Traveling downriver from Happy Camp, your next stop is:

23. Ferry Point: Mile marker 30.2 In the mid-1850s, a hotel, store, dance hall, school and ferry made up this small community. The ferry was used by the original packers carrying supplies along the Kelsey Trail. It wandered west to east from the coast going over the Marble Mountains to Scott Valley. Numerous branches of the Kelsey Trail met at Ferry Point. One of the branches led directly to Happy Camp and was its main supply source prior to the Waldo Trail. In 1857 the buildings and ferry were sold by Richard Humphreys (founder of Crescent City) to James Camp and John Titus.

Pack Train near Ferry Point Dated around 1915. Photo courtesy Hazel Joyner

Holding up pack trains had become a very profitable enterprise for highwaymen. One trick used by a local packer to transport gold was to remove the thick padding from a saddle replacing it with gold so that thieves were fooled. Ferry Point is a very large, rocky but popular put-in and launch site for rafters and fishermen. As a campsite, it is very accessible but primitive.

24. Independence: Mile marker 28.5

Independence Ferry Photo courtesy Hazel Joyner Independence Mine was first located by Joe Biggs in 1889. The mine was most profitable around 1925 and employed approximately 20 people housed in the bunkhouse presently visible across the river. Mining continues to provide a living for owners Earl and Nida Johnson, who hope someday to return the Independence mine to its former glory. This site offers a nice rest area for visitors seeking a patio-type picnic area with vault toilets. While enjoying your stay, you can be entertained by the flock of at least 200 cliff swallows that claim the bridge as a nest site. On the southwest side of the bridge, easy access to the river is available for water sports. On occasion, a herd of Roosevelt elk can be seen grazing across the river in the open meadow.

• Five miles west of Independence are a lovely waterfall, wading pool and picnic area right off the highway.
• Across the highway is a view overlooking the mouth of Ukonom Creek, which was named for a Karuk Tribal leader. Rafters often pull out on the east side of the river to camp. Many take the time to hike 3/4 of a mile up to Ukonom Falls. (Ukonom Falls is depicted on a mural painted by a local artist and can be seen in the center of Happy Camp.)
• From the highway, you can see osprey, bald eagles and peregrine falcons as they soar or dive in search of prey.

White Matsutaki Mushroom Photo courtesy Annie Buma, USFS

Original inhabitants include the Myers Family of Karuk decent (Dillon Jim Myers and Pichpee-naah-nich). This was the general area of the Dillon Mining Company which utilized many Chinese workers in the late 1800s. The surrounding forest features Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Madrone, Tan Oak (prized by the local Tribes for its sweet acorns and as a dietary staple), Pitcher Plant, California Lady's Slipper, Waldo Rockcress and a host of other plant species. The vegetation is abundant here due to high rainfall amounts and soil types. The decomposing forest mulch is the food source for the Ponderosa (White Matsutaki) mushroom. In the fall, locals and commercial mushroom pickers hunt this delicacy, much of which is exported to Japan. Enjoy this remotely wooded, sheltered campground while listening to the rush of Dillon Creek. Open May through fall with 21 campsites, creek access, BBQ grills and water.