California-Nevada Chapter
Oregon-California Trails Association

CA-NV Chapter
Oregon-California Trails Association
P.O. Box 1521
Yreka, CA 96097

canvocta@gmail.com

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OCTA - National

Grizzly Flat Mapping Team

by Dee Owens

	This season we were able to map about 80% of the approximately twenty mile Grizzly Flat Cutoff.
In several places the Cutoff follows or parallels existing Forest Service roads.
	Deep swales that haven't seen traffic of any kind in years are a clue to the route.
We discovered a telephone line from the early 2oth Century followed the Grizzly Flat Cutoff for several miles.
	Capps Crossing Campground is about half way from Leek Spring to Grizzly Flat along the Grizzly Flat Cutoff. Emigrant diaries tell of camping along the Consumnes River as we often did this season.
The emigrant diaries seem to describe a section of the route that differs from the GLO maps. We saw some evidence of this route this year but plan to search again in the future.

Reading the emigrant diaries is not only helpful in finding the route but also helps me imagine what life was like on the trail. The excerpt below from Caroline Richardson's diary tells of two murders that took place near Leek Spring. I was able to find the following newspaper articles online describing the murders.
Caroline Richardson Friday, September 17,1852 ascended a long hill or short mountain on top of which a man was shot and robed of his money a few weeks ago the spot is marked by a large tree at the top of the hill descended the same very steep again ascended over a long tiresome mountain very rocky at the top a short distance descended into leek spring vally where are situated several trading posts where pork is thirty cents a pound onions the same potatoes twenty five flower forty and things in the same ratio …….camped about a mile and a half from posts this valley is well watered with springs and also well covered with leeks which probably gave it its name feed very scarce used water from creek near a place where two men were shot by Indians ths summer this is said to be the most dangerous place on the road
Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 3, Number 448, 30 August 1852
Daily Alta California, Volume 3, Number 189, 9 July 1852

Updated: 11/28/11

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