80 acres hosted by Jessa C.
1 lodging site
Tucked into a vast valley of the Siskiyou Mountains in Southern Oregon. From ridge-top to riverside, guest are immersed in pristine nature and rugged landscape. This 80-acre property nestled along Birch Creek & the Little Applegate River.
PARTIAL HISTORIES OF THIS LAND
This part of the world is gold-mining land, and there are even still claims upriver today!
As with any monetary venture, there is ingenuity as well as tests of integrity.
The peaceful natives of this land, the Dakubetedes were all but obliterated, while Chinese immigrants were exploited for their engineering genius and labor to construct the 26.5 mile Sterling Mine Ditch.
It’s deep ruts are still quite evident, both physically and energetically.
We seek to learn and heal these parts of our history on this land. This description of the history, lightly touching on these atrocities, can be found on the BLM website:
“Long before the appearance of European settlers, Sterling Creek and the Little Applegate River area were traditional homelands of the Dakubetedes people. The Dakubetedes spoke a dialect of the Athabascan language group, unusual for the tribes in interior southwest Oregon. The Dakubetedes took part in the Rogue River Indian Treaties of 1853 and 1854 that resulted in their removal from their homelands to the Grand Ronde and Siletz Indian Reservations in northwest Oregon.
When gold was discovered in 1854 on Sterling Creek, prospectors poured into the area. At first, they panned for gold along the creek, but this proved to be inefficient in extracting the gold that was buried under layers of rock and soil. Hydraulic mining, using a powerful jet of water, promised better returns for large scale mining; they needed more water.
In 1877 miners built the Sterling Mine Ditch to redirect water from the upper reaches of the Little Applegate River to the Sterling Creek Mine. The ditch followed the contours of the rugged slopes of Anderson Butte and lost only 200 feet in elevation over its 26.5 mile length. Using hand tools, up to 400 workers, most of them likely Chinese, completed the ditch in just 6 months, at a cost of $70,000. The ditch carried water to the mine, and the trail alongside it provided access for ditch maintenance. During peak operation, hydraulic mining on Sterling Creek blasted away up to 800 cubic yards of soil and rock each day. Impacts to fisheries and water quality were immense, and generations would pass before the hydrologic balance and fish habitat in Sterling Creek would recover.
The mine discontinued operations in the 1930s, and the ditch and trail became overgrown with brush and trees. As you drive along Sterling Creek Road, you can see piles of stones and boulders along the creek that were left by hydraulic mining as soil was washed away in the search for gold. In addition to gold, the layers of soil and rock also yielded bones and tusks of elephants and other ancient inhabitants of the area.”
GLACIERS AND BIODIVERSITY
The biodiversity of the natural world is immense in our PNW pocket, and especially at here.
This description, and more info, can be found on the World Wildlife website under ecoregion,
“Klamath-Siskiyou.”
“Biological DistinctivenessThe Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion is considered a global center of biodiversity (Wallace 1982), an IUCN Area of Global Botanical Significance (1 of 7 in North America), and is proposed as a World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (Vance-Borland et al. 1995). The biodiversity of these rugged coastal mountains of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon has garnered this acclaim because the region harbors one of the four richest temperate coniferous forests in the world (along with the Southeastern Conifer forests of North America, forests of Sichuan, China, and the forests of the Primorye region of the Russian Far East), with complex biogeographic patterns, high endemism, and unusual community assemblages. A variety of factors contribute to the region’s extraordinary living wealth. The region escaped extensive glaciation during recent ice ages, providing both a refuge for numerous taxa and long periods of relatively favorable conditions for species to adapt to specialized conditions. Shifts in climate over time have helped make this ecoregion a junction and transition zone for several major biotas, namely those of the Great Basin, the Oregon Coast Range, the Cascades Range, the Sierra Nevada, the California Central Valley, and Coastal Province of Northern California. Elements from all of these zones are currently present in the ecoregion’s communities. Temperate conifer tree species richness reaches a global maximum in the Klamath-Siskiyous with 30 species, including 7 endemics, and alpha diversity (single-site) measured at 17 species within a single square mile (2.59 km2) at one locality (Vance-Borland et al. 1995). Overall, around 3,500 plant species are known from the region, with many habitat specialists (including 90 serpentine specialists) and local endemics.
