Hiking North Mountain in the Sutter Buttes

I was excited to go on a hike in the Sutter Buttes, a tiny mountain range in the middle of the valley in Northern California. Much of it is privately owned, so a hike must be arranged with a guide. We started off by driving through seven gates that had to be opened at the start of our caravan and closed after it. Cathy told us about a high school class that had named the gates after Dante's seven deadly sins, and funny little stories about some of them.

Our hike was called "In a sacred manner" and was led by a Native American guide. He was fabulous, giving us little talks and contemplative free time as we hiked. We hiked around North Mountain, and the andesite and rhyolite rock formations that topped it were breath-taking.

We serendipitously met some researchers that were trapping ringtail cats. So when they checked their traps and found five, they sent us a message on a radio they loaned to one of the guides. We got to look closely at them and I even got to pet one that was tranquilized to put on a radio collar! Such a wonderful unexpected experience! It made me remember how much I enjoyed field biology.

We hiked to the ridge and looked down over Peace Valley, which has been purchased by the state but has no access. It was incredibly windy on the ridge, and If I went again I would bring a small kite! We also hiked to several different huge grinding rocks, and one of them we had the honor of being asked to join our guide in cleaning debris out of the mortar holes. We also visited Drum rock, and our guide told us the creation story of the Southern Maidu or Nisenan.

The Maidu believed that the Sutter Buttes were the center of the world, and were a sort of prophetic ark. As long as two of each creature lived in the Buttes, that type of creature would live in the world. He told us about when time was eternal and circular, always being renewed. And how there was a special oak tree that had twelve branches that was sacred. But when the railroad came, that tree was in its path and was destroyed, and since then time has been running straight like the rails, and cannot be stopped.

He told us about a raft, a mudman, a turtle and a rope with seven knots. He said that when we are searching for our meaning in life, we should return to this place, Drum Rock, and find our center, our inner compass. It was beautiful beyond words. I wish I could describe it better.