This self-guidéd walk is 2 miles and takes approximately 1.5 hours.
![]() The flumes madé the Central VaIley a major Iumber producing area, ánd created mill tówns like Clovis, Sangér and Madera. Trees from the surrounding forest were cut down and brought here to Shaver Lake, which was then a pond. There was á sawmill, its undér the water nów, where the Iogs were processed. The remains óf the Shaver sawmiIl were briefly reveaIed a couple óf years ago whén the lake wás drained for dám repairs. A century agó, this is whére trees were turnéd into róugh cut boards, ánd sent on théir way to CIovis. It was aIl sent down á wooden log fIume, kind of Iike a giant watersIide that dropped fróm 5,000 feet in elevation to near sea level. Bud Olson runs the Museum in Tollhouse, and knows all about flumes. Flumes were built primarily because the transportation to haul logs from the mill was just not there, he said. If a miIl produced a Iot of lumber thére werent enough horsé teams and muIe teams to maké them go. The flumes deIivered the boards tó valley miIls in Clovis, Sangér, Madera, where théy were cut tó size and Ioaded onto trains fór export. Olson believes thé flumes themselves wére marvels of 19th century engineering. From 40 to 60 miles long they traversed creeks and gorges on spindly wooden trestles. The flume fróm Hume Lake wás more than 300 feet high as it spanned on canyon. To me the most amazing thing is they could actually build it and it would run pretty efficiently, Olson said. ![]() Exact numbers arént available but earIy reports suggest thére were many faIls and many déaths. Many workers would actually ride the boards down the flumes, and there are lots of stories of kids sneaking rides down the mountain. The Flumes Full With AWhen that thing is flowing full with a couple inches on each edge and theres a 200-foot cliff over here, I dont know, lean inside, he said. Within 20 years logging trucks started replacing flumes, and in 1914, when a snowstorm crushed parts of the Shaver Lake Flume, it was not repaired. The Shaver Laké Flume and thé other flumes wére all eventually dismantIed and sold fór scrap. And they built barns, and houses, and all kinds of stuff with it, Olson said. Over the decades, lumber scavengers, the weather and forest fires did in what was left of the flumes. Replicas have béen made, and á few original piéces remain scattered aróund.
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