NCKA WheelnChills

Now that some of the snow has started to melt a little I'm planning on hittin' the trails in the next few weeks and will be posting hook-ups, if anyone is interested in joining. I'm just getting into off-roading so these will all be easy trails, for the most part, and either day trips or one night camping trips.

First up will either be Indian Valley Reservoir:



Or The Mendocino Backcountry Discovery Trail:

I'm heading up to Indian Valley Reservoir for a day trip on Saturday Sunday to scout out camp spots. If anyone is interested in joining let me know. I'll also be bank fishing for crappie if I have time.

I'll be taking Bartlett Springs Road from Clearlake into IVR, BBQ'ing somewhere near IVR, then taking Walker Ridge Road out to Hiway 20.

Let us know how that goes. I’ve been wanting to try to Kokanee fish there sometime but was unsure of the trail conditions.

hell yea. this is a great idea a lot of us have 4x4 ive been seeing at the events.  id love to be part of future events like these,  but this weekend ill be busy.  next time you want to hit up hollister let me know, im only about 45 mins away and ive been there a few times. 

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Do most of these trails require plated vehicles, or would green stickers suffice?

My "4x4" is basically a minivan, so for any serious offroad I'd have to bring something a bit smokier.

Do most of these trails require plated vehicles, or would green stickers suffice?

My "4x4" is basically a minivan, so for any serious offroad I'd have to bring something a bit smokier.

Bartlett Springs and Walker Ridge are public roads, so a plate is needed.

Lots of MNF is green sticker friendly, but there are quite a few roads in there where plates are required, so tying different regions together requires advanced planning.

I can't make it this time, but I'm interested in off road fishing in the future. It always fun to combine hobbies:

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=99558.msg1115102#msg1115102

John

Let us know how that goes. I’ve been wanting to try to Kokanee fish there sometime but was unsure of the trail conditions.

Will do!

hell yea. this is a great idea a lot of us have 4x4 ive been seeing at the events.  id love to be part of future events like these,  but this weekend ill be busy.  next time you want to hit up hollister let me know, im only about 45 mins away and ive been there a few times. 

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Fer sher. Hollister just opened back up the other day.

If I head down there, though, it will probably be to do this:

I miss my ol` Jeep Wrangler..my last trip was Mendo Nat.Forest ...sigh ...

Take the Taco!

My daughter's Sunday soccer game got canceled so I'm going to hit IVR on Sunday. If anyone wants to join hit me up.

Looks like the crappie bite is going off. I might even bring a fishing pole. 

Let us know how that goes. I’ve been wanting to try to Kokanee fish there sometime but was unsure of the trail conditions.

The trails in were fine with my 4Runner and I saw a few Subarus and even a Civic out there. I aired down my tires from 37 to 22PSI and it made a huge difference.
Bartlett Springs was much nicer ride-wise than Walker Ridge, but both were awesome "trails". I'm going to try Bear Valley Road instead of Walker Ridge next time.

I spent too much time exploring to fish.

I'm going to try Bear Valley Road instead of Walker Ridge next time.

Bear Valley is certainly faster, but it's a bit boring.  It's what I call a gravel freeway.  Good meadow/field views, but a lot of straight and flat.  I've only been up in that area on 2 wheels, but I far prefer Walker Ridge Road over Bear Valley Road just so I'm not slogging the entire time.  Just my 2 cents, definitely worth hitting all the roads/trails in the area just because.

How was the water level?
Last year we drove down the launch 30+' below the cement apron to the water level.
Got a pic of the first gen down there, somewhere...
Brb
The bench above my truck was the launch.

Water level at IVR has been way up...but is steadily declining. A lot of the water crossings are already dried up.