On Safari: Hornbrook and Klamath River

We are six miles east of Hornbrook, California and I-5. Our campsite is along the beautiful Klamath River, the water is full and clear at this time of year. As I look out the window sipping my mug of hot water, I can see the golden sun on the mountain, trees and barely to the edge of the water, it is 6:14AM. The sun is casting it's long shadow and the color saturation is optimum for that Kodak moment. The air feels fresh and no noise but the rippling sound of water flowing under our window. There is a family of ducks close to the shore playing around and having breakfast. Not a care in the world. The river runs swiftly and when I see the small white caps, I imagine salmon on their way upstream to their spawning grounds.

Yesterday, some of the campers launched their kayaks and floated downstream. The river has some white water areas but not anything that would tip you over…famous last words. If you are a fisherman “wannabe”, there is a fly fishing school here and we see boats drifting by with fishermen casting their lines in the water dancing their fly onto the surface inviting the fish to bite. It’s the perennial cat and mouse game, who’s got the best trap or lure…

The Klamath headwaters are in Oregon with confluences with the Shasta River, Trinity River and Salmon River before reaching the Pacific Ocean. Before the six dams were built, this river was the third-largest producer of salmon on the West Coast. However, it is still famous for its salmon runs, later this year around October and November millions of salmon will return to their home to spawn; their home is the Iron Gate Hatchery. The returning adult salmon make a 190-mile trip from the ocean to the hatchery. We hiked to the hatchery yesterday and spent 30 minutes talking to the fish technician, we met him in the building where the fry (baby salmon) were being cared for until they are large enough to be put out into the runs. The runs contained millions and millions of Coho, Chinook and steelhead fingerlings which will be release in the river later this year. The natural life cycle of a salmon is 2 to 5 years.

Our front row seat next to the Klamath River. See the Internet satellite antenna on top of the coach? that's how you get our emails. We've joined the 21st Century.

The flyfishing fisherman after their elusive dinner.

Floating down the river, what a life....Somebody's got to do it.

Looking up stream and taking in Mother Nature.

This is a shot for Randy Siple. It's a American LaFrance hook and ladder and probably for sale if you are interested.

We had a great visit with the fish technician at the Iron Gate Hatchery. He spent 30 minutes talking with us and answering our dumb question. Does a fish sleep?

This is the Chinook Salmon run, there are millions of fingerlings eating, resting and waiting for their time of release into the Klamath River and subseqently to the Pacific Ocean 190 miles downstream

1,000,000? Count them...and this is only one family.