Cache Creek camping?

[tradman]

Hi all,

I know it's a fool's errand, but I have the upcoming weekend free and I plan to go stump around the Cache Creek BLM area, hoping maybe to kick up one the elusive hogs that may or may not be there. If nothing else, I'll take my bow for a nice long walk.

I've never been to the area and was wondering if there were any primitive campgrounds or anywhere around there you could spend the night in the back of your truck.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Kentuck]

I don't know about sleeping in any of the parking lots but there is a campground just south of Hwy 20 on Hwy 116. Don't know the name but it is right above and access point to an area of BLM land named Blue Ridge. Also, north of Cache Creek is Idian Valley Reservoir. It has some primitive camps around it.

 

[bigolbuck]

I hunted there last year, during the a-zone deer season. I did see numberous pig tracks around the ponds. I just parked off the side (small parking lots) of H.W. 20 just a couple miles North West of the h.w. 16 intersection. Very nice looking hunting area. Saw a good # of Turkey. No bucks no hogs. Some hunters up the trail I was snoozing off of claimed they saw several pigs but couldn't pull off a shot. Bring LOTS of water. the terain is pretty rugged. Let me know how you did. Perhaps we could compare notes. Remeber Hunt early for hogs and late in the evening to! Those are the best times to get those porkers. Oh yeah... G.P.S. is a must for me out there.. Good Luck. I got a 200 pound boar last month on private property!!!!! mmmm-mmm Goood!!!!

 

[tradman]

Thanks a lot fellas,

I've done a little more investigating and figure I'll camp in one of the areas around Indian Valley Reservoir. There's a few primitive BLM campsites a few miles north of HWY 20. I plan to get there around sunrise saturday, hunt/scout all day, crash in the truck, and then hit it again sunday. If nothing else, I'll turn it into an A-Zone scouting tour.

Someone on this board recently said nobody ever killed a hog sitting home typing on the internet. I like that way of thinking.

I'll post my results, whatever they may be.

Thanks again for the input.

And congrats on the big boar! I'd love to bag a bruiser like that some day!

 

[rtbx15]

Tradman, the drive into Indian Valley from Hwy 20 is about 10 miles. Dirt road, a little rutted but not too bad. Once you are at the top of the ridge, the road forks. The right fork goes North to a primitive campground called Wintun Camp. Primitive is right. A dead end road with a picnic table and nothing else. Back at the fork, if you go left you go to another primitive campground, Blue Oak campground. Its a little better, concrete picnic tables, pit toilet, barbeque/fire pits and water. These are both free. If you want to spend a little money, go all the way down into the campground by the dam. For $14.00 dollars a night, you get picnic tables, water faucets, and an electrical outlet; plus the Indian Valley store is there if you forgot something important. They are also helpful with hunting and fishing advice. Good luck and have a good time, Bob.

 

[tradman]

Well, the short version of the story is, no pigs.

Longer version is, I decided to scope out Indian Valley Reservoir on saturday. I'll tell you, if there are any hogs around there, any sign of them, whatsoever, escaped me.

I used the Wintun camp as my base of operations. After a little hiking around at daybreak, I found two small springs on the western side of Walker Ridge Rd. that turned into seeps that eventually turned into creeks that (presumably) feed all the way down to the reservoir. I followed each of these westward downhill as far as was absolutely possible (probably no more than 1/2 - 3/4 miles each) until it was physically impossible to take one more step and found lots of areas that should certainly have held animals. There were plenty of likely places for wallows, lots of good spongey moist rooting areas, green grass, small protected meadows etc. Everything but sign of the animals that by all rights should be making their happy homes here. All I saw were a few very old, very small deer tracks and some dried up coyote scat.

Figuring maybe the eastern side of the Walker Ridge was a good possibilty, I did some exploring there too. I'd guess if there are hogs up there, they're probably feeding in the agricultural fields down in Bear Valley and then heading up into the thick brush to bed down during the day. I drove and hiked as many roads and trails as I could, but still found zero sign. I'd say you'd need to access through private land at the bottom of Bear Valley and work your way west up into the brush to have any success in the area at all. This place is thick beyond belief. I mean there is simply no way to penetrate it. I don't even think the guys with dogs could work them in there.

I did run into another hunter who was mainly looking for deer for the upcoming season and was having similar results. We compared notes and both agreed that while there probably are hogs and deer hanging out there, it'd take quite a while to figure out how to get to them. He managed to jump one doe who literally took a few steps away and completely disappeared into the brush.

Spent the evening glassing the meadows I mentioned earlier looking for anything that might show up. Nothing did.

Between the lack of game or sign, the raging ticks (picked one out of my head, ouch! and dozens more off my clothes), and the target shooters blasting away all day throughout the area, it was a pretty trying day.

Sunday morning I went to Cache Creek and hiked a few miles down the creek that runs south off the main creek. Lots of sign there. But the day was hot and I suspect everybody bedded down good and early, long before I got there. I ran into the other hunter I met the day before and he told me he spotted some good bucks in the main meadow there, but he spooked the elk, who were also in the meadow who in turn sent the deer packin'.

This is definitely an area I'll be spending more time exploring. Indian Valley, I don't know. It was loaded with quail, had some doves, probably full of rabbit too, but getting a downed bird or bunny out of there would be near impossible.

A nice weekend all in all. But I sure felt like I earned that cold beer when I got home.

 

[Lurediver]

I just talked with a bragging highschooler who came into my store and he was saying how him and his dad have been getting into the the hogs out there! He screwed up big time and gave up all of the info(exact location and many other details)!


I've been there before and have had simular experinces as you posted Tradman, but I might have to go back in the future and check out this spot!