L LEDGERWOODLAW GROUP

September/October 2016 No. 33

Ledgerwood Law Group ■ 1385 Ridgewood Drive ■ Suite 106 ■ Chico, CA 95973 ■ Toll Free: 888-761-7383 ■ www.ThomasLedgerwood.com ■ 1

Safe HarborA great little newsletter published by the Ledgerwood Law Group dedicated to the rights of injured workers,Social Security Disability claimants, food, travel, gardening, fishing, camping and life on the open road.

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Bumpass HellDescent

For the 352 clients who have settledtheir workers’ compensation cases via stipu-lations, Alicia Walls is your “go-to” personfor medical treatment disputes. Since the be-ginning of this year, she has been our Med-ical Enforcement Specialist. Alicia is abouthalf-way through her paralegal certification and is truly a force to be reckonedwith here at the LLG. When I walk by her office, some days she is so busy it al-most looks like she has a phone on both ears. She just returned from a killer,well-deserved trip to the islands.

Haiku Stairs—Heavenstairway toBoiling lakes, hot bubbling mud pots, fumerals pump-ing out plumes of steam and that pungent,rotten egg smell define this place.Bumpass Hell was first discovered in 1864by pioneer and explorer, Kendall VanhookBumpass, and his partner, Major PiersonB. Reading. Sadly, on one of their trips,Mr. Bumpass stepped into a boiling mudpot that ultimately cost him his foot. Withthat, the name Bumpass Hell was born.That said this is a great place to spend aday with friends and family. Just makesure you watch your step!

into

“Goodbye, Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh. Megotta go, pole the pirogue down the bayou. MyYvonne, the sweetest one, me oh my oh. Son ofa gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.”

A Cajun shrimp boil is the party equivalent ofa Creedence song. Spread your table with newspapers and toss on a huge, steaming,spicy pile of shrimp, corn, potatoes and andouille sausage.

Tom’s Cajun Shrimp Boil!

In the book Shasta & Lassen Camping& Hiking, outdoorsman Tom Stienstragives this hike a “10 out of a 10” forscenic beauty. He gives it an exertionallevel of two, indicating it’s an easy hike.There is something else that is reallyspecial about this place. It invokes thefeeling that you get on an alpine hike.You are treated with sweeping views ofLassen, Brokeoff and Diller Mountains.It just makes you feel alive! The air iscrystal clear, the skies are the deepest ofblues, and the high altitude adrenalinekick really puts it over the edge. It is wellabove the heat and the smog that is faced

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2 ■ Ledgerwood Law Group ■ www.ThomasLedgerwood.com

Stairway to Heaven continued from page 1

worn down and dangerous according toisland officials.

Although it is illegal to hike, youwould be surprised to see how many peo-ple you find hiking it, and also how non-dangerous the trek actually is. Yes, it is avery hard hike with some dangerousspots, but nothing near how the officials

Here is her report: If you ever find yourself on the northshores of Honolulu, Hawaii and are notafraid of heights or taking risks, the

stairway to heaven will be the mostmemorable and beautiful hike you willever experience. Google this hike. Youwill find out that this is a “forbidden, il-legal, and permanently closed trail,” butif you ask any of the locals, they willtell you not to let the net stop you fromseeking out the most beautiful viewsyou will ever experience.

The stairway was originally builtaround 1942 to allow the U.S. CoastGuard to access a radio antenna on topof the mountain. Due to the terminationof the station in the late 1980’s, themaintenance to the stairs was no longerkept. Storms and lack of upkeep overthe years has caused the trail to become

of Hawaii and the internet make it out tobe. It is an uphill hike of about 4000 steps,which took us about 2.5 hours, one way.Along the way, we found many rest siteswhere you can look over the island andsee the magical views.

In my opinion, the best time to gois when you can catch either a sunriseor sunset. That means timing your hikeperfectly, which is hard when you wantto stop at every level and catch each

breathtaking view. Despitethe risks and forbiddensigns along the way, weexperienced once in a life-time views, something thatyou would not want tomiss out on should youever get the chance.

Aloha, Alicia

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Ledgerwood Law Group ■ www.ThomasLedgerwood.com ■ 3

on the valley floor, which is a treat in andof itself. For us, it was one of the last hikes in thehigh country. My brother Jim, sonSpencer, and I took this 1.2 mile walkearly in the fall. If you are looking forsolitude, this is not the hike for you. It

is one of the most popular trails in thepark. I felt lucky even finding a parkingspace that could accommodate my truckat the head of the trail. However, what

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the trail lacks in serenity, it more thanmakes up for as a place of sheer prehis-toric wonderment.

I went down to Trader Joe’s beforewe headed out and spent twenty fivebucks on a “shepherd’s lunch,” which in-cluded a nice slab of Alaskan smoked

salmon, a crusty loaf ofFrench bread, a well-agedCanadian cheddar and apungent Trader Joe’s blue.We topped off the meal withthree huge Honeycrisp ap-ples and a nice chunk of darkchocolate. Yum.

