Welcome back to a monthly column focused on local day hiking destinations that, with a little imagination, will take you back in time to when our local Native Americans lived in a garden of Eden we now call home. For more hiking ideas, go to www.eastbayhillpeople.com and read the “Travelogue Blog” tab.
I would also like to encourage you to check out the online version of our local newspaper at https://beniciaheraldonline.com.  You can read old stories from all of our fine contributors and more.
This month we are going back in time to two Native sites.  One is at DL Bliss State Park on the West side of Lake Tahoe.  The other is in Round Valley (which I have previously written about) and was just found in August.  It’s also the site of a World War II aircraft crash site.
Let’s go check them out.
September is our favorite time of year at Tahoe.  No crowds, plenty of sunshine, the trees are turning gold and the critters are out and about.
DL Bliss State Park is a world class park on the shore of the Lake Tahoe, located along the quite west side of the lake, about 10 miles south of Homewood.  The usual activities are available including a large sandy beach, the trail head for the Rubicon trail, “the balancing rock” area and much more.  You’ll have to hurry because the park will close for the season late October.  Check website for current closing / etc…
There are at least two Washoe village sites in the park that are documented.  The Park Service has done a good job acknowledging the Washoes’ culture and history.  The whole park was a village for at least 10,000 years.  They called DL Bliss Park “Da aw a ga” meaning Edge of lake. Their territory included Tahoe all the way to Washoe lake in Nevada, an area of over 10,000 square miles.  In fact the Washoe’s still own and run the famous Meeks Bay resort at Lake Tahoe.
It seems that the Washoes’ life was pretty much like the Volvons on Mt Diablo and our own Patwin Suisunes. They were harvesting from the shores, hunting the hills, and in Benicia’s case, sleeping where the ball fields are today.
One known village is just above the entrance station behind the visitors center / museum and is pretty hard to find.  The second is a much more accessible site located in the parks nature walk.  The nature walk (no dogs) is a short loop trail that is kid friendly.  Just follow the signs and park by the tipi.
This authentically built tent is a fine place to start the little ones exploring.  If you take the trail to the right, walk about 100 feet to the top of a hill and on your left is a rock with obvious mortars on top.  Oh what a fine view of the lake it must have been for the Washoe!  Now a filtered view is possible, and it still uplifts the heart.  Many mortars are here in the area, all you have to do is use your eyes and imagination and the village comes alive.
The next stop on the loop trail is the “Balancing Rock” which is a natural rock formation of a curious shape. A very large, round boulder as tall as a house, supported by a slim stone stem, balances precariously above your head.
All people tend to attach a special meaning to a phenomena found in nature. The Washoe did, as do we, at their home we now called DL Bliss State park.  Proving once again that our state and national parks are America’s best idea.
On the way back to Tahoe City, you can take an awesome 20 minute side road to the top of the Sierra crest and the Pacific Crest Trail. You will be rewarded with incredible views of the lake and Desolation Wilderness. If you feel like hiking, the Ellis Peak trail head is available as is the Pacific Crest Trail heading both north (preferred) or south.  Look for Barker Pass Road and the Kaspian campground, on your left about two miles north of Homewood.  The pass is a beautiful eleven mile drive up the road.  Once again hurry, Caltrans closes the road in November.
To start or end your day, the Fire Sign Cafe at Sunnyside serves a great breakfast and lunch with beer and wine.  It’s open until 3 p.m. and dog friendly.
Next up is another visit to one of my favorite local hiking spots, Round Valley in the East Bay Regional Park District.  I have written about this pristine park in the past, but today I want to guide you to a new discovery made just this August and is also the site of a World War II plane crash.
For thousands of years, Round Valley served as meeting places for all the local tribes.  The main village has 327 mortars that we know of, so we are talking about a sizable population.  The newly discovered site is an easy 1.5 miles from the trail head.  You may want to wait for cooler weather because it can get very hot in Round Valley.
From the parking lot take the Miwok trail staying to the right along the creek.  At about 1.5 miles and just past the black water tank, look up the ravine to your right, near the top about 300 yards up the hill is the hidden debris field from the plane crash.  The best way to get there is to go to the new mortar site.  Look for the rocky spine that goes up the hill, about 100 yards up are 10 newly discovered mortars.  The view of Round Valley is superb, no wonder the Volvons chose this spot.
Please go to travel blog at www.eastbayhillpeople.com.  The newest blog will give you more information and directions to this great find.
To visit the crash site, continue 100 yards up the rocky spine (easy) staying to the right to a saddle.  Go to the right and just down the hill and under an oak tree you will see a cross, just beyond the cross and down the hill a bit is the debris field.
On July 17, 1945, Navy Ensign Robert Clark was returning from a training flight that included mock dog fights over Round Valley.  Young Clark threw his F8F Bearcat into a series of barrel rolls, but lost control and crashed.  The planes engine went 5 feet into the ground and exploded.  The navy removed Clark’s remains and left the rest.  Over the years mud slides, cows and time have dispersed much of the planes debris.  An old oak tree nearby looks to have been clipped by Clark’s plane as it went down.  God rest his soul.
Contact me for more photos.
Seize the day.

Richard DeGraffenreid and his wife Anne are 35-year residents of Benicia. He is also a drummer/songwriter, photographer, cook, dad and grandpa. He can be reached at Richarddegraffenreid@comcast.net.

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