California s Warner Range in Autumn

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1 October Where, when, and how to discover the best photography in America Published since 1989 Morning light on Fort Bidwell at the north end of the Surprise Valley California s Warner Range in Autumn North of the Sierra Nevada Range, south of the deserts of Eastern Oregon, west of Nevada s Black Rock Desert, and east of Mount Shasta, the Warner Range is in a seldom-visited northeast corner of California and a great location for photographers searching for autumn color. The Warner Mountains are semi-legendary, a place few have heard of and fewer have explored. For those fortunate enough to hike the range, they will most likely have it to themselves. This lonely, majestic place promises spectacular scenery and the quiet solitude of mountain trails seldom photographed.

2 issue page 2 Modoc County s Warner Range has more alpine lakes than are found in other California mountain ranges. This mountain range is wetter than most in this area, largely due to its higher elevation and volcanic origin. Volcanic rock does not absorb water. Photographers will find waterfalls, streams, lush meadows covered with spring wildflowers, bizarre volcanic tuff formations and some of the best autumn color displays in California. The Warner Range is a northern extension of California s Sierra Nevada Range that, like most of California s mountain ranges, runs north and south, up the northeast edge of California for 85 miles. The Warner Range, although extending a few miles into southern Oregon, is not part of the Cascades. The western slopes of the Warner Range climb slowly and gradually to the ridgeline and then drop quickly down the eastern side of the range. Looking east into the Surprise Valley On a clear day along the Ridge Trail through the Warner Range, distant peaks of dormant volcanic cones can be seen for a hundred miles. Mt. Shasta rises more than 14,000 feet and Mt. Lassen is 10,450 feet. Mt. Mazama, now Crater Lake, erupted 7,700 years ago. Mt. St. Helens blew in The highest peak in the Warner Wilderness Area is Eagle Peak, visible at 9,892 feet above the town of Eagleville. Alturas, on the west side of the Warner Range, is the largest town in northeastern California with a population of 2,718. Modoc County is the least populated and least visited region of California, with only 10,000 residents. Highway 395, that passes Mono Lake and the Ghost Town of Bodie, also passes through the center of Alturas on its way from San Bernardino to the Canadian Border. You ll find a few restaurants, several grocery stores, and a good selection of lodgings in Alturas. A few dollars more than a chain motel, the historic Niles Hotel has been authentically renovated on the Main Street of Alturas. On the east side of the Warner Range are four small towns along the edge of the long and narrow Surprise Valley. On the other side of the Surprise Valley is the Nevada border. Down the middle of the Surprise Valley are the Upper, Middle, and Lower Alkali Lakes They are usually dry through summer months. Cattle is raised and alfalfa is grown here. On a cold winter morning, you can see steam rising from all the hot springs in this valley. Streams flowing down the west side of the Warner Range, merge with the Sacramento River and flow into the Pacific Ocean. Streams flowing down the eastern side soak into the Great Basin Desert and evaporate. Main Street, Alturas

3 issue page 3 October is the best month for autumn color. The abundance of aspens means great fall colors. Winter snows bury the Warner Range under deep drifts until mid-june. Summer brings spectacular wildflower displays across meadows on the Warner Range. The hiking season lasts from mid-june through mid- October. Autumn color usually peaks during the first week of October across the highest aspen groves above 7,000 feet. Down in the Surprise Valley, below 4,600 feet, poplars and cottonwoods turn yellow in late October or early November. Drive around the Warner Range California Route 299 extends from the Pacific Coast near Eureka eastward through Redding to the Nevada border in Modoc County. It s the only paved road across the Warner Range between Alturas and Cedarville. High up on the Cedar Pass summit, large formations of black spires and volcanic pinnacles rise above the north side of the highway. On the south side of Route 299 is a campground and ski center in a deep valley below the road. On my trip, this valley was filled with aspen groves at the peak of their color during the second week of October, later than usual because of a drought and warmer-than-usual weather. On the edge of the Surprise Valley, Cedarville has a gas station with a convenience store, several restaurants, a grocery store, and at least one motel. Stop and walk the short block of Main Street through Cedarville. You ll find two old wall murals classic Coca Cola ads covering the sides of buildings. The second week of October