This active geothermalarea does have its perils.Years ago, a young girl waskilled there when she fellinto a mud pot. So you want

to be careful and stay on the trails. Don’tworry! The entire area sports a well-built,raised platform that allows you to viewthe area in relative safety, up close and

personal. So, put this trail on your list fornext year!

Directions: From Red Bluff, takeHighway 36 east and drive 47 miles to thejunction of Highway 89. Turn north (left)on Highway 89 and drive 4.5 miles to thepark entrance. Uncle Sam will wanttwenty bucks for the privilege, but thepass is good for seven days. The trail ison your right, another six miles up theroad. Check out the park’s site beforeyou go: www.nps.gov/lavo/index.htm.

Happy Trials, Tom, Jim, and Spencer

Pop open a couple of cold ones and dig in! This is a great mealfor a fall party with family and close friends.

Years ago, I got to experience New Orleans at anNOSSCR convention (National Organization of Social Secu-rity Claimants’ Representatives). It was like visiting anothercountry. In addition to learning a shrimp boatload of informa-tion to help clients get SSD benefits, I gained a deep appreci-ation for Creole and Cajun food.

Having the best staff in the universe has its responsibilities. Thetroops were restless here at the LLG the other day. That onlymeans one thing: good food, and lots of it! It was Friday, whichis our review day, and I had no meetings scheduled. Yeah!

So at about 10:00 am, I motored over to Safeway and got the fol-lowing: * 10 lbs. of 13-15 count shrimp, heads off and deveined (Note: you can get a better deal at Costco.)* 6 lemons* 5 heads of garlic (halved and smashed)* 6 oz. of crab & shrimp boil (I like Old Bay or Zatarains.)* 1 cup cayenne pepper flakes (Be brave!)* 2 onions* 2 lbs. small red-skinned potatoes* 6 ears of corn (shucked and cut into two inch rounds)* 1 lb. spicy sausage (andouille, if you want to be authentic)* Tabasco* Paper towels* A few bay leaves* 2 bunches of fresh thyme

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Tom’s Cajun Shrimp Boil Continued from page 1

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1385 Ridgewood Drive ■ Suite 106Chico, CA 95973

L LEDGERWOODLAW GROUP PRSRT STD

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CHICO, CAPERMIT NO. 119

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This publication is intended to educate the general public about Worker’s Compensation, Social Security Disability and other issues. It is for information purposes only and is not intendedto be legal advice. Prior to acting on any information contained here, you should seek and retain competent counsel. ©LLG All Rights Reserved. ■ 4

Phone: 530-899-7178Toll Free: 888-761-7383www.ThomasLedgerwood.com

Cajun Shrimp Boil!Tom’s

You are going to need a big stock pot(about 16 quarts will work fine). Fill it up3/4 full of water and fire up your stove.Once you have achieved a nice rollingboil, toss in your shrimp boil blend, thecayenne pepper flakes, the garlic, and theherbs. Cut your lemons in half, squeezethem into the pot and toss in the rinds forgood measure.

Next, quarter your onions and pota-toes and toss them in. Give it about 8-12minutes and add the corn and sausage.Give it another 10 minutes. At that point,it’s show time! Throw in your shrimp.Do not overcook them; they only needabout four minutes. Just look for them toturn bright red. Drain the cooking waterfrom the pot and dump the food downon your newspaper. The garlic headscan be picked out. Call in your guestsand eat like there is no mañana. TheTabasco is for those who really like thepain. Surprisingly, even with a cup ofcayenne pepper flakes on board, the foodis not overwhelmingly spicy hot, justnice and spicy.

Lagniappe* Want to make this dish really pop? Weusually do not put a recipe in Safe Har-bor unless we have tried it at least fivetimes. The fifth time I cooked this mealwas for my brother Jim on what I call"He ain't heavy, he is my brother" night.This is when I venture to Bachelor Cen-tral each week and cook up somethingspecial for him in all his septuagenarianawesomeness.

Life is all about experimentation andJim has always been my prime food ex-perimentation test subject. I have onlymade him sick once (hint: never buy mus-sels on sale). He is an indulgent olderbrother and takes it all in stride.

I like to develop deep and “rounded”spicy flavors in my Cajun cooking. So in-stead of progressively adding the potatoesand corn to the boiling pot, I fried the an-douille sausage in a bit of olive oil first. Igot a really nice, brown crust on thesausages, which made for a great fond,"…zee brown bits...”. This is what makes

French food so tasty! Thereafter, I brieflyand lightly stir-fried the potatoes and cornin with the brown sausage drippings.Next, I added the water and cooked untilthe potatoes were tender. Then I addedmy shrimp for their brief dip in this veryflavorful broth. This turbocharged theboiling liquid and kicked the flavor of thismeal up several notches.

Jim’s pronouncement? “Mmmmmmgood!” How is that for a recommenda-tion?EnjoyTom and Crew

*A popular term in south Louisiana mean-ing "a little something extra".

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