In 1915 Lassen Peak erupted, spewing lava and ash for almost 200 miles. Lassen Peak has been quiet since then, and, according to scientists, chances are it’s not going to blow off any steam for about 10,000 more years. That’s the good news. The better news is that nestled in the shadow of Lassen is a spectacular 4,000-acre ranch, tucked away at the end of a six-mile drive. Perched on the banks of Battle Creek, an absolutely pristine, clear tributary of the mighty Sacramento River, is Oasis Springs Lodge, an Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing lodge with six miles of private water of the south fork of this magnificent stream.

Battle Creek averages twenty feet across and tumbles down an often narrow canyon that has one pool and riffle after another, full of native rainbows. Pure spring water with a little snowmelt from neighboring volcanic peaks makes for a crystal-clear, pollution-free stream. On the private water of the ranch there are fifteen pools from the easy home pool in front of the lodge to more remote and challenging pools.

The stream is full of native trout, and steelhead and salmon making their runs to their birthplaces upstream. There are no stocked fish here, and what the angler receives from this river is an experience that hasn’t changed since the volcanoes formed 10,000 years ago. It’s a rugged wilderness atmosphere, full of wildlife: deer, eagles, river otters, osprey, black bears, grouse, and game birds. Little has changed in the years since it was home to Ishi and his California Indian ancestors.

Ishi, which means man—it was taboo in his culture to speak one’s name—was the name given to the last member of the Yahi, the last surviving group of the Yana people of California. Ishi is believed to have been the last Native American in Northern California to have lived the bulk of his life completely outside the European American culture. He emerged from the wild near Oroville, California, in 1911, after leaving his ancestral homeland in the foothills near Lassen Peak, and was taken to the Anthropological Department at The University of California, San Francisco, where he lived the rest of his life, helping scientists reconstruct his vanished culture.

It is his land, still in the pristine state it was when his ancestors roamed the hills, that Oasis Springs resides. Constructed in 1991, the beautiful lodge boasts over 12,000 square feet of living space to suit the most discriminating of guests. One of its most striking features is the huge porch, the perfect place to spend a relaxing afternoon reading or dozing. Surrounded by trees and landscaped paths, the lodge sits mere feet from the bank of the trout-filled river and comfortably accommodates up to twenty-two people.

This is a true ecological experience. Other than the lodge, which offers extraordinary comfort, this is a place where the world remains as it was and perhaps as it should be.