Jumping Frog Jubilee
by Sandy Sims

Rosie the Ribiter jumped 21 feet 53/4 inches in 1986 to break a world record, and nary a one has beat the long-legged beauty since. The old girl must be in frog heaven now, but frogs keep trying to out jump her.
Each year, during the third week of May, frogs leap into the limelight in the Gold Country. Frog owners of all stripe bring their jumpy little friends to Angels Camp, hoping to win a trophy or even to set a new world record at the Jumping Frog Jubilee. Owners stomp, jump, clap and scream some 2,000 croakers to the finish line, and 40,000 people come to watch the spectacle.
Last year, for the first time in 50 years, a hometown frog won the contest. Joe Kitchell’s frog Roy W. jumped 19 feet 4 inches.
This craziness was inspired by Mark Twain’s 1865 short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” The setting for the story that made him famous was Angels Camp, one of the gold rush towns in the Sierras above Sacramento. Back when Twain was there, the town was a dusty, Wild West sort of place.
In recent years, people have been breathing life back into the old buildings, and things are getting a bit gentrified, with bed and breakfasts, contemporary cuisine, art galleries, golf resorts, and wineries tucked in the nooks and crannies of the hills.
But driving into Angels Camp on Highway 49—just passed Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken—it’s easy to conjure up the dusty old streets of summer or the mud rutted streets of winter. The faces of the shops along Main Street haven’t changed all that much since gold rush days. And the antique stores lining Main Street and tiny side streets carry reminders of black smiths and mining and horse-drawn buckboards.
When the gold rush hit in the mid-1800s, people from around the world came to mine the nuggets that could rocket them into great wealth. Some did strike it rich; some found their wealth or at least a good living by supplying the miners.
Henry Angel was one of those. He came from Rhode Island to dig for gold but figured he’d have better luck opening a trading post. As a result, he founded Angels Camp. The town flourished during the 1800s, even got some world notoriety when Mark Twain wrote his story.
But the Frog Jumping Jubilee didn’t actually begin until more than 60 years after Twain’s story was published.
The idea for the contest was conceived in 1928 when the people of Angels Camp—still a mining town then—passed a bond measure to at last pave their roads. They wanted to celebrate in a big way and decided to trade on Twain’s famous story and have a frog-jumping contest. Some 15,000 people came to the first jubilee, and the winning frog jumped 3 feet 6 inches.
Today, the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee are a combined event, with carnival rides, agricultural events, live stock, a rodeo, entertainment on three stages, a destruction derby and more. Visitors can rent a frog if they want to compete at the fair. There are even frog jockeys for rent.
This year’s fair and jubilee are May 17 through 21. The 50 top performing frogs will compete for the championship on the afternoon of the 21st.

There are many things to do in and around Angels Camp.

Angels Camp Museum, Main Street, 209.736.2963

Golfing: Greenhorn Creek Resort, with an upscale restaurant and housing, Angels Camp. 888.736.5900, www.greenhorncreek.com  

Golfing: Saddle Creek Golf Resort with upscale restaurant and housing, Copperopolis, 800.611.7722

Wine tasting: Ironstone Vineyards, with gardens, gift store and concerts in an amphitheater. Murphys, 209.728.1251

Cave exploring and rappelling: Moaning Caverns, just outside of Angels Camp, 866.762.2837 or 209.736.2708,  www.caverntours.com
Mercer Caverns, Murphys, 209.728.2101, www.mercercaverns.com.

River rafting on the Stanislaus River in late spring or early summer, O.A.R.S (Outdoor Adventure River Specialists), 209.736.4677

Kayaking and canoeing at Alpine Lake, about an hour from Angels Camp, Sierra Nevada Adventure Company, 209.795.9310, www.snaccattack.com

Trekking through the giant Sequoias at California Big Trees State Park. In May the dogwood there is in full bloom. 209.795.2334, www.bigtrees.org

For information about accommodations and attractions the Calaveras County Main Visitors Center, 1192 Main Street, Angeles Camp, 800.225.3764 or 209.736.0049.   www.gocalaveras.com