Traveling the Beautiful Modoc National Forest Roads Headed For Last Chance Creek Camp

Wednesday October 19, 2022 Modoc National Forest Roads CA.

Modoc National Forest Camp spot

We had a nice night at this spot and got back on the Warner Rd around ten this morning.camp1

 

Warner Road

We were coming out a side road onto the Warner road and stopped here to check the maps to make sure we were headed in the right direction. It’s easy to get turned around on these type roads.vans2

 

We traveled a ways on the Warner rd. as it was heading west and would come out at Likely on highway 395 which was a bit north of where we wanted to come out as we were headed south on highway 395. Warner rd. coming in from Likely was the main road in and in very good shape and went through some real nice country.road4

 

Mountain top meadows

There were big meadows up on the mountain tops.meadow3

 

Since we needed to go south more, we turned off on this road, County Road 510 which would eventually come out on 395 in about 30 miles.road6

 

The road was very scenic. We poked along enjoying the road and no one else was on it.road7

 

We continued along this road dropping elevation as we went.road8

 

As we dropped, the scenery changed too. We came out of the Modoc forest and onto this private land that seemed to be owned by a large cattle ranch. It was all open with no signs saying you can’t do anything, so it was much the same as the Modoc National forest as far was what one can do here. Camp where you want.raod9

 

Cattle working area up ahead

We could see a huge cattle working area just ahead, which usually means the road will get better as they bring big ten wheelers into these spots sometimes, so the roads are usually improved.road10

 

Big scale

We stopped to read maps and take a break here. This is the first cattle working area that I’ve seen a big scale built into it. It was a big old fashioned scale that was inside a big steel box, but not locked. Maybe they need the scale to weigh them and sell them on the spot where the big trucks haul them off to the new owners. the scale was big enough that they could weigh a bunch of them at the same time.vans11

 

I took off before Marty as he has to avoid the dust so he usually follows way back. But I stopped to check out what the sign had to say. Looks like we are headed in the right direction.van12

 

Down the mountain

We continued to drop down the mountain with highway 395 not far ahead.road13

 

Highway 395 south

It took us quite some time to get down off the mountain, but now that we were on Highway 395’s pavement we made good time. We were able to gas up on the way at a small station so we had full tanks of gas which is always nice doing this sort of thing. We traveled 395  for just over an hour with light traffic.395

 

Looking for our camp spot

We were headed for a camp site we found on the way up so I let the GPS lead me back to it going down this forest road.raod15

 

Sorta lost

The GPS took a different way to the spot near were we had to be but when we got there we were sorta on the lost side as far as just where that nice camp spot was, by the creek with beaver.

We checked maps and discussed the situation and rode around, sometimes coming back to the same spot for an hour or so.

We were about to give up and just camp as van’s can camp most anywhere, when I finally recognized the road to our camp spot, only about a mile up the road.

Found it

It was good to see the side road that led to our camp spot and we took it and set up camp for the night.

Tomorrow’s plans

We need to keep heading south and heading towards home to the west. Tomorrow’s camp needs to be near Downieville CA. to set as up for the final leg home on Saturday.

Nice day.

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Travel Day, Modoc National Forest, Warner Mountain Road

Tuesday October 18, 2022 Modoc National Forest, CA.

We broke camp in the Sheldon Wildlife Refuge where we spent a good night and got onto this road, 8a, a well rocked road that we made good time on. We had about thirty miles to go on it to Cedarville where we hoped to fill up with gas.road8a1

 

We stopped here at this water hole to check the map and take a short break. Wispy clouds in the sky today.waterhole2

 

Lug nuts

We drove on stopping at this roadside pull-off to check the map again. Marty suggested that maybe that old car had a lug nut I could use. I took a couple of them off but they were too large to work.sky4

 

Eventually the road turned to pavement as we got closer to Cedarville.road5

 

Gas at Cedarville

We arrived and pulled up to the pumps and noticed the pumps and the place were all shut down, so no gas. That’s ok, as we have big tanks and still had enough of gas to get to a place that will have gas on highway 395, when we get there.

Surprise Valley

We came to this real lush valley with lots of ranches and farms and lots of green fields. I checked the map and it was called Surprise Valley. After driving it for a few miles the reason they called it Surprise Valley was apparent after traveling through desert lands to get to it.vallley6

 

We are headed south through Surprise Valley, headed for those mountains way up ahead as we want to cross over them to Highway 395 on the other side of.valley7

 

Warner road

We took the Warner road up that hill to the right. It climbed up pretty fast and took us up to 72000 feet into the Modoc National Forest.hill8

 

The road was graveled and in pretty good shape except for some wash board. We climbed quite a ways until we got to this flat spot where we stopped for a break, before continuing on up the mountains in the back. This road is also called County Road 42.hills9

 

I heard some Sand Hill cranes and looked up to see this.cranes10

 

Camp spot?

Before getting back on the road Marty and I talked about maybe spending a night up in this forest and decided to do it if we found a suitable spot.

We are getting into the forest part, just up ahead. We didn’t run into anyone on this road today, nor on most of the roads we’ve been taking.road11

 

I think this view sold us on staying the night.road12

 

With the fall colors, everything looked great up here, so we took a side road to look for a camp spot.forest13

 

Camp spot for the night

This one will do. We put out our chairs.camp15

 

Hike

After sitting there resting up and discussing our day and plans for tomorrow I went for a little hike down this sorta road/trail which I saw on the map went down to a small creek.walk13

 

I went about a half a mile and found this little creek in this pot.creek14

 

Tracking app, no have

The trail had come out of those trees on the left and I’d been walking around out in the open when I had a thought, that I better be careful because that trail might not be so easy to find in the trees to make my way back. I hunted for it and did find it and marked it in my mind before continuing up around those trees to the right to come back into camp from above and if I didn’t, I could come back here to the trail to get back. I’d forgotten about the app on my phone, called GeoTracker that one can set a home point which was camp and it would track your trail all around and always show you were the camp was. I didn’t think of it and left my phone back at the van. I need to get used to using that app as I’ve had some close calls, or at least concerns about getting lost where I hike around.

I made it back to camp and we sat around enjoying the spot, satisfied we’d made a good choice by making camp here.

Sunset

sunset16

 

Tomorrow’s plans

We need to continue making our way towards home. That means we need to be at Last Chance Creek tomorrow, where we should have been today. We had an extra day to spare so we used it up today.

We’ll continue across these mountains and hit Highway 395 where I hope to post this blog and drive down that highway for about an hour and get back into the forest for tomorrow’s camp.

Nice day.

We’ve been driving through the Modoc forest for three hours and it was a real scenic drive. We are now at highway 395 where I’m posting this and will head south on that highway for a  little over an hour and then head on back in the forest again.

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