o oMARKERS OF THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL

THE MARKERo September

THE NEWSLETTER OF TRAILS WEST, INC.1999 0

SOMETHING NEWThere has been an increasing demand for some

kind of a newsletter to keep members of Trails Westinformed about what Trails West is doing. In responseto this demand, this is the first of our new quarterlynewsletters. Hopefully, you will find these newslettersboth informative and interesting to read.

The name chosen for our newsletter reflects ourprimary activity of identifying and marking theCalifornia Trail with our unique steel markers. We arethe "markers of the California trail." If you think youhave a better name for our newsletter, please send itto us.

We are not sure of what this newsletter shouldnormally contain. Consequently, we would like toknow what you would like for us to include. Pleasesend your suggestions to us.

SUMMER 2000 OUTINGSWe have tentatively scheduled the following dates

for our Summer 2000 outings:

June 23, 24, & 25 and September 15, 16, & 17

At this time we do not know where these outingswill take place. Information on which trail or route wewill work on will be provided in a future newsletter.

TRAIL MARKING STATUSThe California Trail from its Raft River beginning to

the Humboldt Bar has been completely marked andhas up-to-date inscriptions on most of the markers.We have however identified several inscription platesthat need to be changed due to vandalism. This weplan to do next summer.

The markers on the Applegate Trail from theCallahan Bridge to Goose Lake has been renovatedwith most of the inscription plates replaced. Theremainder of the Applegate needs to be done, but itfirst must be researched. The Lassen Trail has been

completely re-marked.

The Nobles Cutoff is currently being researched fornecessary changes. The same is true of the TruckeeRoute. Enough of the Truckee is done to allow us towork a long segment of that route. This we willprobably do during the summer of 2000. The researchnecessary to redo the Carson River Route has notbeen started.

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yt~1C~~~DON BUCK IS STANDING IN THE SWALE ATMARKER C-13 ON THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL

PEOPLE ON THE GOMembers of TW are busy people. Obviously

many of them help with renovation of the TW markersused to identify the various segments of the CaliforniaTrail. If that was not enough, many of our membersare involved in other activities as well. For. example,the following people helped put on the 1999OCTA Convention held in Chico, California, on August11th through the 15th:

Dick BrockDon Buck

Tom DoughertyEd Dunkley

[CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE]

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PEOPLE ON THE GO, CONTINUED

Don EnnekingDick HallfordNorine KimmyJack LepistoPat Loomis

Jim McClainMary MuellerEd & Kathy OttoAlison PortelloBill & Shann Rupp

Milt Otto made a presentation to the Native Sons ofthe Golden West in the town of Sutter, California, onJune14, 1999. He talked about the California Trailfrom its Raft River beginning to its end in California.Among other things, Milt told the audience about howwe have marked the trail and how we are almost readyto publish out Guide for the segment of the trail fromthe Raft River to the Humboldt Bar.

Visual aids included the wooden TW marker thatMilt made some years ago and a number of maps ofthe area. Trails West needs more people like Milt whohas proven himself willing to present Trails West to thepublic. Good show, Milt.

THE FENCED GRAVE SITE AT MARKER C-44.THE HUMBOLDT RIVER IS IN THE BACKGROUND

Ed & Kathy Otto have recently moved to Utah fromSacramento. Ed, a civilian employee of the U.S. AirForce, was transferred to Hill Air Force Base whenMcCelien Air Force Base in Sacramento was orderedclosed. Even though they are now far away from us,Ed, Kathy, and their two boys participated in the JuneTW outing, and helped lead the Carson River Tour forthe OCTA Convention. Ed says he will continue beingactive as a member of the TW Board of Directors.Obviously, Ed and Kathy are committed TW members.

NEW GUIDE BOOKThe new TW Guide to the California Trail will be

available soon. This Guide covers the Trail from the

Raft River in southern Idaho to the Humboldt Bar inNevada. Approximately 530 miles of the Emigrant Trailare included in this Guide.

The new Guide identifies the location of 104 TWMarkers, presents driving instructions to each of them,and identifies driving problems where they exist.Those people interested in history will enjoy this newGuide for it contains 329 quotations from relevantemigrant diaries and journals. Capsule histories[Historical Commentaries] are provided for 61 of the104 locations along the trail. Adventuresome peoplewill find the 18 alternative driving suggestionsinteresting. Approximately 100 Photographs and 31unique maps are also contained in the Guide.

The new Guide will retail for $20.00 plus $3.00S&H. TW members may buy a copy of the Guide for$15.00 plus $3.00 S&H. To order a copy, send yourrequest plus a check for $18.00 to Trails West, 4025Black Tail Drive, Sacramento, CA 95823. Or completethe order form contained in TW's website.

This new Guide is the first in the series that TWplans to create. The next one will cover the ApplegateTrail from Rye Patch to Goose Lake and then theLassen Trail to Vina, California.

