Warner Mountains, August 29 - September 1, 2003
I know a place in California where you don’t need a campground reservation, the campground is only half full on the busiest holiday weekend, you may or may not run into another person on the 70 miles of trails, there is plenty of fresh air, gorgeous mountain scenery, flocks of birds, and a certain mountain mystique that will draw you back again and again. The Warner Mountains are a remote yet beautiful part of California known and visited by few Californians.
 Mill Creek FallsOn our visit Labor Day weekend we picked out the best camp site at the empty Mill Creek Falls Campground ($6 a night) and camped virtually alone the entire weekend. The stars were spectacular at night and the only sounds were the hoots of owls living in the forest. A trail leaves from the campground to lovely Mill Creek Falls and Clear Lake. On Friday we hiked to the Falls and to Clear Lake where we saw Stellar’s Jay, Townsend’s Solitaire, many yellow-rumped warblers, black-billed magpie, robins, mountain chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, red-breasted nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, hermit thrush, Pileated woodpecker, flicker, and prairie falcon. We continued up the Poison Flat trail which doesn’t go anywhere in particular but were rewarded by crossing paths with a flock of evening grosbeaks munching on the many red berries growing in the forest.
Mars which has been putting on a show of the century was shining red and bright all weekend after dark and the Milky Way was so thick it resembled the ubiquitous San Francisco fog across the black night sky.
Saturday we saw the most people, five, on the popular trail from Pepperdine Trailhead to beautiful Patterson Lake via the Summit Trail. Patterson Lake is an ineffably green lake set against towering, colorful volcanic rock walls. In and around the lake we saw blackbirds, Swainson’s hawk, osprey, red-tailed hawks, green-tailed towhee, an immature golden eagle, rock wren, black phoebe, kestrel and cassin’s finch. On the return we took the magnificent Squaw Peak trail where we saw no one. The trail passes through stands of aspens interspersed with sage flats. In the sage brush we saw brewer’s sparrows. That night we were serenaded by a northern pygmy owl.
 Sunday we took the Patterson trailhead onto the summit trail to North Emerson Lake. We saw no people but five different species of warblers, hermit warbler, Nashville warbler, townsend’s warbler, Macgillivray’s warbler, and wilson’s warbler. At the trail head we were so lucky to see two of the elusive black-backed woodpeckers. Emerson Lake was somewhat swampy and disappointing but the mountain views were outstanding and whatever may have been lacking in the lake itself was more than made up for by the solitude, quiet, and many birds. On the trail we also saw vesper sparrows in the sage, red-breasted sapsucker and hairy woodpecker on a dead tree and a brown creeper crawling up a ponderosa pine. We stopped by Blue Lake after our hike. It was swarming with anglers i.e. rednecks, but we did see a white-headed woodpecker and belted kingfisher at the lake. On the drive back to camp through Jess Valley we saw violet-green swallows, barn swallows, California quails, and an eared grebe (there were various unidentifiable mottled ducks).
On Labor Day we took the fabulous Pine Creek Trail to Pine Creek Basin. We were stunned to run into two people on the trail but they were fellow birders hoping to see a Clark’s nutcracker and I’m sure the trail did not disappoint since there are literally thousands of nutcrackers in the Warner Mountains. The trail follows pretty Pine Creek and passes an anonymous but scenic green lake and some ponds before opening up in a basin surrounded by volcanic cliffs. At Pine Creek we saw spotted sandpiper, wood duck, gadwall, chipping sparrow, and heard a cassin’s vireo.
On the way home through Alturas we stopped in at the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge where we were delighted to see both a great horned owl and a western screech owl as well as Canada Geese, White-faced ibis, killdeer, northern harrier, and white pelicans. It was 108 degrees in Redding on the drive home.
The Warner Mountains are a part of the Cascade Mountain Range and are home to over 300 species of wildlife and fish. Although we did not see one, they are also home to the northern goshawk and bald eagle. Rocky mountain mule deer and chipmunks are abundant. We almost ran over a porcupine. Other possibilities are coyote, badgers, bobcats, martens, weasels, and grouse. Though far from any major urban area, the Warner Mountains are well worth the effort and an unforgettable mountain experience.
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Mill Creek FallsOn our visit Labor Day weekend we picked out the best camp site at the empty Mill Creek Falls Campground ($6 a night) and camped virtually alone the entire weekend. The stars were spectacular at night and the only sounds were the hoots of owls living in the forest. A trail leaves from the campground to lovely Mill Creek Falls and Clear Lake. On Friday we hiked to the Falls and to Clear Lake where we saw Stellar’s Jay, Townsend’s Solitaire, many yellow-rumped warblers, black-billed magpie, robins, mountain chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, red-breasted nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, hermit thrush, Pileated woodpecker, flicker, and prairie falcon. We continued up the Poison Flat trail which doesn’t go anywhere in particular but were rewarded by crossing paths with a flock of evening grosbeaks munching on the many red berries growing in the forest.
Sunday we took the Patterson trailhead onto the summit trail to North Emerson Lake. We saw no people but five different species of warblers, hermit warbler, Nashville warbler, townsend’s warbler, Macgillivray’s warbler, and wilson’s warbler. At the trail head we were so lucky to see two of the elusive black-backed woodpeckers. Emerson Lake was somewhat swampy and disappointing but the mountain views were outstanding and whatever may have been lacking in the lake itself was more than made up for by the solitude, quiet, and many birds. On the trail we also saw vesper sparrows in the sage, red-breasted sapsucker and hairy woodpecker on a dead tree and a brown creeper crawling up a ponderosa pine. We stopped by Blue Lake after our hike. It was swarming with anglers i.e. rednecks, but we did see a white-headed woodpecker and belted kingfisher at the lake. On the drive back to camp through Jess Valley we saw violet-green swallows, barn swallows, California quails, and an eared grebe (there were various unidentifiable mottled ducks).
