The M-10 Transect

For some years now there has been a growing movement in Northern California to provide better management and protection to a large tract of land that stretches from Mendocino County in the north to Napa County in the south and encloses a large portion of the Coastal Range in this part of the state. Several bills have been introduced in Congress calling for the creation of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, the most recent of which, sponsored by our local congressman Rep. Mike Thompson and others, in Feb. 2015.

You can get more information about this movement at this website. I have had some occasion to see various parts of the lands included in this proposed national monument but wishing to see more of it we (Patrick and I) embarked on a journey to cross from one side to the other along Forest Service Road M-10.  We started out early, picked up a couple donuts and made the drive to Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in about an hour and a half. Much of the waterfowl has moved on and we did not see anything unusual or of note on the bird side. I did, however get to watch a river otter swim in the creek below the eastern viewing platform.

From here we took to the road again and went north to Willows. At this point we turned west and traveled along Highway 162 to Elk Creek and then south to Stonyford where we picked up the eastern end of Forest Road M-10. This road begins with pavement and remains paved until you reach the large camp area at Fouts Springs. As you climb away from this valley you begin to enter the evergreen forested areas of the Coast Range and the road changes to dirt and gravel. Although there are a few rough spots it is a pretty good road in general and it took us through beautiful forests and high open meadows. We stopped at any choice spot we found. Strangely, we found only a few birds, it was a somewhat chilly day which may have had something to do with that. For much of the road we could look to the north at the Snow Mountain Wilderness and as we descended the west side of the range we entered the southern most drainage of the Eel River, at one point crossing the Rice Fork of the Eel at a ford. 

One more long climb took us up and over the ridge to the drainage of Middle Creek which flows into Clear Lake. We had a really nice pair of Wood Ducks in Middle Creek near the bridge as we made our way towards Upper Lake. From here we connected with Highway 29 and headed back home to Napa, crossing over the shoulder of Mt. St. Helena and then down the valley.  A grand circuit on a grand spring day.