Another metal detecting hot spot was found up at the Holy Terror Mill site on the Little South Fork. It was Fourth of July 1985 and a bunch of us backpacked in and were camped there. Eddie, Laurel, Jerry and I flew to San Francisco. Sherri, Marian, Geoff and Teri picked us up. We grabbed Paul on the fly in Redding, then drove around to the North side of the Trinity Alps....to Cecilville and the Little South Fork. We crossed the main stem of the South Fork and headed on up the trail. This turned-out to be the driest hike I've ever taken to this day. I was accustomed to finding side streams or springs to drink from, therefore, I carried no water. The Little South Fork taunted me the whole way up. You could see the river about 200' down in the gorge below, but it was too far and too steep to easily get to it. Six not-so-easy miles later, the trail and river merged. I drank voluminously from its cool waters. The campsite was a large open area near a claim called the Holy Terror Mill. A local bear shredded the claim sign. I reckon he thought it was HIS territory.

The day broke and we made breakfast....or at least Teri and Sherri did, with Stogie keeping a close eye on what was going on.

Eddie munched, Laurel sipped coffee, Marian mugged for the camera, and Geoff contemplated life, as the ladies toiled.

The first day, we just sort of lollygagged around camp and absorbed the good air and water. Deep in the forest, Laurel and Sherri caught a few rays and read, while Paul got ready to dip his line in the Little South Fork.

I had hauled my trusty ADS II in with me. I made my way over to a flat area near the creek and bing, bang, boom. First up was an extremely fine 1927-S Mercury dime. It still has a trace of mint luster. Minutes later, a very fine 1923-S Merc appeared, followed by a 1920-S Merc in good condition. Several minutes later, not very far away I found a 1916-S, 1927-S and 1923-S penny. Not bad for about a half hour's work. Given the wear-state of both the 1927-S penny and dime, and the close proximity of all the finds, it's reasonable to concoct a story. An old miner was up at this site in the late 1920s. He either tied one on and flopped around on the ground, or maybe his pants were so well worn that a hole in the pocket let the coins escape. I came along over 55 years later to recover them.

I displayed the whole haul on my knee.

The next day, we made the cross country trek up to Little South Fork Lake. Wayne F. Moss summed it up in his book, The Know It All Guide to the Trinity Alps:

There are several ways to reach this natural trout hatchery. All of them are tough. None of them can be recommended, but if you're dead set on catching huge fish, or want to step into a time machine and what the alps looked like 50, 75, even 175 years ago, then Little South Fork Lake should be on your list.

Dick Everest is probably right. There ain't no good way to get to LSFL, but if you have to go, drive to Cecilville and hike up the Little South Fork Trail until you cross the outlet stream. Follow the outlet stream, stay left at the waterfall, to the lake.

Well, if that's what ol' Wayne F. Moss says to do, then by-golly, that's what we're going to do. I got a jump on the hike and waited at the top of the waterfall whilst the rest of the group hoisted poor ol' Stogie up the cliff. I didn't plan it that way....honest. A short while later, we were on our way, following the outlet stream and climbing a fairly steep grade.

Before long, the route leveled-off and we found a warm tarn. It looked inviting, so we took a little dip. Right on the other side of the tarn, the route descended down to the lake. Eddie leads Paul and Jerry.

LSFL is a beautiful lake that likely gets few visitors.

Wayne Moss was right. LSFL had a plentiful supply of huge fish. Without exception, they all suffered from a severe case of lockjaw. We fished several hours and got nary a bite. Of course, the noon to 3 PM feeding frenzy never was anything other than a myth. If you had to pick a worse time to fish, you'd be hard pressed. No one can say my pal Geoff doesn't try.

Jerry tried too, with the same results. Nice picture though.

The next day we packed it up.

I can't believe we only hung around for a couple days. I guess I didn't have nearly as much vacation time back in those days. On the way out, we stopped to swim in the South Fork of the Salmon River. Jerry and Paul tried to beat the current. The current won. I saved them the embarrassment of scanning their pictures in their gutchies.

Dat's it for the Little South Fork trip. I'd like to go back there some day....and fish in the morning....and carry some water on the way up!

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