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| Yellow Creek in Humbug Valley |
In these days of divisive politics and regional conflicts California often takes a beating in the national eye. Yes, we are a majority liberal, open-minded and inclusive state and I make no apologies for that. People have their opinions and disagreements about these things and that's fine. But the one thing that you simply can't disagree on as far as California goes is it's incredible natural beauty. The Golden State has it all (except tropical rainforest) and I took a couple of days to visit one of my favorite parts of it this past week.Growing up we spent a fair amount of time during our summer holidays in the Lake Almanor region with my mom's cousin's family. These fishing, hiking and camping adventures have always held a special place in my heart and it seems that every time I return, the area is even more beautiful. That's actually saying something as today the evidence of climate change is right in front of your face with horrible burn scars from the recent fires.
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| Butte Creek |
The birding portion of my trip began as it has in the past with the turn off of highway 32 onto Humboldt Rd. I followed this road up to Jonesville then over to the Humbug Road. This road on through Butte Meadows and up to Jonesville is really quite beautiful and would make an excellent bike ride, however, after Jonesville you enter the burn scar and it is quite devastating. Many of the typical forest birds of this area were seen with the highlight being an American Dipper doing his thing in Butte Creek.
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| American Dipper |
As I crested the Humbug Summit and began to drop down again I passed through heavily burned forest. Signs of recovery were evident in the understory with broad swathes of light purple color from the many patches of blooming penstemon. I turned off the Humburg Road and headed south towards Soda Creek Canyon for the day's main activity - a hike down to fish Soda Creek. Maps indicate a trail down into the canyon from Deer Point however it has been many years since that trail has seen any maintenance and it was difficult to follow all the way down. None-the-less I made it down to the creek and enjoyed a really nice afternoon of fishing. The creek is full of Rainbows and I think I only caught one less than 10 inches. At one point I had solid strike from one much bigger than that but he shook the hook pretty quickly. It was really good to return to this creek that Vic had introduced me to so many years ago. Back then I had a great day fishing with my dad, Vic and Ralph Andre. This time I was all alone but I felt all three of them with me as I had another fantastic afternoon.
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| Upper Soda Creek Canyon |
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| Soda Creek |
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| Soda Creek Rainbow |
After the nearly 1,000 foot climb out of the canyon and back to the truck I was pretty tired and decided that the rest of the trip would be for the birds and the fishing was done. Continuing on my way through the burn scar I headed for Humbug Valley where I expected to camp at Yellow Creek Campground, one of the most picturesque campgrounds I have ever encountered. As I turned to follow the road towards the campground I added two of my favorite mountain birds to my list, Lazuli Bunting and a family of Mountain Quail. Continuing on I was met with quite a shock. The campground was in ruins, the fire had done a significant amount of damage and it was obviously closed. So it would be plan B for camping, I headed into and through Chester and over to Clear Creek and camped out on my cousin's deck next to the creek. A lovely spot but pretty buggy. I watched the Common Nighthawks above the creek as I drifted off to sleep.
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| The burned over Yellow Creek Campground |
Next morning it was up early for coffee and pastries and on the road towards Eagle Lake. I took the A1 (Eagle Lake Rd.) off of Hwy. 36 which takes you up over a pass on its way to the lake. A few years back Jeff and I had taken this road and stopped at the pass and it was a good birding spot, it still is. Here I added Cassin's and Warbling Vireos, Orange-crowned Warbler, a curious pair of Northern Harriers, and Red and White-breasted Nuthatches to name a few. Eagle Lake brought me numerous Osprey, Vesper Sparrow, White-faced Ibis and a variety of duck species. Continuing north on CA 139 I made my way to the Ash Creek Wildlife Area just off of CA 299. Here I added Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Swainson's Hawk and a family of Barn Owls in the barn next to the parking area.
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| Barn Owls |
Heading west on 299 I made a stop at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park at the end of Rat Farm Rd. Over the years I have seen a number of interesting e-bird reports from this location so I wanted to check it out. It was of course the middle of the day so birdwise it was quite slow. I did enjoy a flyover of a Bald Eagle. As I drove west on 299 through McArthur, Fall River Mills, and Burney I was reminded of what a scenic road it is. I picnicked at Hat Creek and followed the unique drainage of the Pit River as it made its way towards Shasta Lake. My last recorded bird for the trip was a singing Yellow-breasted Chat along Little Cow Creek next the Hwy. 299.All-in-all a good trip that brought back many good memories. While there is no doubt that the fire damage in the area around Lake Almanor is significant, what we do know is that over time it will recover. The big question that climate change brings is how it will recover. Will the once great pine and fir forests of the area return or will we see something different in its place. Time will tell and I will continue to visit and watch as long as I can.
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| Humbug Valley |
