was "a hell of hole to get out of," James wrote, but admitted his source for the place name was more speculative than the anonymous miner's chances for riches at Squaw Valley.

James' guide for the 1913 camping expedition to Hell Hole was Bob Watson, a well-known camping guide who operated in the Lake Tahoe Region from the 1880s into the first decades of the 20th century. Watson may have been the source of the story who sought to entertain and edify his paying clients with tales of local history. James attributed much of the local lore to Watson.

The United States Board on Geographic Names attributes the first use of the name "Hell Hole" to a United States Geological Survey map of 1894. The board was created in 1890, so previous uses of the name on federal government maps are possible.

James reported finding a natural lake near the Hell Hole chasm known as Bear Lake, which would have been drowned by the reservoir. He also described Hell Hole in terms that belies the colorful name: "Hell Hole? Then give me more of it," he wrote. The author reported his pleasure of the canyon was derived from its rugged nature that precluded human exploitation: Logging, mining, water development and road building, evident in other portions of the Lake Tahoe region. It was "a paradise of delightful surprises," he wrote.

Lower Hell Hole Dam (its official name) is operated by the Placer County Water Agency. The agency controls two dams in the Eldorado National Forest and Tahoe National Forest. The water agency gained its power from financing approved by Placer County voters in 1961.

Proposals for the dam date to 1958.  In 1964 the first Hell Hole dam was partially complete.  The dam collapsed on December 23, 1964.  A new dam was completed in 1966.  Placer County sought drinking water supplies to fuel growth of its communities in the Sacramento Valley. The gold-rush-era town of Auburn is in Placer County as is the suburban community of Roseville. The agency also sought to generate hydroelectric power to finance its ability to deliver the water to users.

Today, the lake offers modern facilities to aid in waterborne recreation. The remoteness of the lake limits the number of visitors, so the lake is seldom crowded even during the height of the summer season. Most boating activity is limited to small powered fishing skiffs, canoes and kayaks. Afternoon high winds can make boating precarious.

The lake is known by its three components: Lower Hell Hole, the Narrows and Upper Hell Hole. The lake is accessible by motor vehicle only at Lower Hell Hole, where a paved launch facility and forest service ranger station are located. The Hell Hole campground is also located there.

The campground features a view of the polished granite lakeshore but is not located directly on the shore of the lake because of the steep grade. The campground features a parking area but the 10 campsites are walk-in only. Many visitors use Big Meadows campground about one mile away, which has 54 drive-in campsites suitable for recreational vehicles.  Our favorite was campsite #22.

A second forest service campground is maintained at Upper Hell Hole and is known by that name. It can be reached by boat or a 3.5-mile hiking trail that is reached by crossing the breakwater of the dam and hiking on a trail that flanks the lake but is several hundred feet above the water.

Upper Hell Hole campground is said to have 15 campsites and two pit toilets, but does not have trash service or other amenities. A camping fee is not charged. The campground is arranged on three tiers of elevation. Steps are cut into the granite rock to connect the levels. During the spring and early summer snowmelt, several of the campsites feature creeks and waterfalls nearby. Other campsites there are sheltered by giant granite boulders. Camping is also permitted wherever the rugged shoreline will permit boat landing.

The lake's principal inflows are from the Rubicon River and Five Lakes Creek, formerly a tributary of the Rubicon. Lake water has drowned the historical confluence of the two water courses. The Rubicon River was once known as the south fork of the middle fork of the American River. The Rubicon River's entry into the lake is via a cataract where the river has eroded through the elevated granite block.

The lake also features many small granitic islands that expand and contract with the level of the lake. Hell Hole typically has its highest level of water in May and lowers gradually through the summer and fall. The forest service maintains visitor services from May 15 through September 15. The lake is accessible until snow makes roads to the area impassable.

In 1984, the federally protected Granite Chief Wilderness was created by the United States Congress after a long advocacy campaign by the Sierra Club, a conservation organization.

Upper Hell Hole forms the western border of the Granite Chief Wilderness. A small buffer zone between the lake shore and the wilderness prevents accidental intrusion into the wilderness. The juxtaposition of the lake and wilderness presents the opportunity for rustic boat/backpacking adventures through the rugged and scenic 25,680 acres of wilderness. Like the lake itself, the wilderness is lightly used on the western border. Hell Hole Trail enters the wilderness from near the lake but is difficult to locate. Granite Chief Wilderness is managed by the Tahoe National Forest, while visitor facilities at Hell Hole Reservoir.

This little lizard was enjoying the sun and this rock perch at the shoreline watching our dogs retrieve sticks out of the water!

