H.O.M.E. Project

H.O.M.E.’S 9TH SEASON WAS EVENTFUL!
by Ginger Farnell

First we have to acknowledge the team of H.O.M.E. volunteers—over 20 people this year—who gave almost 2,500 hours in the course of the 2005 season. They worked at Bunny Flat, Red Fir Flat, Everett Vista, the Old Ski Bowl (which is thankfully reverting to its natural state year by year), and of course, Panther Meadows. "Huge praise for the volunteers, who were totally with it," said Cheryl Boerger, Volunteer Coordinator par excellence. "It was always covered!" This translates as community hospitality to visitors, and of course, continues to keep parking fees off the mountain.

Volunteers included June Tucker, Michelle Criste, Myr Skipper, Nancy Krause, Sean, Paul and Cheryl Boerger, Yvonne Malee, and the crew at Panther Meadows: Curt Farnell, John McKinnon, Johnny Dame, Ellen Meadows, Karen Perry and a number of people who just showed up and helped.

A lot of this season's activity was concentrated in Panther Meadows, no doubt the single most popular place on Mount Shasta. The meadows are being restored through a multi-partnered project involving the Forest Service, Wintu Tribe, Upper Sacramento River Exchange, H.O.M.E., a project of the Ecology Center, and the Siskiyou County Resource Advisory Committee which furnished funding.

Here's how the summer went in Panther Meadows. The late spring snowfall got things off to a slow start, with the road opening only on July 14th. Three days later Panther Meadow Campground Host Curt Farnell was there, ready to keep the place clean, safe and friendly. He was assisted by John McKinnon, who helped with the daily chores of water hauling, toilet cleaning, campground maintenance, and meadow monitoring.

The weekend of July 28-31 brought Karuk Medicine Man Charlie Thom and the 20th Anniversary Earth Circle Sweat Lodge Ceremony. Well over 200 people from all over the world came to Panther Meadows to sweat, pray, camp and enjoy the special beauty of the summer meadow. Things might have become a madhouse without Curt and John to keep the parking lot organized and garbage under control. People particularly appreciated the Hand Washington Station that Curt had provided near the outhouse.
Artist Johnny Dame returned for another season as Resident Naturalist and helping out as Assistant Camp Host. His quiet demeanor and depth of understanding of the meadow ecology were a welcome addition during the turbulent month of August.

In early August, while preparing for their annual summer ceremony at Panther Spring, Mark Franco of the Winnemem Wintu discovered that people had been placing cremated remains in and around the Spring and Meadows. This upset him greatly because human remains are extremely inappropriate for the Tribal way in a ceremonial area devoted to renewal and prayer.

District Ranger Mike Hupp soon called for a meadow closure at the Upper Meadow to facilitate both the necessary cleanup by the Wintu and a survey crew to project possible changes in the trail system, reducing access to Panther Spring for the last half of August during the height of the wildflower season. This gave the meadow flora a chance to grow exuberantly, but at the same time required a lot of explaining to visitors who came to walk in the meadow, and educating people about the inappropriate placement of the ashes and the rerouting of the trail.

The official closure was withdrawn just in time for Labor Day weekend. The last holiday weekend of summer was a full house in the campground with several parties sharing the larger sites in order to accommodate everyone. September weather brought cooler nights and increased demand for firewood. In order to prevent people from damaging live trees, Curt gathered, cut and split firewood from across the road in the avalanche swath. Firewood gathering soon became a communal project, joined by Curt's son Liam. Of course everyone appreciate the cheery glow of a crackling campfire!

The annual Panther Meadows Restoration Party moved to Sargent's Ridge and South Gate Meadows (formerly known as Squaw Meadows) on September 10th on a cold windy day. Nonetheless many native plants were planted, trails repaired and erosion control work performed.

Curt broke camp on October 10th with the campground nearly empty. All in all it was a good summer. The wonderful diversity of people who are drawn to Panther Meadows kept it lively and enjoyable throughout. There were guests from Japan, India, Argentina, France, Canada, Great Britain, Brazil, Guinea, and all over the U.S. They were all drawn to the remarkable beauty and easy access of our glorious Mount Shasta.

Ginger Farnell is the wife of Campground Host Curt Farnell, as well as being a major volunteer at Panther Meadows.