Summer's Reflection at Orr Lake

Visiting a rarely-appreciated gem on the east side of Siskiyou: 

Orr Lake, a high desert oasis tucked in a the base of Orr Mountain between 

Goosenest and Mt. Hoffman and with a view to Mt. Shasta to the south.

Fed by overflow from nearby Butte Creek, Orr Lake survives year-to-year on its winter income and yet provides a home for lily pads and fish all summer.

Downriver: Fire and Water

With multiple fires burning around us, we took a little loop drive from the Scott River to the Klamath and back home.  The air was filled with smoke and the landscape reminded us of fire at every turn.

The abandoned Fire Lookout on the point at Scott Bar Mountain once gave a view onto the Scott River's big turn north to the Klamath.  Today the view is hazy and indistinct.

Jones Beach below was a quiet respite of dappled light, where baby fish darted in shallow pools.

And still the smoke could be seen beyond.

Lake Mountain Fire Lookout, reached by a winding road west of the Scott, is the oldest lookout tower still in continuous use in Forest Service Region 5 (California) and is currently staffed by 

Nancy Hood, the longest-serving lookout in probably the whole U.S.

Below the tower, a beautiful silver-leafed buckwheat matches to an astonishing degree 

the lichen-crusted rocks of Lake Mountain.

An old fox-tail pine shows a cat-face fire scar, now lined with lichen but still alive.
This tree is one of a stand at the northern-most limit of fox-tails.