HERE WE GO This is the start of High Rock Canyon, one of the more spectacular segments of the Applegate Trail. As shown in this photo, there were several vehicles in the group heading into the canyon - just in case.  Be prepared for very slow travel, thick sagebrush, rocks too close to the route of travel, and places where you will have to stop, get out, and look before proceeding. You may even have to move a few rocks on the road to pass some difficult spots. Normally, traffic flows from High Rock Lake in the south to the north through the canyon.  Occasionally, however, someone drives in the opposite direction. That can be a problem since it is often difficult for two vehicles to pass each other while in the canyon. Photo by Dick Brock.

IN THE CANYON Driving the High Rock Canyon is spectacular - if you can stop watching the route of travel long enough to look at the scenery.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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THE NARROWS It is somewhat difficult to see in the photo above where the road comes from and where it is going. The road climbs up a short but difficult stretch of road to reach the point at the top of the ridge where the photo was taken.  Then the road continues over and down the other side of the ridge to pass through a narrow slot in the ridge ahead.  The slot, cut by a creek, is also the route of the Applegate Trail.  While not so named on maps, the narrow slot is called "The Narrows" by people familiar with the location.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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YELLOW ROCK CANYON Named for the yellow rocks on the cliffs forming this side canyon, Yellow Canyon is a favorite spot to stop and look. That is an abandoned building you can see next to the route of travel.  It was part of a homestead that had to be abandoned because the area was already owned by a large ranching operation.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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FALL COLOR AT STEVENS CAMP One of the joys of taking a late season tour of the Applegate Trail is being able to experience the fall colors.  The photo above shows some of the fall colors that can be seen along the trail.  It was taken near the beginning (east end) of Upper High Rock Canyon and Trails West Marker A-20 near Stevens Camp.  Further information on this location can be found in the Applegate Trail Guide.  Photo by Alison Portello.

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BRUFF'S ROCK On September 29, 1849, a shetch of a "singular rock on left of road" was made by J. Goldsborough Bruff. This singular rock is shown in the photo above.  The rock is located on the Applegate Trail near the present-day Massacre Ranch.  Photo by Alison Portello. To see J. Goldsborough Bruff's sketch of the rock he made famous, see the Trails West Guide to the Applegate Trail. Trails West Marker A-22, which contains an inscription taken from an entry Israel Hale made in his diary on August 29, 1849, is near Bruff's "singular rock".  This entry in Hale's diary reads:

APPLEGATE TRAIL - SINGULAR ROCK "AFTER WE LEFT (UPPER HIGH ROCK) CANYON WE CROSSED OVER ONE OR TWO HILLS AND PASSED SOME WATER AND GRASS AND THEN TOOK ROUND A HILL AND ENCAMPED IN A VALLEY A SHORT DISTANCE AFTER PASSING SOME LARGE ROCKS ON OUR LEFT."

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LONG VALLEY After making their way through the sagebrush past Bruff's Rock, the emigrants reached present day Long Valley.  The route followed is just to the south (your left) of the present-day bladed road.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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UPPER ALKALI LAKE That brownish barren area in the mid-background is Upper Alkali Lake, viewed from near Fandango Pass. This Lake had to be crossed or bypassed to reach Fandango Pass in order to cross over the Warner Mountains located to the west of the lake.  The route followed was determined by how much water was in the lake.  When the lake was virtually dry, as it was when this photo was taken, emigrants could have crossed almost any place they wanted to.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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ON THE WAY UP Getting to the top of Fandango Pass in the present day Warner Mountains was a difficult process because the trail gained about 1,600 feet in a little over 2 miles (most of the gain was in the last mile). That is Upper Alkali Lake in the background.  For further information about this steep climb, see the Trails West Guide to the Applegate Trail.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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FANDANGO PASS The top of Fandango Pass is shown in this photo. There are now two monuments located there to honor the emigrants who traveled over this pass on their way to California or Oregon.  Trails West has a marker located just off the bladed road a short distance to the west of the monuments. Photo by Dick Brock.

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FANDANGO VALLEY After crossing over Fandango Pass, the emigrants dropped down a long slope to a long, narrow meadow. They traveled through this meadow from left to right before heading into the trees on their way to Goose Lake.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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A ROCKY ROAD To get through a wide area of rocks that blocked their route, the emigrants had to move rocks aside to form a path.  This path with its border of rocks on both sides is still evident today (it is the brown scar going from the right foreground to the center background). Look at it and wonder.  Would we today do the same amount of work to get to where we want to go?  Photo by Dick Brock.

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WHY? At times, one must wonder why the emigrants followed the route they did.  After passing through the rock field shown in the previous photo, the emigrants made a big loop through the trees.  Looking a map often does not help explain why.  Only by looking at the ground can one see why the loop was made. Shown in the photo is the reason -- another very rough volcanic rock field.  Instead of moving rocks aside, the emigrants bypassed the rock field by going around it.  Photo by Dick Brock.

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GOOSE LAKE Shown in this photo is a small part of Goose Lake. The route continues past Trails West Marker A-32 to drop down to the lake shore where it heads south.  At the south end of the lake, Oregon-bound travelers went around the south end of the lake and then headed northwest.  California-bound travelers continued south on the Lassen Trail which branched off of the Applegate Trail at the south end of Goose Lake.  Photo by Dick Brock.

You have reached the point where the Applegate Trail bends around Goose Lake on its way to Oregon and where the Lassen Trail begins.  At this point, you could continue your virtual tour of the Applegate Trail as it winds its way northwest to southern Oregon.  Or, you could take a virtual tour of the the Lassen Trail. What would you like to do? Continue on the Tour of the Applegate Trail, Take A Virtual Tour of the Lassen Trail

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