Lake County - Cache Creek Wilderness

[jgaffney]

I was looking for a tune-up hike to start off the year. I didn't want to go to the Sierras since it's my first trip of the year - I wanted something close to me (Sonoma County) and low enough to stay out of the snow. I discovered the Cache Creek Wilderness, a BLM area just east of Clear Lake. A quick check with the local BLM office told me that I didn't need a wilderness permit or any fees. CalTopo showed me a 7-mile hike that would take me to a meadow near the creek where I could camp and fish for a few days.

I found the trailhead easily, right off of Hwy 20, with parking and an outhouse. I didn't see any water supply there. I started out on the Redbud Trail around noon for a nice hike through grasslands and a little bit of forest. The hike climbs up a 1,300 ft ridge, then comes back down to the first creek crossing at 3 miles. And, that's as far as I got.

Cache Creek was running about 4-5 ft deep and rushing along at about 15 ft per second. I stood on the bank with 2 other hikers, and we decided that it would be fatal to try to cross the creek. They turned around and left, but I camped just above the creek. I had the place to myself. I did some exploring around the area - there are a lot of fisherman trails up and down the creek, but there's a lot of waist- and chest-high star thistle that you often had to brush aside to make it through. Not fun.

I didn't sleep too well because of the noise from the roaring creek. I got up the next morning, had a cup of coffee and a powerbar, and walked out.

I'll go back there again some time because I understand that the fishing is good when the creek is not raging. It probably gets toasty out there in July and August, and snakes would be a problem. But, for a close-by fall hike, this could be fun.

[williegoat]

Very cool! I think there is a "Beyond the Sierra" section of the forum to post these topics. Cache Creek is my early season go to for a shakedown. For future reference, there are some water level/guage info available online like here:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-l ... period=P7D

Sounds like you made it to Baton Flat or thereabouts, which has a cool Peninsula feature behind it. Better luck next time!

I share some of my Cache Creek trips here:
https://www.spiritbleach.com/2021/09/ca ... ights.html