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The Flume Trail area is full of an abundance of seasonal creeks, lakes, wild flowers and some of the best views of Lake Tahoe in the region. The Washo Indians for thousands of years migrated to this area in the summers from the Carson Range to hunt, fish, harvest roots and berries. This tribe would make baskets and perform rituals based on their traditions and belief system. Thus the Flume trail area is very sacred to the tribe and in the 1800's that would come to an end as the white settlers had arrived.

When the white settlers arrived they stripped this area of its wood to provide lumber for the Comstock and building of local towns like
Virginia City. Commercial fisheries were established just below the Flume Trail and a new era had begun. Due to the fact that gold and silver mining required allot of timber and water this area was the same site that an intricate system of flumes and pipelines was laid out. The mining spurred the building of a box flume which would carry water from Marlette Lake to the Tunnel Creek Station.

This flume and another from the north combined at one point then entered a 4000' tunnel which would empty on the east side of the Carson Range. Then it joined with a pipe from the Comstock which in turn exited into a reservoir near
Virginia City. The amount of water being brought to the reservoir per day was around 10 million gallons. Even today the pipe line is rumored to still work. For example the water supplied today comes from the Hobart Reservoir and Red House. Red House however is the last remaining flume maintenance station and in 1910 it was rebuilt after a flood hit the area killing two.

Eventually the Comstock would decline in growth as livestock and lack of mining began the decline for the need of timber. Today most of the trees have grown back this past century however if you were to take a stroll you would see signs that this area at one time was heavily logged. All the ancient trees at least most are no longer found along the Flume Trail however the area is slowly once again being consumed by nature.

In the 1960's the state of NV purchased over 12,000 acres of land surrounding the Whitell Estate which in turn was part of the Flume Trail which contains over 20 miles of logging roads used today by avid hikers and mountain bikers. Some of the most popular trails in the country are the Marlette Flume and Tahoe Rim Trails.

The most sought-after trails in the back country are the historic Marlette Flume Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail. Its's an area carved into the side of a steep granite spire that overlooks
Lake Tahoe. The trail begins at Spooner Lake climbing 1,100' where it tops off at Marlette Lake at over 8000' following the same path where a wooden square box of flumes once delivered water to Virginia City back in the later 1800's. The trail then ends over at Sand Harbor making it a 26 mile run round trip.

If you really want to get into the history of the trail I can tell you a bit more about the area. Walter Hobart was a miner who saw a connection between lumbering and silver mining. He was the man responsible for finding the lumber company which outlasted mining in the area. In 1873 the NV State Controller Hobart and former NV/CA Surveyor General Seneca "Sam" Martlette operated a small sawmill now today known as Incline Village. The timber surrounding Lake Tahoe including the Flume trail was placed on an incline railway where it was up to 1,400' where a 4000' Railroad awaited. After it was brought up to Incline the sawmill it was dumped onto a wooden V Flume for a trip up to Lake View using the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The metal plating reduced wear on the flume boards as the lumber was dropped using a gravity flume down the eastern side of the mountains where it could be used in the Comstock Lode of
Virginia City.

The lumber used at Lake Tahoe was also used to build the Virginia & Gold Hill Water Company which took water above Incline Village and Marlette Lake through the Carson Range via tunnel. From the top of Washoe Valley the water would then travel 7 mile with use of a 12" wrought iron pipe down 1720' and back up again in an inversted siphon. Hobart and Marlette were investors in the Water Company and in many of Virginia Cities Mines. The water company had pipes that ran from Marlette Lake and also the Hobart Resevoir along Franktown Creek. Franktown was home to around 200 to 300 sawmills, massive quartz mill and many ranches. Between Marlettes and Hobarts water as well as timber this entire region became invaluable to those of the Comstock Lode.

Later on a Jessie Hobart Leonard and a James Mather Leonard would acquire the water company. I am not sure if Jessie was Walters exwife or a relative however the couple would end up building their summer home in 1933 on Lake Martlette at a location called Rocky Point. The same location I captured a UFO. The couple had a son named Hobart who in turn married a lady named Elizabeth who had children. The family would spend many days up here and use all that remains its fireplace to heat the cabin on cool summer nights. This would go into the 1940's and 1950's until the Curtis Wright Corporation purchased the Water Company raising the lake to 15' building a dam on the west end of the lake. By 1963 it was the state of NV that purchased the property when they bought the estate and so the Water Company came with that property.

In the 1960's the state of NV wanted the caretakers cabin torn down near the dam. However the crew made a mistake tearing down the Leonard Cabin instead leaving only its chimney which today is restored and can be seen riding along the Flume Trail. Just as another cabin called Spencer's is also along this trail and is almost a century old of what use to be the homestead of a cattleman's residence. At the time the caretaker named Charlie Fulstone near Spooner Lake watched over the heard. Spooner Lake in the 1920's was called Fulstone Reservoir named after the Cattleman who lived in the 250 square foot cabin built in the 1920's. Later a Harry Anderson took over care taking the herd and clearing out most of the beaver dams found in the nearby creek. Today the old cattle herding fences still remain particularly surrounding the Spooner Lake area.

The Spooner Lake area was home to many saw and lumber mills. Michelle Spooner who was a French Canadian Entrepreneur established milling in the region. It was very rare back in 1866 to see a female business owner. Spooner would later team up with many big names such as Oliver and John Lonkey, Henry M. Yerington, William Fairburn, Simon Dubois and even the Elliot Brothers to form the Summit Fluming Company. Later in 1870 Yerington Bliss & Company took over this operation. By 1873 another sawmill was built at Spooner Meadows only a few years later to be taken over by the Carson & Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company who eventually bought all the mills out. Later on this company would be the largest of three saw mills in the area and main supplier for the Comstock.


Today the flumes are gone but the dam and some of the historic cabins can still be seen along the trail. From my experienced this is one of the most well used and maintained trails I have visited to date in the Tahoe region. All the folks riding mountain bikes are friendly and carefree much like the Leonard family was. Water had to be carried from the lake to the cabin. Everything was cooked on a wood stove and at night that same stove would be used to heat the cabin. The men would fish using row boats as the lake is abundant with Brook Trout meanwhile no swimming was allowed since this was Virginia Cities main water supply. All the food was stored in an ice box meanwhile in the winter the cabin remained desolate.

Now whether there is paranormal activity in this region remains to be seen from what I know this mountain range the trail follows just resides a short distance from the Carson Valley which is a high desert. At one time back many years ago Bigfoot sightings did take place in this area. However it appears due to the heavy amount of foot and bicycle traffic that this is a creature that may have been pushed deeper into the High Sierras. For example the Desolation Wilderness which is on the opposite side of Lake Tahoe and Flume Trail.

Now I would not rule out the existence of paranormal in this area afterall it is the wilderness and even if there are allot of people passing through as a paranormal investigator we are very meticulous in our work. What I mean is that we might notice a Bigfoot print or object in the sky because we are out there looking for it as opposed to most folks who hold there head down biking their hardest the entire trail. I have come to learn from all of this is that the scenic beauty matches this regions history. Its not a place for the weak it has its challenges but in the end it is a true adventure that awaits here! So adventurous that the trail can pose even a danger as many weeks after my biking accident here both my wrist may be permanently injured from a 25' fall that I sustained while mountain biking here. However despite the incident I would do this all over again and maybe someday I just might!    


Copyright By
Lord Rick
Founder
Producer, Author and Talk Show Host
The Flume Trail

      

Wildcat Cabin



Leonard Homestead

Spencer's Cabin

 




   










 

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