When I hid these caches there was no gate on this road. Even though, the road is dirt, it was in great shape all the way back. There are a few gas/oil wells along here, but no logging except what you see in the very beginning. I parked within a 1/4 mile of Rt. 948, near the gate on left side of road, you do what you want. There are other places along this dirt road for parking.
Keep in mind, this is what the road was like when I hid the caches. This is all subject to change in the likely event they do log this area. If this happens, you will encounter large logging trucks, that will not be expecting to see you there.
If you decide to drive all the way back, I would park between 16 and 17 on the right. Driving down to cache #17 will force you to drive through a large mud hole and I wouldn't do that. Also going to cache #18, the road gets a bit narrow and I'd also avoid going there.
All caches are hidden in my normal manner and surprisingly I did not get boored while out here. :-) It was a bit chilly on March 25, with light snow flurries. My motto when hiking is, "if your cold, then your not walking fast enough".
I hope all cacher's enjoy another beautiful area in the "ANF". "Keep on Caching"