At first glance the landscape appears desolate, impenetrable and intimidating. But the appropriately named Lava Beds National Monument is also a place for above- and below-ground exploration, and for remembering history.

	Outside - Extensive lava flow		Inside - Crystal Ice Cave

Part of the history dates back more than 450,000 years when geologists believe that lava flows spread across and blanketed the land. The area’s human history includes ancient petroglyphs carved by Native Americans. More recent history reveals that during the Modoc War of 1872-73, Modoc Indians used a natural geologic fortress to fight off Army troops for five months before eventually being defeated.

	Captain Jack’s Stronghold Courtesy Lava Beds National Monument		Modoc warriors Courtesy Lava Beds National Monument

Ancient Petroglyphs depict long-age history

Another part of Lava Beds history dates back nearly 100 years to November 21, 1925, when efforts to preserve the region’s unique features led by J.D. “Judd” Howard, resulted in the designation of Lava Beds National Monument. As the doggedly persistent Howard wrote in 1923, “This is the last of Park sites in the States, and is far Superior to all the others…”

Howard’s claims might be disputed, but a century later Lava Beds remains a place of fascination and exploration. Located just south of the Oregon-California border, in Tulelake, CA, 45 miles south of Klamath Falls, the park covers more than 46,000 acres.

It’s best known for its array of more than 800 lava tube caves, with only 27 having marked entrances. Some cave paths are high and wide enough to stand in, but most require squirming and crawling. Only one cave, Mushpot, has artificial lights. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own flashlights, which can also be borrowed at the park visitor center. After exploring with lanterns and naming many of those caves, Howard led a multi-yeared effort to protect the area, earning him the title as the “Father of Lava Beds.” Inside some caves, near the entrances, these names remain, originally inscribed by Howard.

Lava Beds National Monument, hiking in Mushpot

But as Lava Beds reaches its 100th anniversary, how it will be celebrated is uncertain. The Lava Beds Visitor Center has T-shirts, mugs and other merchandise commemorating the park’s century along with books chronicling aspects of Lava Beds' history and geology. But funding cutbacks to the National Park Service and the resulting staffing shortages because of an ongoing hiring freeze have stifled plans for anniversary programs originally planned this late summer and fall. As of late June, Superintendent Chris Mengel said a low-key event will possibly be held in June.

	Anniversary mug		Lava Beds Superintendent Chris Mengel

The uncertainty won’t stop people like Cheewa James, a Modoc descendant who for several summers was a seasonal interpretive ranger and is the author of Modoc: The Tribe That Wouldn’t Die and The Modoc War: Heartbreak of a Homeland Lost. James, the great-granddaughter of the Modoc War warrior known as Shacknasty Jim, will tell her stories during programs at the Lava Beds and for audiences at regional museums.

Many stories can be told about Lava Beds, including several of my own. As the regional editor for the Klamath Falls Herald and News, my expansive coverage area included Lava Beds. For more than a half-century I’ve hiked places where Cheewa’s relatives lived before and after the war. Overnight backpack trips included camping on a butte where the dark night’s silence was eerily brightened by the echoes of howling coyotes. Explorations included being lowered on a rope into a cave once used by moonshiners.

Hiking along the edge of a lava flow

Several times I visited Crystal Cave, where ceiling to floor formations of frozen ice stand like guardians to a seldom-seen world. I have memories of seeing browsing California bighorn sheep and galloping pronghorn antelope. And, with others, wondering the meaning of petroglyphs carved on rock walls.

But my most impacting memory is a late night after a day of cave-crawling with Mac Heebner, a park ranger who, decades later, remains a friend. I had been recruited to write a brochure, Captain Jack’s Stronghold Historic Trail. For several weekends my family and I stayed in an unoccupied park housing unit. Near midnight one night during that stay I was reading in the park library through journals written by Howard, formally Judson Dean Howard. Tired and losing focus, I was flipping through pages when something prompted me to take a second look. When I did, shock overtook my fatigue. Atop a letter from Howard was his address, my address! The house that is mine was his.

The only known photograph of Judson “J.D.” Howard
Courtesy Lava Beds National Monument

I later listened to tape recordings of a gruff-voiced old man. I also learned that Howard had died on December 15, 1961, at age 81. On that day a Lava Beds park ranger was at Howard’s home. According to a story told to Bob Rock, Howard’s close friend, while talking with the ranger “Judd sat down, looked at him (the ranger), said, ‘I don’t feel so good,’ and he was dead.”

Plaque honoring “The Father of Lava Beds”

It wasn’t until 1994 that Howard was officially memorialized as “The Father of Lava Beds.” A brass plaque bought by friends honoring Howard was embedded on a rock across from the entrance to Mushpot Cave.

“It’s about 45 years overdue,” Rock, who had befriended Howard in 1949 and served as his executor, told me. “It’s too bad this didn’t happen before he died. If it was up to me, it would be the J.D. Howard Lava Beds National Monument because if it wasn’t for him this,” he said, his eyes spanning the surrounding area, “this wouldn’t be here.”

	Cross country skiing in winter		Wide open expanses above ground

As Lava Beds National Monument quietly reaches its 100th anniversary, there are many people with many stories to be told.

For detailed information about Lava Beds National Monument, including its location and updates of activities celebrating its 100th anniversary, visit the park website at https://www.nps.gov/labe/index.htm, their Facebook page or call 530-667-8113.

A lightly edited version of this story was published in the summer issue of Southern Oregon Magazine.

About the Author

Lee Juillerat is a semi-retired writer-photographer who lives in Southern Oregon. He is a frequent contributor to several publications, including Southern Oregon Magazine, The AG Mag, Range, The Cattle Mag and others. He has written and co-authored books about various topics and places, most recently, Ranchers and Ranching: Cowboy Country Yesterday and Today, along with books about Crater Lake National Park and Images of America: Lava Beds National Monument. Lee has produced photo-stories for High on Adventure for more than 25 years. He can be contacted at 337lee337@charter.net.