4 issue page 4 It s a short season in this crossroads village. Route 299 ends at the Nevada border, ten miles east of Cedarville. Down County Road 1, seventeen-miles south of Cedarville, is Eagleville, a smaller village with an old general store and a post office. Five miles south of The Eagleville Post Office Eagleville is a marked junction with County Route 42 (CR42) the Patterson Mill Road that climbs steeply up into the South Warner Range, one of the best places to find aspen groves in early to mid-october. The South Warner Wilderness Drive all the way around the South Warner Wilderness, just outside the boundary, by following unpaved roads to photograph aspen groves without doing any hiking. You won t need a 4x4 if you stay on the two-lane, graded gravel roads and avoid the narrow unmarked back roads that are marked by dotted lines on maps of the area. The California edition of Benchmark Atlas clearly shows the difference between paved and unpaved roads on their maps. Just outside the South Warner Wilderness, County Route 42 becomes Forest Road 64 and winds through forests of pines and firs past Patterson Meadow and Parsnip Springs. Off this road, a dozen unmarked roads head south, down narrow canyons lined with aspen. Patches of color can be seen high on slopes above the road and along mountain streams flowing under bridges on Forest Road 64. I stopped in the middle of one-lane bridges, set up my tripod and photographed streams lined with yellow foliage and ponderosa pines without blocking any traffic. There were no other vehicles on these roads. The loudest sounds were the birds. At Jess Valley, Forest Road 64 skirts wide, flat meadows covered with cattle ranches then heads north as the West Warner Road to circle the South Warner Wilderness. Twenty miles north, this same road meets Parker Creek Road, crosses back over the Warner Range, and zigzags down to Cedarville, coming out of the mountains at the Cedarville Cemetery. The eastern boundary of the South Warner Wilderness follows the National Forest Boundary. The only road around the east side of the wilderness is the paved road between Cedarville and Eagle County Road 1. The Trails To best experience the South Warner Wilderness, you should do some hiking into these mountains. A great network of hiking trails, nearly 100 miles of trails, penetrate the 70,614-acre wilderness area. Inside the wilderness area, there are no roads and very little that s man-made, such as trail markers. East Creek

5 issue page 5 Buy a good trail hiking guide at one of the local Forest Service or BLM offices in Alturas or Cedarville. Pack topo maps or a handheld GPS unit loaded with maps of the Warner Range. When exploring a new area, I like to take short days hikes along as many trails as possible instead of long overnight hikes on one trail. There are five main trailheads into the South Warner Wilderness. The most popular hike inside the wilderness boundary is the Summit Trail, running north and south, connecting the highest peaks. This five-mile winding route between the tops of the highest peaks is where the most spectacular panoramic views are found looking west to Mt. Shasta and east to the Black Rock Desert. Access the Summit Trail at Pepperdine Campground on the north end of the wilderness or at the Summit Trailhead along Forest Road 64 on the south end of the wilderness boundary. North Emerson Lake, high on the edge of the ridgeline above the Surprise Valley, can be reached by one of the few trails entering the wilderness from the east side, south of Cedarville West Side Hikes The other two fairly-easy trails on my list of hikes are located on the west side of the wilderness, the not-so-steep side of the wilderness. During my first few days in the area, most of my hikes were into the west side of the wilderness. Since I was staying a few nights in Alturas on the west side of the mountains, I drove south down Main Street through the town of Alturas and turned east at a sign marking the route to the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, past an old steam locomotive on display near the highway. I drove east and followed the paved road marked CR 56. Avoid all the unmarked side roads along this route. At a sign pointing south to Jess Valley, turn right onto West Warner Road. Twenty-four miles south of Alturas, turn left when you spot another sign marking the Pine Creek Trailhead miles. The Trail to Pine Creek Basin On the first morning I arrived in the area, there was no traffic on any of the roads. My car was the only car in the Pine Creek Basin morning parking lot. Mid-October is the end of the tourist season here. For my first hike into this area, I had packed all my lenses and my tripod. I was ready for anything. The previous night the temperature had dropped to 28, and the trail was slippery in spots. Ice lined the creek, and all the small ponds along the trail were covered with ice. I tracked my route with a GPS and made several detours through aspen groves to find more aspen compositions. I made several detours to photograph trailside formations of layered sedimentary rock (volcanic tuff), eroded into bizarre shapes.