JULY, 1999 OUTING REPORTby Jack Lepisto

The July outing started on Friday morning the 6th infront of Bruno's Country Club in Gerlach, NV, at 8:00AM. After a briefing by Don Buck, we drove to MarkerA-15A which is located across the valley from DoubleHot Springs where we had ended the June field trip.The drive up there offered early morning vistas of theBlack Rock and the desert playa. It was stunning, withall the canyons in shadow, peaks and ridges outlinedagainst the blue sky, and the stark shades of white onthe playa. Very, very spectacular.

After painting A-15A and A-15B, we drove to A-16for our first plate replacement which in the pastusually required a lengthy stop and hard work drillingthe four new holes required for our aluminum plates ..Now, with a simple but ingenious device developed byMilt Otto, drilling time takes about fifteen minutes[or less] for the four holes. Milt's new device, nowknown as "Milt's Arm, is described on page 4 of thisnewsletter.

Our first day ended in a wide flat area in High RockCanyon, about one mile inside the Sourth entrance,where we set up camp. While doing so we werewatched from above by a small herd of Desert Big

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BLACK ROCK SPRING WITH THE PLAYAAND THE CALICO HillS IN THE BACKGROUND

PHOTO BY ALISON PORTEllO

Horn Sheep. It was an awesome and thrilling exper-ience for me. The second day was spent passingthrough High Rock Canyon (one flat tire) that morning,then painting/replacing plates to Massacre Ranch.During lunch at Stephens Camp, we met a small groupof people waiting for Ed Dunkley's tour group comingup the trail from Rye Patch. As many of you know,Ed's tour includes evening meals cooked by a crew ofvolunteers that meets the tour at each overnightlocation. We had our potluck dinner that evening atMassacre Ranch. Featuring BBQ baby back spareribs, the potluck was outstanding as usual.

The next morning we proceeded on our way toSurprise Valley, painting and replacing plates alongthe way. That afternoon most of the group left forhomes. Three of us continued painting markers up toFandango Pass where we reluctantly had to end theouting late in the day.

Due to our effort this summer on the June and Julyoutings, all the Applegate Trail markers up to A-28B(Fandango Pass) are painted and in good shape.Other than the one flat tire (after the near disastrousseven on the June outing) all participants enjoyed thetrip and can be proud of their accomplishments.

ANNUAL BANQUETThe annual banquet will be held on Saturday,

March 25, at the Sundowner Casino in Reno, NV"March. We considered the Boomtown Casino but itwould not accept a reservation from us until sometimein January, 2000. Obviously, we could not wait thatlong to be sure of having a location for the banquet. Inaddition, the Sundowner has been very good to TrailsWest Not only is their pricing good for us, but their

Banquet Manager refused to accept a cancellation ofthe 1999 banquet that she received over the telephoneseveral weeks before the banquet was to be held. Ifshe had accepted the cancellation instead of checkingfurther, we would have arrived at the casino expectinga banquet and not had one.

Frank Tortorich will be our guest presenter for the2000 Annual Banquet. His presentation will relate tothe Carson River Route of the Emigrant Trail. We lookforward to hearing what Frank has to say about thisimportant route.

SOME HISTORYDuring the June and July, 1999 field trips the first

three inscription plate installed on any segment of theEmigrant Trail by what is now Trails West, Inc., werereplaced. These three plates and the markers theywere attached to were placed at Black Rock Springs,Double Hot Springs, and Fly Creek by Dorothy Amos,Robert Hunt, Jim Linebaugh, and Francis Page duringOctober, 1969. They obtained the markers andinscribed plates from the Emigrant Trail MarkingCommittee which had decided to stop marking theTrail. Yes, Trails West is almost 30 years old!

Your President has proposed creating a display ofthese three historic inscription plates. This displaywould then become a permanent part of Trails West'shistory.

WE HAVE RAILEarly this year we asked for contributions to

purchase the rail that we need to continue our markingof the California Trail and its many branches. We weresuccessful in that enough money was donated to allowus to purchase 16 sections (30' & 33') of 75-pound rail.This rail was hauled to Tom Dougherty's house by oneof his neighbors who has a 35' trailer. Now we need tocut the rail and fabricate new markers for our futureuse.

We will need to schedule a work party to cut therail, weld it to form new markers, and then prime them.If you are interested in helping with this work, pleaselet us know.

Old Ephriam, the 49'er says: "He who makes nomistakes does not usually make anything."

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THE SWALE AT MARKER C-72THIS MARKER IS LOCATED WEST OF THE

HUMBOLDT RIVER, SOUTH OF THE RYE PATCHDAM. GIVEN ITS LOCATION, FEW PEOPLE WILL

VISIT THIS MARKER OR SEE THE SWAlE NEXT TO IT.

