Wildlife
Western Blue belly Swift soaking up the summer sun.
I have seen signs of many animals in the form of footprints, droppings, and of course visual ID of these animals. During my time in this area, I have seen Deer, Turkey, Quail, and Rabbit. Other animals that I have seen other signs are Black Bear, Coyote, Fox, Wild Boar, and Elk. If you look closely you will find a large variety of insects in the area including this tick I had crawling on my leg. As for decomposers, I was able to find just about everything from Fungi to insects in and about the area. Unfortunately, I do not have any photographs of these.
Pacific Coast Tick (Dermacentor occidentalis)
One of the Valleys visible from IVR
I have been coming to this area for the last couple of years due to the easily accessible public lands since most of this area is owned by BLM and its access to the southern end of the Mendocino National Forest. Accessing IVR as I mentioned before can be trying but once you access this area you can be treated to an area that at times you feel like you are the only soul alive. To access the southern end of this area you can take Highway 20 to Walker Ridge wild life area or you can take Bear Valley Road off of Highway 20 south of walker ridge to reach the northern end of the lake. Touring the area you would be treated to the views of Sacramento Valley to the east and mountainous areas to the west.