Sutter Buttes Ascent (Sutter County, California)

 

When viewing a topographical map of the northern part of California's central valley, a tiny mountain range becomes prominent near Yuba City. I've often noticed this out of place range, but never really knew anything about it. My friends in the meetup discovered a guided hike going into this area, known as the Sutter Buttes, as part of the Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway. It seemed like a great opportunity to explore an area that I had learned exists almost entirely on private property.

The Sutter Buttes Range, known as the smallest mountain range in the world, was formed during volcanic activity approximately 1.6 million years. Marty, one of our guides, owns the largest single plot of land within the range and uses it primarily for cattle grazing and farming. To see cows up in these high (at least relative to the Sacramento Valley below us) jagged mountains seems quite out of place.

After caravaning out through the pastures and to the trailhead, we were treated to a short overview of the land from both a geological and historical perspective. As it turns out several Native America tribes thought of this area as a holy place and in addition, took advantage of the numerous blue oaks in the range for gathering acorns, one of their staple foods. Ancient grinding stones illustrate the truth of this history.

Most of the trail was either cattle trail or jeep trail, and while it was bit muddy in areas, the overall impression of the land was untamed. We quickly reached a fork and our group of fifty or so hikers split in two. The smaller group, mostly comprised of bird-watching enthusiasts, headed for a small reservoir, while our group headed up one of the steep peaks. 

In addition to the trails, we spent a fair amount of time bushwhacking our way up the steep, grass covered landscape. It was quite a workout. Arriving at the summit of our intended peak, we stopped for some lunch and more informative discussion with our guide. The overall group was happy for the rest, but as always, the members of our meetup group were anxious to get on the trail again. 

We quickly broke camp and headed for the next peak, which Marty referred to as Bald Dome and further explained that it was the geological center of the volcanic activity during the ranges formation. He has apparently taken quite an interest in the geology of the area over the last few years. It's great to see someone taking such an interest in their land.

We make our way down the hillside to the highest of three reservoir, built by Marty's grandfather in the 1960's. Along the way, we stop to see a tall waterfall hidden in the cliff. While we can hear water flowing, there is nothing to see today, though we are told that after a rain, it rages. 

Finally returning to the cars, we offer our thanks and say our goodbyes. The group was pretty slow-moving with lots of informational breaks, but we still managed to cover about 5.7 miles over the course of the day and with the steep ascents, we still got a good workout and more importantly a rare opportunity to see such a wondrous place.