1999-2000 BOARD MEMBERSThe Board of Directors for the September 1, 1999

to August 31,2000 term, their home phone numbers,their E-Mail address, and the two year period theywere elected to serve Trails West are:

Dorothy Amos, 530-342-7908 [1998 - 2000]Dick Brock, 619-424-2429, dicbee@aol.com [1998

- 2000]Jack Lepisto, 916-624-0844,

woodcutr@pacbell.net [1999 - 2001 ]Ed Otto, 801-775-9348, otto.ed@juno.com [1998-

2000]Milt Otto, 530-742-3863, motto@syix.com [1999-

2001]Ken Theiss, 775-324-2925, ktfords@cs.com

[1998 - 2000]Sandy Theiss, 775-329-2613 [1999 - 2001]

A new President and Vice-President for the 1999 -2000 term will be elected from among the Board at thefirst Board Meeting after September 1, 1999.

The Board Secretary, an appointed position, is KayKelso, 916-446-3888, kay@mud.water.ca.gov.

Since Board Members are elected to serve twoyear terms, four new Board Members must be electedby the membership early in 2000. These may be newTrails West members or the three currently servingmembers whose terms of office are over in 2000. Ifyou are interested in serving on the Board, please letDick Brock know. The Board meets in either Reno orSacramento a minimum of two times per year. Up to

four meetings may be scheduled if required.

OUR NEW SAWBert Ashton kept looking and finally found a new

"used" cutoff saw for us to cut the rail we use tofabricate our markers. Bert purchased the saw for us[$500-plus], and personally hauled it over to TomDougherty's house where it is now located. Thank youBert.

BLACK ROCK SPRING WITH THE PLAYA ANDTHE CALICO HILLS IN THE BACKGROUND

PHOTO BY ALISON PORTEllO

MILT'S NEW ARMby Jack Lepisto

Many of you can recall the hard, hot work we havealways experienced when drilling the holes required formounting a new aluminum plate on an existing marker.Well, that will soon become a memory due to MiltOtto's genius. Milt developed a new device, which isbeing called "Milt's Arm," that makes the drilling of therequired holes an easy task. As shown on the nextpage, "Milt's Arm" consists of a short chain loop and ahardwood board about four feet long (for the techytypes: hardwood billet; 2 by 3 inches by 4 feet). Theboard is passed through the '0' handle of the drillmotor and the looped chain placed on one end of thehead rail. One person guides and runs the drill motorwhile another leans or pushes on the extended end ofthe board providing the leverage and pressure neededfor the drilling process.

The new apparatus, first used in June on the RaftRiver trip, is truly a labor and time-saving device andMilt should be commended by all the TW 'drillers',past, present and future [see photo on the next page].

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MILT'S ARM IN USE AT MARKER C-1ED ana IS DRILLING, MILT ana IS HOLDING THE

CHAIN IN PLACE AND DON BUCK IS PUSHING ON THEBOARD TO PUT PRESSURE ON THE DRILL BIT.

PHOTO BY RICHARD HALLFORD

CALIFORNIA NATIONAL HISTORICTRAIL LOGO

Trails West is now placing the California NationalHistoric Trail Logo [shown above] on each marker thatis renovated during our field trips.

The decal has black lettering on a reflective silverbackground and a brown yoke depicted on a yellowbackground. It is an attractive decal, especially whenviewed against a dark brown Trails West Marker.

After a marker has been cleaned and painted adecal is placed on the front surface of the upright stemjust below the cross piece that the inscription plate is

riveted to.

Trails West obtains these decals at no cost fromthe Long Distance Trails Office of the National ParkService located in Salt Lake City, Utah. We do have tosend in an annual report stating how many decalshave been put on our markers during the year. Wealso have to state how many people were involved inthe placing the decals on our markers.

THE TRAILS WEST WEB SITETrails West has had a web site on the World Wide

Web since last March. This web site provides infor-mation on who we are, what we do, our banquet andoutings schedule for the year, and our Trail Guides. Aprintable Trail Guide order form is provided for theconvenience of the viewer. In addition, we provideinformation on our membership requirements alongwith a printable application form.

This web site was recently updated to providemore current information and to add a page showingsome photographs of our activities. Some trailphotographs are also included. Most of thephotographs used on the new page were taken byAlison Porte 110, our great photographer.

If you have access to the World Wide Web, checkour web site out. And tell your friends about it for theymight be become interested in joining our activities.The web site is at:

www.emigranttralswest.org

THAT'S ALL FOR NOWWe have run out of information to include in this,

the first of our new newsletters. Let us know what youthink of it. Also, we will need your help to continue toprovide it. As you may know, the hardest part ofproducing a newsletter is getting the information toinclude in it. So, if you have something that might beincluded, send it to us. Your suggestions as to whatkind of information would be of interest to you wouldalso be appreciated.

Old Ephriam, that wise 49'er says "If at first youdo succeed, try to hide your astonishment."

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