Mysteries of the US West Coast

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Mysteries of the West Coast (Part 1)

June 18, 2004

http://www.unexplainedearth.com/pacific01.php

The western United States is home to many interesting and

unexplained places. On a recent trip to Canada, instead of flying, I

decided to travel by car and investigate some of the more unusual

sites found along the coast. Along the three-day, 1300-mile drive

from Los Angeles to Vancouver I would explore deserted caves,

uncover ancient artwork and even make an unexpected stop at

Stonehenge.

 

The weather was sunny and warm as my friend Eric and I began our

trip. Southern California seems to be protected by a bubble that

holds in the warm, sunny weather and keeps away the rain and cold.

But after an hour of driving, we moved beyond the borders of that

insulated shell and out into a foggy desert.

 

Our first stop was the Tule River Indian Reservation where a rock

outcropping houses some fascinating American Indian rock art that

may depict Bigfoot. (Read all about this peculiar site and view the

Bigfoot images here.)

 

Just outside the Reservation in nearby Exeter is another pictograph

site called Rocky Hill. We located the hill, but didn't know the

exact location of the rock art and there are no signs to point the

way. We pulled over and walked up and around the ridge, past modern

graffiti, but could find no trace of the images we sought. A local

resident knew of some small caves in the area, but did not believe

they contained any painted symbols or signs of ancient habitation.

After an hour of searching, we decided to chalk it up to a nice hike

and move on.

 

Throughout the Pacific Northwest, strange, dimple-like mounds can be

found dotting the landscape. Near Visalia, several specimens can be

seen amongst the fields along the roadside. While not as impressive

as the Mima Mounds in Washington, the San Joaquin Valley mounds are

just as mysterious and likely originated through a similar process,

natural or otherwise. As we continued north, we took a moment to

stop and photograph these enigmatic landforms.

 

 

The Berkley Mystery Walls

The hills around San Francisco hold a secret. Stretching for miles,

a series of ancient walls wind seemingly at random across the

rolling landscape. Constructed of basalt boulders ranging in weight

from a few pounds up to well over one ton, the walls look similar to

modern land boundaries, especially those found in New England. But

these walls are different.

 

Property records dating back to the Spanish missions give no clue as

to the walls' origins, but do prove that they were already in

existence at this time. Moreover, the seemingly random, snake-like

paths the walls follow does not seem consistent with modern property

boundaries.

 

Clues to the walls' ancient past can be found by examining their

composition. No metal tool marks can be found on the boulders.

Rather, they seem to have been obtained using a much cruder method

known as fire-quarrying in which animal fat is laid down in a line

along the top of a piece of stone and then set on fire. Next, cold

water is splashed onto the stone and the abrupt temperature

difference causes the rock to crack and eventually break off into

manageable chunks. If the walls were created by early settlers to be

used as land boundaries, they would not show signs of fire-quarrying.

 

Another logical suspect for the wall builders is the local Ohlone

Indians who inhabited the region as far back as 1500 years ago.

However, extensive archeological excavations of known ancient Ohlone

sites have shown no evidence that they used stone walls.

 

It seems likely that the walls existed before the Ohlone moved into

the area and were built by an as yet unknown people. Speculation

over who these mysterious inhabitants were has ranged from survivors

of Atlantis to extraterrestrials. The real answer is probably more

mundane but remains no less elusive. Perhaps in the future a

thorough archeological dig will be conducted to shed some light on

the real creators of these ancient barriers.

 

Although the walls stretch for miles from Berkley to Fremont,

locating sections that are still intact and not on private property

can be difficult. Luckily, Salvatore Trento's Field Guide to

Mysterious Places of the Pacific Coast lists several accessible

parts of the walls, and gives simple although sometimes vague

directions for reaching them.

 

Guidebook in hand, we arrived at our first stop, Tilden Regional

Park. We hiked up Seaview Trail for about half a mile and then

followed a small dirt path off to the right. There, along the

hilltop, was a small section of wall. Standing about three and a

half feet at its highest point, the wall was made up of a loose

jumble of stones of varying sizes. Trees and thick underbrush only

allowed us to walk beside the stones for a few dozen feet.

 

I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by the low barrier of piled

stones before me, especially when compared to the similar

unexplained walls north or Los Angeles known as Kalimu that I

visited several months before. (Read my report from Kalimu and

compare the walls for yourself here.)

 

However, I didn't want to judge the Berkley walls prematurely. I

knew other sites around San Francisco were known to contain much

more visually impressive examples of the stone barriers. Ready to

see those sites, we walked back towards the car.

 

Along the way, we spotted several examples of mud-ball concretions.

These strange stone spheres are found in abundance in the area

around Vollmer Peak, but geologists are unable to explain their

origin.

