The Pacific Crest Trail strolls by Hyatt Lake above, not far from Ashland Oregon, where Northern Californians come up to watch Shakespeare. Honestly the drive up overlooking a deep beautiful valley was far more striking than the pretty lake, but I couldn’t get a decent photograph. The Cascade, Klamath & Siskiyou mountain ranges meet here, and the meadow in the valley is known as Hyatt Prairie. Besides larger animals, the area is well known for bird and butterfly watching, with hundreds of species.

I finally understand the naming conventions of the mountains up here. The Pacific Coast Mountain System includes all the coastal mountains from California up into Alaska. Within that, the Cascades are the young volcanic mountains that run through northern California up to Canada, including Mt Lassen, Mt Shasta, Crater Lake, Mt Rainier, and other stratovolcanoes up to the North Cascades. Within that, the Klamath Mountains are an older range formed by tectonic uplift in northern California and southern Oregon that includes the important Rogue, Smith, Klamath, and Trinity River watersheds, plus the headwaters of the Sacramento River around Shasta Lake. Within that, the Siskiyou Mountains are the stretch that connects the coastal mountains of northern California and Oregon between the Klamath and Rogue Rivers.

This mountainous Bureau of Land Management national monument has fascinating geology, great rivers, and diverse wildlife. The weird mix of soils from ancient seabeds to volcanic debris presents challenges to the plants that have adapted here. Two examples are the cobra lily, a cowled pitcher plant, and the serpentine jewelflower which takes on a purplish tinge here. I recommend reading some of the free Cascade-Siskiyou guides on animals, butterflies, geology and plants before going hiking.

There’s something magical about the smell of the forests up here in Oregon, with the occasional colorful butterfly scooting past, and folks taking their kids fishing while camping by the lake. In town, I tried morel mushrooms and a chocolate porter at the Caldera Brewery, and it was the best meal I’ve had since leaving San Francisco. Folks up here seem to understand the good life.