Modoc County -

[Lighthawk]

As usual we both find ourselves with the same holiday as everyone else. Go figure.
Such is the life of a weekend warrior. Having jobs is a good thing, it pays for the play time.

We were seeking a place to go without the crowds, so took a ride up 395, past Susanville to the Warner Mountains. We like to visit Sierra Valley on the way, so took 89 north from Truckee then picked up 49 which skirts the east side of Sierra Valley. We love the wide-open lake bottom filled with water and cows for the views and sense of space. Yuba Pass still had snow visible and water was flowing everywhere.

We have done a number of birding & biking trips in the valley and usually take the waters at Sierra Hot Springs afterward. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I had prepped for the trip by downloading a bunch of GPS coordinates onto a google map. We tried other online research but reports were sparse and unreliable. Our first chance to try my system was along 395 where Red Rock Rd comes in from Reno. My map showed a spring next to the highway, but all we saw was some old funky buildings next to the rail tracks. The Delorme Map Book showed the hot spring too, so we did some research while driving. We discovered the place was called Zamboni Springs and was private. A guy has his own spring that he heats his pottery shed with, his house, drinks the water, bathes in it, and irrigates his property. How cool is that?

Other notables along the way was the Madeline Plain which appears to be virtually unoccupied. BLM site has some off road loops there that look interesting.
Our goal was to reach Mill Creek Falls CG in the South Warner Mountains and the boundary of the Wilderness Area set aside in 1962. It was Saturday afternoon on the Fourth of July weekend and the campground was only half full. We got a nice site on a knoll within earshot of the creek and took a hike up to the falls. It was only a short distance with a little uphill to get there. The lupines were peaking.

I brought along a fly rod and the outlet of Mill Lake was productive. No photos, so you'll have to take my word There were some nice brown in the 12-16" class. I had some ahi to grill in camp so they were pardoned, which is my normal practice.

We enjoyed a wonderful first evening out using the Webber Q on the picnic table. The camp was clean with two toilets and running potable water, so a bargain at $6.00.

All was well until about 2am when my car alarm went off I went out and took a look around after shutting it off and saw nothing. I wondered if anyone would have tried a door? It was a mystery to us. We have locked the truck (2006 Tundra AC)many times while sleeping in the FWC and have never set off the alarm. When it happened again the next night I knew I had a gremlin. Still haven't figured that one out, but I feel better knowing it's mechanical.

The next day we explored Jess Valley via mountain bike. Stay tuned . . .

 

[MarkBC]

Cool, so far, Andy!
I'm always impressed when someone gets a good/sharp photo of a bird in flight, as you did.

Umm...and what is that bird? Kinda embarrassing, but i don't know

 

[Ted]

White-Faced Ibis is my guess, but only because I just looked through my book and see nothing else like it. And it is a fantastic shot Lighthawk, as usual for you. I have no idea how you manage to get such great action shots of birds.

 

[Lighthawk]

Ted is correct! WTW points awarded.
Secret to getting BIF (birds in flight) is fast shutter speeds: 1/800th or better, which means good light and/or high ISO. Takes a mid to upper grade DSLR to have fast focus too.

EXIF: Canon EOS 7D
1/800s f/5.6 at 420.0mm iso320

Confession: I threw the Ibis shot in to illustrate Sierra Valley birding, but this is a photo taken there last July.

 

[Lighthawk]

Our second day was a chance to use our bikes. It was our first trip using the new system of hanging them off the back of the camper. We were pleasantly surprised how little they get in the way and how solid the connection is. Getting the bike forks into the mounts is a bit of a challenge, but I'll get better at it.

We packed up and said goodbye to Mill Falls CG and drove a whopping two miles or so to park in Jess Valley, where we had spotted a bald eagle perching the evening we arrived. He was gone so we admired this fixer upper with decaying 50's chevy parked behind.

With an elevation of 5400' the giant meadow was loaded with running streams, sometimes crossing the roads. The Flournoy historic cattle ranch dominates the center of the valley.

We toured along enjoying the breeze. I looked ahead and saw something brown and furry moving on the road. I thought maybe a large tarantula? It was a bat that was struggling on the pavement. Susan is unafraid of spiders, bats and bears, so did a mini-bat rescue and placed him off the hot pavement into the brush.

We rode to the south end of the valley admiring the yellow headed blackbirds, and in the distance several herons. Water was impounded everywhere. I noticed a dirt road and an old barn across the valley and looked at my (downloaded) topo on my Droid phone. I suggested we try for a loop.

The day was hot, so we stopped for a lunch break next to a running brook in the shady grass. A pair of perigrine falcons were hunting overhead and quail were in the sage around us. It was lovely. There were ruins of cabins nearby, including one that had a listing church spire that appeared to be occupied. As we got ready to continue I noticed a piano sitting in the field. Yeah, a piano

We were intrigued as to what had transpired to set a piano out in the weather like that.
I was able to flick a few felt hammers and get tones from it.

It was an interesting study for a photog

My topo said there was a fork in the road, but we didn't see it at first. We backtracked and found a ditch with an overgrown double track. I was having fun bouncing on my bike through the sage and occasional marshy spring. We spotting a small herd of horses hanging out in the shade of some junipers. I put my bike down to get out my telephone lens and the horses came over, very interested in our bikes. Like getting ready to step on them kind of interested. We had to shoe them away, but they actually didn't want to move back. Sort of a Mexican Standoff.

Eventually our 'road' became a bog, but we were almost to the barn that was our goal.

