TRINITY COUNTY
PLUMMER PEAK
Trinity National Forest
2N-12W-34
2N-12W-34
June 28, 1940: "Bill Duncan, veteran lookout on the Trinity Forest, claims the record for the first cow ever milked on top of Plummer Peak. Duncan decided he had used canned milk long enough so this year he has built a small corral near the lookout and now has fresh milk and cream daily. - Trinity Forest News -" (California Ranger)
November 7, 1941: "Plummer Peak is a sharp-topped lookout four miles south of Hayfork and just about in the center of the Trinity Forest. The occupant, William Duncan, who incidentally has been on Plummer and nearby Dubakella Mountain for low these 32 years, is not only industrious, but he and Mrs. Duncan have an eye for beauty, a palate for fresh vegetables, and a yen for real milk. Bill has laboriously hauled many loads of earth from the valley below, leveled and fenced a garden plot of about 40 by 75 feet in size and to grow anything, must continually haul water from a spring two miles below.
There, amid thousands of acres of rough forest land, you will find a garden jammed with flowers and vegetables that make a riot of color and an eyeful of beauty. Among the flowers are the deep-maroon coxcombs, gay petunias, brilliantly hued zinnias and asters, spicy nasturtiums, old-fashioned hollyhocks and morning glorys, galardias, gladiolas, and cosmos. And just as a reminder that this is after all an economic world one may pick abundantly of strawberries, cucumbers, corn, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, and lettuce. In the center of the garden are a little gothic shaped pole arbor and a teepee, where vines may climb and twine and cling. Outside the enclosure we also find clumps of berry bushes, while potted begonias and rubber plants adorn the towering lookout.
Below the garden in a side-hill field you hear the tinkle of the bell on Bill's milch cow and a fat Jersey calf feeds in a nearby pen. Barkers and meowers are represented by an old cow dog, a mother dog with her three roly-poly puppies, and a cat. Regular visitors are a fox and her two pups that come nightly for milk that Bill sets out for them. And besides there are frequent visits from deer, an occasional bear, coyotes, and numerous smaller animals. As for quail and other birds, they abound. Everything is a friend of Bill's. If a plant is not doing well it is potted and petted along. One of the finest things I have seen in many a long day is this close bond between Bill and all living things and how they respond to his thoughtful care.
A tail-end to this story might develop from the fact that stationed on another lookout not far away is a man named MacBeth. You remember your Shakespeare-how Duncan was king of Scotland and MacBeth, his vassel, coveted the crown and lands of Duncan. Let's hope MacBeth doesn't covet Duncan's garden, for with all the work of fetching, watering, weeding, and tending, he might be heard to wail, "I didn't know Duncan had so much garden." --Evans - Regional Office -" (California Range)
DESIGNATION - PLUMMER PEAK USGS LOT 1961
PID - LU2172
STATE/COUNTY- CA/TRINITY
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD -
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1961 (JCC)
THE STATION IS LOCATED ON THE SUMMIT OF PLUMMER PEAK AND IS
CENTERED DIRECTLY UNDER PLUMMER PK LOOKOUT TOWER. IT IS 4
MILES SOUTH AND 1 MILE WEST OF HAYFORK.
THE LOOKOUT HOUSE IS ON THE TOP OF A 4-LEGGED STEEL TOWER
THAT IS 32 FEET HIGH AND PAINTED WHITE. THE TOWER IS ON THE
HIGHEST POINT OF PLUMMER PEAK.