The great heterogeneity of the region’s biodiversity is due to the area’s rugged terrain, very complex geology and soils (giving the region the name "the Klamath Knot"), and strong gradients in moisture decreasing away from the coast (e.g., more than300 cm (120in)/annum to less than 50 cm (20 in)/annum). Habitats are varied and range from wet coastal temperate rainforests to moist inland forests dominated by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Pinus ponderosa, and P. lambertiana mixed with a variety of other conifers and hardwoods (e.g., Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, Lithocarpus densiflora, Taxus brevifolia, and Quercus chrysolepis); drier oak forests and savannas with Quercus garryana and Q. kelloggii; serpentine formations with well-developed sclerophyllous shrubs; higher elevation forests with Douglas fir, Tsuga mertensiana, Abies concolor and A. magnifica; alpine grasslands on the higher peaks; and cranberry and pitcher plant bogs. Many species and communities have adapted to very narrow bands of environmental conditions or to very specific soils such as serpentine outcrops. Local endemism is quite pronounced with numerous species restricted to single mountains, watersheds, or even single habitat patches, tributary streambanks, or springs (e.g., herbaceous plants, salamanders, carabid beetles, land snails, see Olson 1991). Such fine-grained and complex distribution patterns means that any losses of native forests or habitats in this ecoregion can significantly contribute to species extinction. Several of the only known localities for endemic harvestman, spiders, land snails, and other invertebrates have been heavily altered or lost through logging within the last decade, and the current status of these species is unknown (Olson 1991). Unfortunately, many invertebrate species with distribution patterns and habitat preferences that make them prone to extinction, such as old growth specialist species, are rarely recognized or listed as federal endangered species. Indeed, 83 species of Pacific Northwest freshwater mussels and land snails with extensive documentation of their endangerment were denied federal listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1994 (J. Belsky, pers. comm. 1994).Rivers and streams of the Klamath-Siskiyou region support a distinctive fish fauna, including nine species of native salmonids (salmon and trout), and several endemic or near-endemic species such as the tui chub (Gila bicolor), the Klamath small-scale sucker (Catostomus rimiculus), and the coastrange sculpin (Cottus aleuticus). Many unusual aquatic invertebrates are also occur in the region.”Enjoy hiking, swimming and relaxing in our beloved Westfalia named "Vanny".
We are located within an hour's drive of Ashland and a variety of fun adventures and sites to see. Local gatherings are common here in Applegate Valley, including harvest festivals, plays (this is theatre country), workshops. Hiking is literally in our backyard, with our internal trails linking up to the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail system. Further out you’ll find vast vineyards and wineries ranging from casual to fancy, many kid-friendly. Longsword Vineyard is a particular favorite, located in Ruch approximately 20 minutes away, and is home to Wanderlust Theatre Company's summer productions as well as the landing site for world class hang and paragliding at WoodRat Mountain. Also in Ruch is Cantrell Buckley Park, a grocery store, restaurant and bar. Applegate Lake, and Squaw Lake further out, is a gorgeous spot for swimming, kayaking, SUP and boating. Heading towards Grants Pass you’ll find the Applegate Lodge (music shows) and many more wineries, farm stores, restaurants, white-water rafting on the Rogue River and even zip-lining! Heading in the other direction is the lovely historic gold-mining era town of Jacksonville (30-35 minutes), where you can enjoy the Peter Britt Music Festival as well as many restaurants, bars, shopping, and hiking trails. Major shopping & the airport is located in Medford (45 minutes.) Ashland (45-50 minutes) is our local cultural epicenter where you’ll find the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University, Lithia Park, boutique shopping, galleries and restaurants as well as mountain biking and snowsports at Mt. Ashland. Other notable sites include the Oregon Caves, Klamath National Forest, Crater Lake, Table Rock and Mt. McLoughlin. This entire area is filled with farms of all kinds and abundant outdoor activities. It is Oregon, after all.
ECOSYSTEM: The land encompasses a variety of ecosystems, from the mossy riverside, willow-bordered ponds, cedar forests, maple-lined meadows, massive evergreens rising up towards ridges of oaks and manzanita. The wild plant medicine & food on this land is vast, clean and abundant. You will very likely see deer, turkeys, a myriad of birds, our local duck family and the Western Pond Turtle, a threatened species that love our Farmhouse Pond. This land is home to a variety of other, more private and less cozy species, such as cougar, bear, fox, coyote, raccoon, bobcat and a rare rattlesnake. These critters hide out (we’ve only had couple fox & bobcat sightings personally) and won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.
CLIMATE: With our varied altitudes and tree cover, Trillium boasts a variety of microclimates within its 80 acres. Spring-time is precious here, with blooming apple & wild plum trees in April, mild temps and a good time for campfires in the chilly nights. In the heat of the summer, the river is always a refreshing spot. Rising north through the valley meadows, temps can rise to the 80’s during the summer. Further up the ridge will reach the 90s. If you plan on hiking, it’s good to plan accordingly i.e. start in the morning walking up the ridge, hooking up with Sterling Mine Ditch Trail, and descend through trees late morning/mid-day. Autumn is a vibrant show of color, with more modest temperatures. Rains run October - April approximately.
WATER: While we do have potable water and hot showers, our county has declared a water shortage. Due to this, we ask that if you can bring your own potable water, please do. Please be mindful of shower/sink water usage. Feel free to bathe in the river with environmentally friendly soaps… if you can stand the cold!
LEAVE NO TRACE: We ask you to practice radical self-reliance and bring everything that you need with you, and be prepared to pack it out with you as well. Keep your food and garbage packed tight so as not to attract wild animals or insects. Your host is happy to help with anything that you have forgotten as much as they are able to do so.
WIFI/CELL SERVICE: There is no cell service on the property. The intersection of Upper Applegate Road and Little Applegate Road is the last cell service before the property. Phones with wifi compatability (Googlefi) will work via our wifi.
Activities
Biking
Hiking
Paddling
Swimming
Natural features
River, stream, or creek
Swimming hole
Mountainous
Field
Location
Talent, Jackson, Oregon, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Shasta, Takelma, Cow Creek Umpqua, Modoc, Tolowa Dee-ni’, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking
Hosted by Jessa C.Joined in July 2018
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