The pre-dam river channel wended its way several miles to its confluence with the Middle Fork of the American River near Ralston Afterbay.   In addition to releases from Hell Hole down the pre-dam path, water is diverted through a pipeline to Middle Fork Powerhouse (AKA Stephenson Powerhouse) where it flows into Interbay Reservoir. From here, in addition to releases down the Middle Fork American River, the water is diverted into a tunnel to Ralston Powerhouse and into Ralston Afterbay, where it joins water from the pre-dam path. Oxbow Powerhouse and Oxbow control dam there releases water into the middle fork of the American River just below the spot of the historical confluence.

Water for hydroelectric generation is also shuttled into Hell Hole from French Meadows Reservoir which impounds the Middle Fork of the American River. The water travels through a tunnel to a powerhouse located on the north side of Hell Hole. French Meadows, at 5,200 elevation, is higher than the 4,700-foot  elevation at Hell Hole.

The traditional channel of the Rubicon River still maintains water flow from the spillway at Hell Hole Dam and from tributaries of the Rubicon below the dam, such as Gerle Creek (pronounced girly).

The Placer County Water Agency does not take water directly from Hell Hole or the other dam but instead claims rights to the water as it is shipped through the American River System and ends up at Folsom Lake near Sacramento. Folsom dam was originally constructed for the purposes of flood control. The Placer water agency's dams and Ralston are presently known as the Middle Fork Project.

Hell Hole canyon and nearby vicinities initially escaped man-made exploitation during the latter half of the 19th century, but events that occurred then allowed eventual exploitation of Hell Hole during the 1960s.

The gold rush of 1849 on the South Fork of the American River resulted in establishment of Sierra foothill towns of Auburn, Placerville, Nevada City and Georgetown. The gold rush did not intrude into the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada range, but the water and timber needs of these towns did intrude into the upper elevations. In one case in 1873 the privately owned, California Water Company employed a scheme to dam Loon Lake to the south of Hell Hole and then sluice the water closer to Georgetown where it could be used by residents and farmers.

Somewhat later, in 1862, the residents of Placer County (Auburn, Foresthill) came upon a scheme to build a road from the Foresthill divide to Squaw Valley with the intent of luring immigrant trains away from Nevada City and into Placerville and neighboring vicinities. George Wharton James, the author, described the road as an ill-fated enterprise: "The grade is frightful. For an hour or more, we go slowly up it stopping every few yards or so to give our horses breath," James wrote of a ride on the old road a half century after it was built. "It is hard enough for horses to go up this grade but to pull heavily-ladened (sic) wagons - it seems impossible, " he concluded. Later attempts to improve this road or forge other wagon roads were not successful.

The Comstock Lode silver rush in the 1860s in Nevada Territory also encouraged the attempt of the gold-rush foothillers to find pathways over the mountains to the riches of the Comstock and the more local Squaw Valley silver excitement.

The roads then brought timber claimants and homesteaders, called locators, who were able to claim public lands. The old homesteads and timber claims were bought by private water companies or hoteliers who sought visitors to the "healthful" mineral springs after much of the timber was depleted by the mid-1880s.

Railroads brought the tourists. Tourists could reach Truckee, California by rail from either San Francisco or Ogden, Utah by the end of the 19th century. The Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company brought them to the lake. One particular resort established east of Hell Hole has a significant relationship to the canyon. Deer Park, just south of Squaw Valley (now a ski area and home to the 1960 Winter Olympics) was a tourist hotel which had a rustic hideaway camp at Five Lakes now in Granite Chief Wilderness. James described the Five Lakes resort as a 160-acre (0.65 km2) timber claim in which the timber had never been cut but in which cabins had been built and rowboats kept in hand for fishing upon the five small lakes.

The Five Lakes are the headwaters of Five Lakes Creek which led James on his 1913 horseback descent into Hell Hole in the company of Bob Watson, the guide. The pair camped at Hell Hole, then ascended the Rubicon River to Rockbound Lake, where they camped again. Rockbound Lake is now in the Desolation Wilderness and is near the headwaters of the Rubicon River. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District controls a dam within the Desolation Wilderness: Rubicon Reservoir. Desolation Wilderness was created in 1969.

Placer County's 1961 bond approval allowed its water agency to seek out water supplies that were not already claimed by others. Loon Lake, south of Hell Hole, was already prescripted, but the rugged, untouched Hell Hole was not. In 1934, the State of California took steps to claim any unclaimed water rights along the American River's three forks. In 1962 the rights to the Rubicon River water were conveyed to Placer County.

