CalTrout News
Remembering Craig Ballenger: CalTrout Ambassador, Trout Camp Caretaker, and True Legend in Our Community
In September 2024, with deep sadness, we shared the news of Craig Ballenger's passing. Craig was a cherished member of the CalTrout community, serving as both an ambassador for the organization and as the dedicated caretaker of CalTrout’s Trout Camp. More than that, he was a true legend in our community.
He was an accomplished author, a historian, an expert angler, and a mountaineer. He was a true man of the wild. His adventurous spirit took him on countless epic journeys around the world including into the Sierra in search of Golden Trout, and his stories—seemingly endless—captivated us all. Join Executive Director Curtis Knight in remembering Craig.
By Curtis Knight, Executive Director of CalTrout and proud member of the Craig Ballenger tribe
Craig was born in McCloud, California and he was a true son of Mt. Shasta. It was clear to all around him that he absolutely loved this place. He would welcome all to his village, “our village,” as he called it. He would follow that with a crack about the “Alpine Community” license plate covers that so many Mt. Shasta locals have displayed on their cars. “Well, it’s really a sub-alpine or montane community,” he’d say, followed by his trademark snicker, a burst of laughter that would overtake his whole body. I’m sure I heard him make that same crack easily over 100 times.
Similarly, I remember during my first year with CalTrout, we were out at the Fall River building a kiosk with volunteers. We were trying to figure out how to orient the kiosk to avoid the often-present wind that rushed through the Fall River valley. One of the volunteers pointed out that we could just look around at all the barns and see how they were oriented – that would tell us how to orient our kiosk! Craig and I looked around, and there was no question about it, every single barn was oriented in a distinctly different way. “Thanks for that!” he’d huffed. This small moment was one that he and I joked about for the next 20 years – and it’s the little things like this that I miss so much.
Craig loved his people—his tribe as he would say. If you were in it, you knew. He would light up when he saw you. You felt welcome. Within minutes you would be deep in conversation about anything from the Lemurians that live in the mountain to the best place to find a wok in San Francisco to climbing in the Himalayas. To be one of his people was a feeling like no other, and for many the acceptance into his tribe was immediate. Some of you met Craig just in the last year or two but the connection was deep and genuine.
His Domain: Trout Camp
Trout Camp, CalTrout’s 40-acre property on the Upper Sacramento River, was his domain, the perfect platform, the perfect stage, to continually grow his community. It was distinctly and decisively his place. As its sole caretaker, he put his heart and soul into Trout Camp. Over the years, he built it up into a beautiful hub of community. Sure, people came there to fish, but what Craig really made it into was a place to be with community, around the campfire, telling stories of all kinds. He could banter with anyone!
His Trout Camp specialty was a cooked breakfast of “rendered pig” and scrambled eggs, and you might even get a few sprinkled with ash from American Spirits smokes. Maybe throw in some burnt pancakes too. A true gourmet way to start the day!
Craig spent 24 four consecutive seasons at Trout Camp. A conservative estimate puts that at 2,200 nights spent sleeping on the porch of the utility cabin—and that’s not even counting each August when he would make his annual traipse through the Sierra to pass a few more days and nights with no real roof over his head.
His Far-Reaching Influence
At CalTrout, we cannot find enough words to express our appreciation for the way he continually brought people into our fold. He was a great recruiter to our cause in a way only he knew how to be.
Throughout his time, he came across and won over all kinds of people. He befriended congressmen, senators, and even governors including Governor Jerry Brown. Those two hit it off “as only fellow writers and historians could”, in his words. They became good friends and stayed closely in contact. Craig recruited the former governor to help him save the Sisson Museum here in Mt. Shasta. Several times, even just earlier this year, Craig and I would be in the middle of a conversation and his phone would ring, and he’d go, “Oh hold on, it’s Jerry.”
His relations with governors and other politicians aside, it was his CalTrout community that he held closest to his heart. I used to tease him that he was born 150 years too late— he would have thrived in an earlier era! But truthfully, he thrived in this era because of the way he touched us all. He reminded us to prioritize adventure and time outside and to really be present in our joyful experiences of the natural places around us. He stayed curious to his very last day about all things and about all the people in this world. His ultimate measure was his influence on all of us. I am going to miss you, Craig.