6 issue page 6 The elevation at the Pine Creek trailhead is 6,780 feet. The trail climbs gradually through a mature forest of Jeffrey and ponderosa pines during the 5.5 miles to the Pine Creek Basin, the Summit Trail then circles Warren Peak and drops to the edge of Patterson Lake, said to be the most beautiful alpine lake in the Warner Range. Morning light turns the surrounding basin walls bright red. Next time I travel in this area, I plan to do an overnight trek and capture reflections on that lake. I circled Pine Creek Basin and crossed the meadow, shooting aspen groves up close and from a distance. The creek was narrow, and I could jump across when necessary. Following the trail back to the parking lot was easy. It took two hours going in and one hour for the downhill walk coming back to the trailhead. Aspen and ponderosa pine sitting at 7,400 feet, for an elevation gain of 620 feet. After passing four small ponds along the trail, the fifth pond was much larger and marked the entrance into the basin. I worked around the pond with my wide-angle lens, capturing everything from grasses on the shoreline to distant aspen groves climbing slopes below a ring of volcanic peaks. An overcast and cloudy sky softened the light and lowered the contrast between the dark forest and patterns of clouds. This basin is a large alpine cirque, only a few hundred feet below the rim. The trail, easy to follow from the trailhead, merged into dozens of faint paths across the basin, some paths crossing the meadows and some climbing the slopes to higher destinations. Beyond the basin is a stark, volcanic-faced rim with few trees, where the headwaters of several small creeks flow from springs to pour down the mountain and fill small lakes. Warren Peak, at 9,710 feet, is the highest peak visible on the east side of the Pine Creek Basin. One of the trails climbing the east side of this basin joins Mill Creek Falls For a shorter hike into the wilderness, check out the Mill Creek Trail. To reach Mill Creek Falls, continue driving ten miles south on West Warner Road, past the junction with the Pine Creek Trailhead Road. Ten miles south, when you reach the end of the gravel road and are back on pavement, turn left at the next junction (one-hundred-feet farther south) and follow the pavement east for two miles to the trailhead and the Mill Creek Falls Campground located just outside the southwest corner of the wilderness Area at 5,700 feet. Pine Creek Basin

7 issue page 7 Mill Creek Falls Mill Creek Falls campground is accessible by paved road from the south, off Highway 395. Twenty campsites are scattered around a paved loop at the end of the Mill Creek Road. Campsites are under tall ponderosa and Jeffrey pines offering shade on warm days. Campsites in the Warner Range National Forest are available on a first-come basis. No reservations are necessary. Information about fees is posted on the bulletin board at the campground entrance. At Mill Creek Falls, campsites are close enough to the waterfalls that they can be heard in the distance a pleasant dull roar great for sleeping. Bring your tent and your sleeping bag, or sleep in your car and be ready for the day s first light. The Mill Creek Falls and the Clear Lake Trails depart from the backside of the campground. This half-mile walk is a short and easy hike to a good tripod location. From the trailhead, it is a 10-minute walk and a hundred-foot climb to a sign pointing the way to the falls. Mill Creek Falls, at 45 feet, is one of the largest waterfalls in Modoc County. A 24 mm lens frames the cascade in a vertical format. It s a long drop from the viewpoint at the end of the trail to the bottom of the falls. Stay behind the fence and shoot through the gaps. Back at the trail marker, take the unmarked trail east to Clear Lake, a one-mile walk beyond Mill Creek Falls. Twenty-minutes of gradual uphill climbing will take you to the next sign. It says Foot Travel Only. Take the trail to the left. In two hundred feet, the trail crosses a bridge over the stream flowing down the canyon toward the falls. Cross the bridge and bear left to follow the loop trail around Clear Lake, the largest lake inside the wilderness boundary. This lake sits at an elevation of 6,000 feet and has the largest brown and rainbow trout in this wilderness. A few aspen and many willows were at peak color, mostly on the north side of the lake. The mountains surrounding the quarter-mile-long lake slope more gently down to the north shore. The south side of the lake rises steeper from the shoreline, and the trail is higher above the water. The sunlight was diffused by a high overcast. Soft and open shadows were cast by ponderosa pines growing on the edge of the lake. By shooting multiple bracketed exposures, I was able to capture shadow detail in the dark pine bark as well as retaining highlight detail and textures in the clouds impossible with one exposure. For shooting steady multiple exposures, I was packing a new carbon fiber tripod, a bit taller and a bit heavier but much more solid than my old carbon fiber tripod. I was packing all my lenses Mornng at Clear Lake