The Hell Hole dam, a rock-fill-type dam, was completed across the Rubicon River in December 1964. As the reservoir began filling the dam sprung a leak during a flood event and failed completely the next day. The resulting flood washed down the Middle Fork of the American River and washed away the Greenwood Bridge near Auburn.

The Placer County Water Agency began a new dam which was completed two years later and has now stood for 42 years.

Hell Hole Dam was partially completed at the time of extremely heavy storms in December 1964. The downstream rockfill portion was up ~220' above the river bottom, but the impervious core and adjacent zones were only up ~35'. Debris from extreme storm runoff upstream of the dam blocked the diversion outlet, and water rapidly accumulated behind the partially constructed dam. As the water came up it was seeping through the rockfill, and when it crested, the entire mass collapsed in a matter of minutes. A surge went down the canyon, washing out two older suspension bridges below the Long Canyon influx and at the Spanish Dry Diggings crossing near Greenwood. It then washed out the State Highway 49 bridge over the American River just below Auburn.  Folsom Dam reservoir absorbed the surge below that point.

Lake Webb - Kern County, California

Jeff and I took a nice trip to Southern California for a Rodeo weekend in Banning, California outside of Palm Springs for the weekend.  We were camping with our two chocolate Labradors, Summer and Skye.  While on our camping adventure we set out to several lakes and reservoirs over the long weekend.

I visited Lake Webb on my way down to meet Jeff for camping at Lake Isabellar on my way down on 05/02/2019.   Lake Webb is an 873 acre manmade recreational lake located approximately 25 miles southwest of Bakersfield in the lower central valley of California.  It along with Lake Evans is one of two lakes that are part of the Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area southwest of Bakersfield.  At an elevation of 350 feet above sea level this lake was built in 1973.  It is primarily a motorboat, jet skiing, and waterskiing lake. The lake is located on the lakebed of the former Buena Vista Lake.  When the site was completed in April 1973, it took 43 days to fill both Lake Evans and the much larger Lake Webb with over 2,300,000,000 gallons (or 6,800 acre feet) of water.

Lake Webb is an elongated shape of 873 acres available for boating, jet‐skiing and fishing, as well as an additional 125 acres for jet‐skiing (maximum speed 45 mph). Projecting midway into the lake, a horseshoe‐shaped spit of land contains 112 campsites in a double row. To maintain the landscaping through the dry season, a sprinkler system operates, requiring campers to place their things in designated spots.

Lots of Oil Wells are out in the fields around Lake Webb and Lake Evans in the Bakersfield area.  This is one of the oil rigs in action.

Lake Evans - Kern County, California

Jeff and I took a nice trip to Southern California for a Rodeo weekend in Banning, California outside of Palm Springs for the weekend.  We were camping with our two chocolate Labradors, Summer and Skye.  While on our camping adventure we set out to several lakes and reservoirs over the long weekend.

I visited Lake Evans on my way down to meet Jeff for camping at Lake Isabellar on my way down on 05/02/2019.  Lake Evans is an 86 acre lake which is a manmade recreational lake located approximately 25 miles southwest of Bakersfield in the lower central valley of California.  It along with Lake Webb is one of two lakes that are part of the Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area.  Lake Webb and Lake Evans better known as "Buena Vista Lakes" are located in a flat basin which was once on the lakebed of the former Buena Vista Lake an elevation of 350 feet above sea level.   Projecting midway into the Lake Webb next door is a horseshoe‐shaped spit of land contains 112 campsites in a double row. This lake is the place for the more serene pursuits of sailing, fishing, and boating at no more than 5 mph.

Lake Webb and Lake Evans better known as "Buena Vista Lakes" are located in a flat basin, twelve miles northeast of the town of Taft and twenty-three miles southwest of the city of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 350’. The lakes are surrounded by a low bushes and small trees. On beyond that lies a huge flat dirt basin. One outstanding feature of Buena Vista Lakes is the extremely well maintained grassy picnic grounds along the northern side of the lakes.

Hernandez Reservoir - San Benito County, California

Jeff and I took a nice trip to Southern California for a Rodeo weekend in Banning, California outside of Palm Springs for the weekend.  We were camping with our two chocolate Labradors, Summer and Skye.  While on our camping adventure we set out to several lakes and reservoirs over the long weekend. 

I visited Hernandez Reservoir on my way home on 05/06/2019.  Hernandez Reservoir is a 590 acre artificial lake located at an elevation of 2.411 feet above sea level created by impounding water from the San Benito River in the Diablo Mountain Range.  Located in Central California,100 southeast of San Jose, California.  The Hernandez earthen filled dam was built in 1962 on the San Benito River to control water supply down to the communities near Hollister, CA.