Marble Mountain Update

[Samantha Figueredo]

Allof the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of Mount Thủy. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a tourist destination.

The area is known for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts. Direct rock extraction from the mountains was banned recently. Materials are now being transported from quarries in Quảng Nam Province.

The mountains were very near the American Marble Mountain Air Facility during the Vietnam War. According to William Broyles Jr., the Marble Mountains contained a hospital for the Vietcong, probably within earshot of the American air field and Da Nang Beach (which bordered the air field on the side opposite the mountains). He describes the enemy as having been so "certain of our ignorance [...] that he had hidden his hospital in plain sight".[2]

The Marble Mountains are home to several Buddhist and Hindu grottoes. A stairway of 156 steps leads to the summit of Thuy Son, the only Marble Mountain accessible to visitors. It allows a wide panoramic view of the surrounding area and the other marble mountains. There are a number of grottoes, including Huyen Khong and Tang Chon, and many Hindu and Buddhist sanctuaries, the temples of Tam Thai, Tu Tam and Linh Ung, and the pagoda of Pho Dong. The sanctuaries feature statues and relief depictions of religious scenes carved out of the marble.

The Marble Mountain Wilderness has been recognized for its wild values for generations. This area was originally designated as a Primitive area in 1931 and is one of the original Wilderness Areas designated by the 1964 Wilderness Act.

Craggy peaks, deep canyons cloaked in conifer forests, abundant meadows, Wild and Scenic River segments, and 89 lakes highlight this 225,000-acre area. Many of the peaks exceed 6,000 feet in elevation, with Boulder Peak the highest at 8,299 feet. There are also fascinating geological features, including Marble Mountain, a stark, red-and-gray marbled peak. Here one can travel through old growth conifer forests with diverse species: low and mid-elevation species include Douglas fir, sugar pine, and white fir; higher elevation species include Shasta fir, whitebark pine, foxtail pine, and mountain hemlock. You will find alpine meadows, lakes in glacial cirques, and bare rock at higher elevations. Black bear, black-tailed deer, and many other species of wildlife inhabit this Wilderness.

Numerous trailheads and an extensive trail network provide access to the Wilderness, offering both day hikes to lakes and longer multi-day loop trips. The Pacific Crest Trail also crosses the crest of the Marble Mountains for 32 miles from south to north.

Travel in wilderness is restricted to on foot, on horseback, on skis or showshoes, or in paddle rafts/kayaks. All means of mechanized transport are prohibited in wilderness except for wheelchairs needed by mobility impaired persons.

Forest Service maintenance of the trail system depends on several factors: more developed trails are maintained more often; whether the trail leads to a popular destination; whether a trail is in are area recently burned by wildfire; whether there is available funds for trail crews; and the efforts of partners and volunteers. On some trails, especially early in the season, you may be forced to make detours around fallen trees and other obstacles.

For the uninitiated, the Marble Mountains is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngũ Hnh Sơn District, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam. According to Wikipedia, The five mountains are named after the five elements: Kim (metal), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth). All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of Mt. Thuy. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a famous tourist destination. The area is famous for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts. Direct rock extraction from the mountains was banned recently. Materials are now being transported from quarries in Quảng Nam Province.

For a suggested complete tour of the Marble Rim, leave the trail at lovely Paradise Lake and find a usepath that heads upslope to a saddle between Kings Castle and Point 7082. From the saddle, the usepath turns north toward Kings Castle before petering out in the grass, but the way to the peak is obvious. The summit rocks of Kings Castle look like they might require some scrambling from afar, but upon arrival small gullies cut through the cliffs providing easy access to the summit.

From Kings Castle the rim traverse begins. The next 3.5 miles is an undulating traverse over numerous points and small peaks. Each of these points contains excellent views of the surrounding terrain. The terrain is generally easy over grass and rocks, but expect more ups and downs and cumulative elevation gain than one might guess from inspection at Kings Castle. As one continues south along the crest Black Marble Mountain becomes more prominent.

