THE LEGEND OF MONTE WOLFE

Hello friends:

My name is Don De Young. I have been fascinated and moved by stories of Monte Wolfe since 1966. It was during that summer that I and my fellow Boy Scouts camped in Pacific Valley in preparation for a 25-miler down the Mokelumne's north fork canyon the following morning.

The Scouts had a group camp fire with a special guest that night. He was a local old-timer by the name of Michael Hunt and his job was to introduce a bunch of boys to the legends and realities of his long lost friend, Monte Wolfe. We were transfixed when we learned about the remote cabins Monte had built and equipped with stoves, tools, and other heavy items that he had carried in on his back. Mr. Hunt went on to explain that Monte was half-Indian and took whatever he needed, even if it was in a closed cabin. Sometimes he would compensate the item donor by providing goods or services in return for their "generosity" and sometimes he didn't, but he always wanted people to know he had been there.

Monte Wolfe was a mountain man during the Industrial Revolution. He lived outside of an American society that he couldn't come to terms with. In the winter he trapped fur-bearing animals alone in the cold and lonely mountains. In the spring he maintained a large sub-alpine garden and in the summer and fall he guided anglers and hunters, guaranteeing limits.

As legendary mountain men tend to do, he mysteriously disappeared from his mountain paradise in the spring thaw of 1940 and was never seen nor heard from again.

We camped the first night (just) under a massive thunderstorm outside of Monte's upper cabin, elevation 6,560 feet. After our flannel sleeping bags were soaked and heavy (on night-1 of our hike!) many of us migrated into Monte's cabin to stay dry. At that time, the cabin had been long stripped of all of Monte's belongings except for the cast iron stove, which no souvenir hunter had the huevos to carry out.

On day two we hiked to Monte's lower camp. On the way, we stopped by Monte's cache tree, a giant first growth Ponderosa Pine that had been fire-hollowed and later filled by Monte with survival essentials if needed during his winter trapping.

Further down we traversed the bottom tread of the legendary Devil's Staircase below Meadow Lake. We stepped lightly across Rattlesnake Flat and entered the verdant Cabin Flat and Monte's lower cabin.

The 14' x 20' cabin was beautifully intact with bear spikes in place across the door and windows. When we entered the cabin many of Monte's belongings were still intact. His skis and poles were in the rafters and his bed was still in good shape. Outside, his wheelbarrow leaned against a tree as did many heavy tools. There were at least 15 large log sections that Monte had fashioned into guest chairs. We poked through Monte's old can dump that afternoon and had a great campfire that night.

During the entire trip we all had an uncanny feeling of Monte's presence. We all hiked much of the time in silence... listening, searching. That pre-trip campfire in Pacific Valley had really done a job on our impressionable 13-year old minds!

After departing Monte's lower camp we hiked on downstream to Camp Irene where we heard the sad story of young Irene Pecchenino who had tragically drown there on July 26, 1942. In that quiet place, Irene's memory mingled with Monte's.

The following day we continued our trek on to Cedar Camp and then to the spot where Grouse Creek enters the Mokelumne. There we began the Grouse Valley Death March up the canyon wall and into Bear Valley.

Ever since that experience, I have had a place in my heart for Monte Wolfe. My siblings and friends have had to endure my Monte musings for over four decades. I've revisited the Mokelumne Wilderness many times since the sixties and even had my bachelor party at Salt Springs. Go figure!

In closing, if you or anyone you know has a Monte Wolfe story to share, drop me an email at don@deyoung.org and I will post it here.

In Monte's Spirit:

Don De Young