8 issue page 8 Clear Lake and a 4-stop neutral density filter for shooting waterfalls. Spring s melting snow packs pour fresh and clear water through Clear Lake. In October, the water level was down five feet, and the lake was not very clear. At the far end of the lake, follow the trail for several hundred yards up the canyon, and you will find another bridge across the stream that flows into Clear Lake. If you don t find the bridge, hidden in a forest of willows, turn around and return the way you came. You can easily walk down to the water s edge along the north shore but not the steeper south shore. You won t miss anything if you do all your photography along the north side of Clear Lake. Hope for a partly-cloudy day and make this hike in the morning. Wilderness Permits Wilderness permits are not required for day trips or overnight trips into the South Warner Wilderness. Permits for longer backpack trips are available at any Forest Service, BLM or California Department of Forestry (CDF) office in California. Some of the campgrounds, including Mill Creek Falls, require a fee. For a USGS topo map of the Mill Creek/Clear Lake area, order the Eagle Peak map. South of the wilderness Patterson Meadows, on the south side of Forest Road 64 around the southern end of the Warner Range, is a good place to find aspen groves. Many small aspen groves dot mountain sides burned by the Blue Fire that burned 35,000 acres in the vicinity of Blue Lake on the border between Modoc and Lassen counties in August of Aspens are one of the first trees to reappear after a forest fire. These groves are easy to spot from Forest Road 64, the road from Likely to Eagleville. Blue Lake Road heads south from FR 64 to the town of Madeline on Highway 395. Blue Lake Road is unpaved and rough and narrow in places not steep but rocky in stretches through volcanic slopes. The upper end of this road is bright red volcanic soil, graded smooth. Turn around at the end of the red section if you are not driving a 4x4 with good ground clearance. Many photogenic aspen groves are located at the upper end of this road. Park along the road and walk out into an aspen grove with a wide-angle lens on your camera. See how many different ways you can create a composition, looking up or down, moving in close or filling your frame with solid yellow, backlit by the morning sun. Blue Lake aspen

9 issue page 9 Rabbit brush and sage Farther down Blue Lake Road, beyond the junction with Red Rock Road, bright yellow rabbit brush and sage was growing prolifically. This was a good photo stop with a wide-angle lens on my camera. Five miles beyond Moon Lake, visible from Blue Lake Road, I reached Highway 395. The tiny villages of Madeline and Likely have some interesting architecture worth photographing, including the Likely General Store. Likely has a population of 99. Park across the street from the Likely General Store, and you won t block the view when you photograph the old facade. The General Store in Likely Driving South on Highway 395 Just before reaching the south end of Alturas, stop at the Modoc Wildlife Refuge located on both sides of the highway. A wetland bird observation platform has a large parking area overlooking wetlands often filled with migratory birds. To avoid the long drive down the unpaved West Warner Road to reach the Mill Creek Falls Trailhead, drive south from Alturas to Likely on pavement and turn left onto the paved road marked CR64 the road to Jess Valley. Bear left at the Jess Valley junction and follow the pavement all the way to the Mill Creek Trailhead and Campgrounds. Highway 395 is fast but not very scenic. The side road to Jess Valley follows the South Fork of the Pitt River, a scenic place to photograph yellow willow groves lining a little stream in the autumn. Watch for parking spots used by summer anglers. You can also reach the Pine Creek Trailhead via this route through Likely. The last ten miles of your drive will follow unpaved roads, well graded gravel and suitable for any vehicle. Emerson Creek Trail After my day-hikes into the west side of the South Warner Wilderness, I planned to hike into the east side of the range. After a night in the town of Cedarville, I drove seven miles south, through Eagleville, and found a road sign marking the route to the Emerson Creek Trailhead. This three-mile unpaved road is steep and narrow. The canyon below the road was filled with aspen, cottonwood, willow and poplar, all in shades of yellow and orange, climbing the slopes below Emerson Peak (9,000 feet). Road signs and trail signs are rare inside designated wilderness areas. Pack a good topo map for hikes into the Warner Range. Above treeline, trails cross vast areas of volcanic cinders, where trails are hard to follow. Emerson Lake sits at 7,800 feet in a red rock bowl with vertical walls.

10 issue page 10 From up there, views across the Nevada desert are incredible. The climb is not for everybody. This 3.5-mile trail will test your stamina. Climb a short distance up the Emerson Trail, and you can still add it to your list. Starting from the Emerson Trailhead and campground, the trail climbs steeply. By noon, I was a thousandfeet above the trailhead and halfway into my climb to North Emerson Lake. Dark clouds covered the sun, and the cold winds became uncomfortable. I was ready for rain but not the snow that began to fall. I turned and headed back down to the trailhead before the trail became icy. The three-mile dirt road was slippery but no problem for my 4x4 with good tires. By the time I got back to Cedarville, a deep layer of snow covered the whole Warner Range. First snow of the season on the Cedar Pass Driving up the Surprise Valley The next morning, to avoid missing a good sunrise, I packed up my gear an hour before sunrise and drove east across the Surprise Valley and into Nevada. A few hundred feet up Windmill nine miles east of Cedarville the foothills, I had a better view of the Surprise Valley and most of the Warner Range covered with snow. Every few minutes, the sun would pop out between the clouds and light up parts of the valley, distant barns, and groves of tall poplars. Nine miles east of Cedarville, I spotted an old windmill in the distance. I pulled off the paved road and headed cross-country on the dry lakebed. A cold wind was blowing. The blades on the old Aermotor windmill were stationary. I waited for the perfect light on this scene, maybe a spotlight through the clouds, but the sky did not cooperate. After a thirty-minute wait, I walked around the windmill and photographed it from the other side. Looking north, direct sunlight was striking the peaks above Fort Bidwell, the northern most of the four villages along the eastern edge of the Warner Range. When I arrived there twenty-five minutes later, the sun was still shining on the small town of Fort Bidwell.