 

A more impressive section of the walls can be found about three

miles south on the slopes of Round Top Mountain in the Robert

Silbley Volcanic Regional Preserve. We were able to reach the

general area with no problems and we located what we thought was the

correct parking area at a trailhead.

 

We ascended the path until we came to a fork in the road. Following

one direction led us in a small loop around a tree. Choosing the

other direction took us to a No Trespassing sign and what appeared

to be someone's backyard. It was obvious that we were in the wrong

location, so we decided to move on and try our luck with the next

site.

 

After driving south for about 40 miles towards the city of Fremont,

we exited onto Mill Creek Road. From there Trento says, "Travel east…

for about 1.5 miles. …Pull off to the side of the road and walk

along the eastern flank. Be prepared for an astonishing sight!" I

was prepared, but I never did find that astonishing site.

 

Mill Creek Road is extremely narrow and follows the side of a hill

with a steep drop-off towards a river on the right. I watched our

mileage and at 1.5 miles, there was no obvious place to pull over,

only private driveways. We could see a few rocky outcroppings on the

hill above us, but there were no sections of the walls visible from

the road. Without a safe place to park, we were unable to explore

this area further.

 

It was getting late so we decided to continue on with our trip north

for a few more hours until finally stopping for some much needed

rest. The next morning was cold and windy as we climbed back into

the car and turned up the heat. I was eager to catch my first

glimpse of the mysterious Mount Shasta, but unfortunately the fog

and rain obscured our view. I knew we would pass by it again on the

way back from Vancouver, so we decided to press on in search of

better weather.

 

 

Lava Beds National Monument

Near the border with Oregon, we arrived at Lava Beds National

Monument. There's much to see at this fascinating park and it's

unfortunate that we only had the afternoon to explore it. After

pulling into the empty parking lot outside the Visitor Center, we

were greeted by a friendly park ranger who told us we were the first

visitors she had received all day. At least we wouldn't have to

worry about crowds!

 

Lava Beds National Monument is most famous for the over 400 lava

tube caves found within the park. We chatted with the ranger and got

some suggestions as to which caves to visit, rented two large

flashlights and set off. The first cave we decided to explore is the

largest and one of the most challenging caves in the park. An

intricate lattice of connecting passages, Catacombs Cave extends for

almost 7000 feet deep into the earth.

 

I clutched the small photocopied map the ranger had given me as we

descended a stone staircase towards the dark entrance of the cave.

Switching on my flashlight, I peered into the inky blackness beyond.

Except for the soft crunch of our footsteps, no sounds could be

heard. After we had traveled several hundred feet and were well out

of sight of the entrance, we paused a moment and switched off our

lights. Immediately the blackness enveloped us, obliterating my

sense of sight.

 

I carried three flashlights, a compass and a map, but in those few

seconds of darkness, disorientation brought about a fear that we

wouldn't be able to find our way out or that our lights might not

come back on. Only seconds had passed, but that was enough. We

switched on our lights and continued deeper into the tunnel.

 

Catacombs Cave gets its name from the many alcoves and passages that

reminded discoverer J. D. Howard of the burial chambers beneath the

city of Rome. As we made our way deeper into the cave system, the

description seemed chillingly accurate. Walking through the dark

passages gave me a new appreciation for the legends of underground

tunnels so common in the Pacific Northwest.

 

At least three publicly accessible caves within the park contain

pictographs painted long ago by the Modoc Indians who once inhabited

this land. The most spectacular of the three is Fern Cave. Years

ago, park rangers lead tours to Fern Cave on the weekends, but those

trips have since been canceled and the site is no longer accessible

to the public. Hopefully this will change in the future, but for now

it seems that one of the most impressive caverns in the park is out

of reach.

 

Two other lava tubes housing pictographs are still accessible, so we

drove down a side road towards the ominous sounding Skull Cave.

After hiking almost a mile along a sandy trail through the scrub

brush, a wooden sign announced our arrival at Big Painted Cave.

Although the cavern is over 250 feet in length, its amphitheater-

like entrance allows sunlight to filter all the way to the rear.

However, a flashlight is still useful for seeing the details of the

rock art found within.

 

The pictographs at Big Painted Cave are not nearly as numerous or

spectacular as those we had seen the day before that seemed to

depict Bigfoot. In fact, we had a hard time discerning the faint

geometric designs from the natural colors of the cave wall. Once our

eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, we were able to pick out

several faint images including some triangular markings along the

back wall, to the right of the walkway.

 

We climbed back to the surface and continued down the path towards,

Symbol Bridge. Several pictographs can be found clustered near both

entrances to this arch-shaped cave. Because the rock art is located

near the openings, a flashlight is not needed to appreciate it. The

images are painted in blacks and greys against lighter colored rock,

making them more distinct than the faded glyphs at Big Painted Cave.