At the foot of Black Marble the alpland of the prior miles abruptly transitions to rock. Here one encounters the first expanse of gleaming white limestone. One can stay on top of the crest for some enjoyable class 2/3 scrambling before reaching steep meadows directly underneath Black Marble. For the easier route, traverse right to reach the crest just south of Black Marble and then loop back around to the summit. Black Marble has two summits, but the higher summit is the eastern one and contains a summit register as of this writing. The high point requires a few exposed class 3 moves but the summit area is surprisingly spacious. From Black Marble enjoy a tremendous view looking north toward Kings Castle, the entire southern portion of the rim and points farther afield including virtually all of the Marble Mountain Wilderness, Siskiyou Wilderness, Russian Wilderness and even the Trinity Alps.

At Marble Gap meet the only trail that crosses Marble Mountain. Here is a brief intermission in the white limestone but it picks right back up for another mile of limestone traversing. Peak 6,990 is the next point on the traverse south of Marble Gap which may look intimidating from underneath. However, a steep left to right ramp provides a class 3 scramble route directly to Peak 6,990 allowing one to essentially stay right on the crest. From Peak 6,990 the terrain to the east mellows out with excellent views to Marble Valley but the cliffs on the west side continue to be precipitous. Eventually reach Peak 6,881 and look back at jaw-dropping views of White Marble and Black Marble. Here one can appreciate the marbled nature of the massif.

Either Paradise or Lovers Camp Trailhead are logical starting points for the route. Either trailhead will require use of the Pacific Crest Trail to loop in the Marble Rim traverse. Route on Strava here (with more photos).

The Klamath group of terranes has a long and complicated history. In a blog post about my local region around Ashland, Oregon, I provided a brief introduction to these mountains: -revealed.net/the-rogue-valley-region-in-sw-oregon-displaying-300-million-years-of-geologic-time/. Basically, the Klamaths consist of a vast variety of oceanic materials, including all parts of the oceanic crust and overlying marine sediments. These oceanic pieces were accreted to each other and then to the continent via a long history of subduction that included colliding volcanic islands.

Before it was metamorphosed, marble was limestone. Shells of organisms on the seafloor created limestone rock overlying oceanic crust formed by volcanic (magma erupted on the seafloor) and plutonic (magma cooled beneath the seafloor) processes. Because of the high metamorphic grade, very few fossils are preserved. The limestone probably formed in a reef around a volcanic island that was located closer to the equator and that traveled eastward and northward with an oceanic tectonic plate. When the plate encountered a subduction zone, pieces of the plate and the overlying sedimentary rock were accreted to the continent through a complicated series of collisions.

A few minutes later I was almost sure I was again on the wrong path, because I came across this big metal cube of machinery, but when I went to investigate, the trail did indeed continue onward; sure enough, a trail sign appeared!

This is where that actual trail began! Huzzah! There was no register or anything, but I continued straight up the path where the climbing began. It then occurred to me that the machinery at the bottom was from an old ski lift up the mountain; this trail just followed the ski lift straight up. It was actually really cool to be able to look back and see exactly where I had started, because it was a straight shot.

This is when the poop really hit the fan for me. The heckin lousy microspikes. During the hour it took me to return to the junction on the ridge, the other strap on the right one broke, so the set of spikes under the front of my right foot kept slipping and popping up over the top of my boot, often stabbing my other leg when it happened. To make matters worse, both straps on the left one also broke during that hour. I was so frustrated and angry at this point, I very nearly chucked both of them off of the mountain, good riddance, but decided to strap them onto my pack in case of emergency, or to burn maliciously later, or whatever. I resolutely took both poles out of my pack, and very carefully made my way up Whiteface. Wow, it looked soooo far away, and TALL. At one point, I reached a really cool clearing that must have been an old ski slope or something, and it was nicely shielded from the wind, so I decided to have a seat on a convenient boulder and have some lunch.

I climbed up very carefully, and at about that point realized that there was NO WAY that I would make it back down the whole mountain without my microspikes. Even the slightest decline can be extremely difficult when icy. I was a bit nervous, but decided to worry about it more after I had reached the summit, because there was no way I was turning back now.

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