11 issue page 11 Morning on the east side of Fort Bidwell I drove most of the side streets in Fort Bidwell. Several of the original settlers homes are still standing on the east side of Main Street. Abandoned hundredyear old homes with collapsing roofs, weathered paint, and tattered remains of lace curtains still stand next to old barns. On the other side of Fort Bidwell, west of the highway, is a fairly large community with a modern school and a playground surrounded by green lawn. Mature trees line all the streets within this Indian Reservation or Rancheria, as they are often called in California. Six miles south of Fort Bidwell, a sign warned of snow on the steep switchbacks climbing out of the northern end of the Surprise Valley. My 4x4 and good tires got me to the top of the Fandango Pass for a spectacular view of morning light across the Surprise Valley and into Nevada, two thousand feet below. Back in the 1850s, most wagon trains crossed into Oregon on the more popular Oregon Trail east of the spot now known as Baker, Oregon. A pioneer party of 1855 veered south and passed into northeastern California. When they reached the summit of the Fandango Pass, they looked west, saw South of Eagleville, along County Road 42 Goose Lake and, mistaking it for the Pacific Ocean, started celebrating. As they were celebrating their successful arrival with a dance, Paiute Indians attacked and killed them all. The Fandango Pass is named for that party. From the summit, the Fandango Pass Road heads nine miles west to Highway 395, crosses it, and continues another three miles to the edge of Goose Lake, partly in California and partly in Oregon. From Goose Lake, Highway 395 heads 33 miles south to Alturas where I completed my circumnavigation of the Warner Range. Morning on the east side of Fort Bidwell Have a great trip and send me an !

12 When I m driving north from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Palouse, the rolling wheat fields of eastern Washington State, I get off the Interstate and cut across northern California to Alturas, where I pick up US 395, a more scenic route into the Palouse. Use Photograph America Newsletter #54 to plan your photo exploration of the Palouse. North of the Warner Range is Oregon s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a great place from November through April for migratory bird photography. In late September, the Steens Mountain Loop Road is lined with aspen groves at the peak of their autumn color. North of Goose Lake, head east on Oregon State Route 140 then north through the village of Plush, Oregon, to drive through the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. The highlights of Malheur are detailed in Newsletter #69. Ninety-minutes west of Alturas is Klamath Falls National Wildlife Refuge on the California/Oregon border one of the busiest refuges on the migratory route from Siberia, Alaska, and the Arctic for migratory birds heading south to warmer winter climates. Huge flocks stop to rest here. Some fly on to South America but many birds spend their winters here on Tule Lake. Read about these six separate refuges in Newsletter #34. My life-long career in photography began at San Jose State University in After college, I enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, serving as a photographer and darkroom technician. In Germany, my skills and experience with equipment and lab work were developed and polished. I took the opportunity to photograph the beauty of nature in the Black Forest. Returning to California in 1965, I produced industrial and military training films for Raytheon Electronics and began showing my color nature prints. From 1969 through 1981, my photography was exhibited and sold in West Coast galleries. During the early 1980 s, I taught color darkroom workshops, then expanded to include field trips. Former customers, who had purchased my framed photographs, wanted to learn photography. My Pacific Image Photography Workshops offered adventures to the Pacific Coast, the Southwest deserts, national parks, Hawaii, New England, Canada, England, and the South Pacific. The workshops evolved into writing and sharing my adventures with others. Photograph America Newsletter provides information on where, when, and how to discover the best nature photography in North America. Photograph America Newsletter is published quarterly (four issues/year) by Robert Hitchman assisted by technical associate/wife, Katherine Post Office Box 86, Novato, CA Tule Lake All contents of this newsletter copyright Robert Hitchman Please don t make copies for your friends. This is a violation of Federal copyright laws. This newsletter survives on subscriptions.