 

It was getting late in the day, but we still had one more stop to

make. We drove north out of the park and quickly arrived at

Petroglyph Point. The temperature was low and the wind was howling

as I stepped out of the car to view the artwork. For thousands of

years, generations of Modoc Indians came to this isolated rock

formation that was once an island surrounded by an immense lake.

 

 

 

Tule Lake was drained and altered by the United States Bureau of

Reclamation at the beginning of the twentieth century and since

then, the petroglyphs have been accessible by foot. This easy access

has come at a price though. Exposed sand and gravel is now picked up

by the wind and blown against the soft rock of the cliff face, badly

eroding the ancient designs.

 

Over 5000 symbols are carved into the soft volcanic tuff, making

Petroglyph Point one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs in

North America. Most of the images at this site, like the pictographs

found in the lava tubes, are geometric in nature, but there are also

a few zoomorphic designs that resemble abstract humans and animals.

Dating petroglyphs is not an exact science, but wave cut analysis

indicates the majority of the artwork was carved 2500-4500 years ago.

 

I clutched my jacket and shoved my hands deep into my pockets, as

the temperature plummeted with the fierce wind. Just as I thought I

couldn't take the cold anymore, the wind relaxed and the sun dropped

beneath the clouds briefly illuminating the rock art in the red glow

of the sunset. I took a moment to enjoy the ancient artwork before

the clouds overtook the sun again.

 

 

Beehive Kilns

The next day we decided to try to track down some intriguing stone

structures mentioned in the book Weird America by Jim Brandon.

Described as "beehive kilns," the origin and purpose of these

ancient buildings is unknown and I was eager to take a look at them

myself. Before beginning our trip, I was unable to uncover any

further information as to the location of the kilns. In fact, I

wasn't even sure they still existed.

 

Nonetheless, we decided to make a stop in Galice, Oregon and have a

look around. Located along the picturesque Rogue River, the town of

Galice (pronounced gah-lees, like valise) is very small. I hoped

that someone in town would be able to direct us to the beehive kilns.

 

My directions were imprecise at best, stating that the structures

could be found about two miles southwest of town in the Siskiyou

National Forest. We drove around the approximate area where the

kilns should have been located, but saw no sign of them. I spoke

with several people in town, but unfortunately none of them had ever

heard of the beehive kilns or anything similar.

 

Weird America was published over 25 years ago, so it is possible

that the kilns no longer exist or that their location has been lost

to time. However, I'm continuing to research them and I may yet turn

up a more exact location for a future investigation.

 

Stonehenge Memorial

We came across our last mysterious site by accident. As we crossed

the Columbia River from Oregon into Washington, we noticed to our

great surprise what appeared to be Stonehenge. This certainly

merited a closer look, so we pulled into the gravel parking lot and

a plaque mounted on a pedestal told the story of this strange place.

 

 

( Click to enlarge )

 

Constructed from 1918 to 1929, Stonehenge Memorial Park was built by

Samuel Hill as a monument to the Klickitat County soldiers who gave

their lives serving in World War I. While visiting England during

the war, Hill was told that Stonehenge was once used as a place of

human sacrifice. He found it fitting to use the design of this

ancient structure as a monument to the sacrifices of soldiers in

modern war.

 

Of course it is now believed that human sacrifice did not occur at

Stonehenge, but rather the complex was used as an astronomical

observatory. An interesting diagram at the site shows how

calculations for measuring the seasons and plotting the positions of

the sun and the moon may have been carried out.

 

Once this memorial stood at the center of Maryhill, the town that

Samuel Hill founded. Unfortunately he neglected to install a water

system and all but the concrete monument were destroyed by fire.

Hill's tomb now lies only 50 yards away at the base of the bluff in

a secluded location.

 

Stonehenge Memorial Park is one of the world's most accurate

reproductions of England's ancient site. I visited the real

Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain about ten years ago, but walking

through this life-sized replica was a real treat. With no one else

around, we walked amongst the concrete monoliths and admired the

spectacular view out across the Columbia River.

 

The first half of our trip was drawing to a close, but we had just

as many unexplained places to look forward to on the drive back to

Los Angeles. In part two of this report I'll cover our visits to

several more sites including the Gingko Petrified Forest, the Indian

Painted Rocks in Yakima and the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot.

 

Sign up for a membership to UnexplainedEarth to get driving

directions to the sites listed above and view almost 100 high-

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Share your theories on the mysteries of the West Coast at the

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Further Reading:

 

Field Guide to Mysterious Places of the Pacific Coast

Salvatore Michael Trento

 

Weird America: A Guide to Places of Mystery in the United States

Jim Brandon