Poverty Flat Camps

The Middle Fork of Coyote Creek runs through Poverty Flat, which is nestled in the canyon between Pine Ridge and Middle Ridge.  The five backpack sites in the area are spread out along the rocky creek and are pleasantly shaded by large oaks and sycamore trees.  In wet years, the creek flows throughout the spring, and in the summer and early fall scattered pools of water remain in the creek bed.  In drought years, when the creek-bed is dry, you can usually find pools of water about a half mile upstream. 

You may wonder how this lovely little canyon became associated with poverty.  Joseph Finley once homesteaded the area, and he had a tough time growing crops due to the scarcity of sunlight and the abundance of infertile, rocky soil.  Nevertheless, Finley refused to sell when Henry Coe offered to buy the land to enlarge his own holdings.  So Henry, obviously peeved, began calling Finley's homestead "Poverty Flat."