We got really good at opening and dogging barb wire gates as we navigated our way back through a maze of ranch roads across the valley. A group of american pelicans were on the water as we crossed a levy. We saw a number of shore birds, ducks and gulls along the way.

White-winged black tern (had to look this one up)

Our plan was to cross the Warner Mountains skirting the Wilderness Area by taking South Warner Rd., a graded gravel road. We were headed towards Surprise Valley, a very different Nevada-esque environment of alkali lakes. More to come . . .

 

[Lighthawk]

And the saga continues . . . Hope someone is getting value from this.


Our trek into Surprise Valley was partly to explore the geothermal sites and seek usable hot springs. We struck out. We explored Menlo Baths and found bulldozed lukewarm pools for watering cattle. At least bashing about exposed us to some local fauna.

Anyone know what kind of lizard this is??

Strokin' the Horny Toad

The scenery looking back toward the Warner's was sublime

We drove north to Cedarville and beyond to Lake City where we thought we might head back into the Warners to do some primitive camping. Leaving the smallish town, we stopped to check out the abandoned flour mill.

Suddenly I realized there was an owl sitting in the upper window. Do you see it?

We spend a quiet night up the road from Lake City. The drive in was steep with volcanic hoodoos and a rushing creek. No one but us, which was good 'cause the d*mn car alarm went off again in the middle of the night

 

[Lighthawk]

Last installment, the drive home.

We awoke on the Fourth of July above Lake City. Driving down past the flour mill I spotted our owl friend again, but he flew the coop before I could get a better-lit shot than the night before.

The town was getting ready to celebrate.

Our goal was to head east and explore some hot springs near a resort called Leonard's. We found a spring called Chicken Hot Springs with a monument marker for the Applegate Trail.

Apparently the locals like to come out here to slaughter their hogs and leave the offal at the spring. No kidding. We weren't sure if we were on BLM or private property when we came upon the grisly remains of a pig slaughter. Wasn't some leftovers from the pig roast ralley was it???

We left and checked out Leonard's Hot Spring, which is the remains of a resort.

Hot and dusty we went back to the big town of Cedarville to hit the local grocery and buy some watermelon. I resisted the fireworks on the front counter. We retired to the local park to sit in the shade and do our best to put the hurt on the watermelon. Good stuff, especially on the Fourth.

We left Cedarville after admiring some of the wall murals dating from another age.

Taking 299 over the summit is a breeze compared to the South Warner Rd. It took no time to get to Alturas. We could see Shasta in the western haze, looking magnificent with it's mantle of snow. Susan endured my recollections of climbs I had done on the Wintun, Hotlum and Bolem glaciers.

We worked our way south with a few detours. After getting skunked on hotspringin' in Modoc we decided to hit Sierra Hot Springs on the way back. A three hour soak is $15 and worth it. We got refreshed alternating from the hot pool to the cold plunge and snagged showers. Ahh.

Our last bit of wildlife was just outside the springs where we spotted this wily fellow.

We got back to Truckee about 9pm and headed back up Hwy 80 over Donner Pass. I realized the fireworks were about to happen so pulled off at the scenic overlook. It was a party and as I cruised slowly a friendly guy waved me over and invited me to park behind their car. Cool! I broke out the tripod and snapped a few shots as a finish to an awesome Fourth of July get-away, without crowds.

Happy Fourth!!

 

[MarkBC]

Wow -- all great stuff, Andy!
Can tell you're using great glass -- and you know how to use it! Were the tele shots (coyote, owl) hand-held or tripod or both? If hand-held, does the lens have vibration/shake counteracting feature ("VR" in the Nikon world) or are you just a really steady dude? Were a couple of these HDR?

Love the bat! Bats are cool! (yeah, there's the rabies risk...but I hear the shots are much-less painful than they used to be )

I drove up through the Surprise Valley (from Gerlach, NV) on my way home from my trip last week, a couple of days after you. Beautiful area!

 

[ski3pin]

Starts with an ibis and ends with fireworks, great stuff! Thanks for the trip report!

 

[Lighthawk]

Can tell you're using great glass -- and you know how to use it! Were the tele shots (coyote, owl) hand-held or tripod or both?

Were a couple of these HDR?


Great questions, Mark. All were hand held except the fireworks. I do have a wide angle (17-55 f2.8) and mid-tele (70-200 f4) that are Image Stabilized; IS in Canon nomenclature. However, the 'yote shots and the owl were taken with my 400 5.6 which is not stabilized. I use it for birding and wildlife and try very hard to find good enough light for faster shutter speed, cranking ISO as needed. Software is getting much better at removing the noise from high ISO, so if I have to I'll go 800 or even 1250 ISO. I had to do that for the owl shot at 1/160th sec, stabilized by resting it on my truck mirror as I leaned out the window. I knew if I opened my truck door he would fly away.

And yes, you are correct I threw in a little HDR (jeep w/ flags, truck in Surprise Valley, Flouring Mill bldg.) I finally bought Photomatix and have been experimenting with HDR. My goal is to use it lightly to more correctly realize the dynamic range of the human eye, with a result that ideally won't be recognized as HDR, but a well balanced exposure. Sounds good in theory, but many times we have scenes that have blown out high range and deep shadows.
I'm just getting a handle on effective use, but will often bracket a scene just in case I want to mix exposures later.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

I love the owl, Lighthawk. Great report. I too have enjoyed the Warners and the Cedarville/Eagleville area. And you are right about the birds in Sierra Valley--I used to live in Sierraville.