Van Tramp adventures 2018

[Van-Tramp]

Back on the road after a week of chores
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/back-on-the-road-after-a-week-of-chores/

[size=medium]We spent this past week in Grass Valley, with Kerri’s family, getting a ton of chores completed on the Airstream, storage units, my teeth, another small construction project for Big Blue, and the dog’s vaccinations. One plus side to it all was a consistent address for a week. That meant a horde of boxes being shipped in for us to resupply or replace items in the van. It was a busy, and tiring week  for us – I won’t bore you with all the details – but on Saturday we were able to pile back into the van and get back on the road.

We had a few week window while the trailer is at the shop for us to explore some more of California; mainly to drive down the gold rush highway – State Route 49 – that runs North to South in the Sierra foothills. Other than the few miles of the road that I have seen in the past thanks to my Mother living along it for a few years it is an area of California that has gone “un-tramped” by me. It also happens to be on our way to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.
 
First we needed to put some miles under out wheels and get out into some more National Forest boondocking. This proved to be a little more difficult then in our recent month, it being the West side of the Sierra’s and all. But after a few busts and a spat or two we finally came upon our home for the night, atop a mountain and down a tiny two-track path. We promptly wet up our chairs, a pair of cocktails, and watched the sun set. It sure felt good to be back in the wild.



Thank you[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Revisiting the Hetch
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/revisiting-the-hetch/

[size=medium]We had canceled our reservations to camp in the Yosemite Valley because 1) we had both been there multiple times, and 2) the damn crowds. Instead we chose to visit the Hetch Hetchy Valley (a revisit for me) and hike out to a not-so-well-known water fall; Wapama Falls

Even though 40 cars (said the Ranger at the gate, who loved Big Blue’s “tactical brown” paint) beat us into the parking area, one space was left available for the big van. Here we opened the doors and started preparing our breakfast after the hour drive from our camp on top of the mountain. After eating and applying ample sun block to Kerri’s delicate skin, we set out for our first hike together in some time. The dogs had to stay back at the van – it being a National Park and all. The hike felt good, and the payoff at the end of the 2.5 miles was amazing in April with the water runoff being near peak. Wapama Falls was a raging bull, spitting it’s water onto the boardwalk trail and beyond. I love just how close you can safely be to this fall – not only to get misted, but to really feel the power of it all.


After a quick lunch we hiked back, piled into the van, and set out for a spot in the forest where I had camped before, back in 2011. I’m pretty sure I found it, but it wasn’t guaranteed thanks to the massive fire damage that was in the area. Back in ’11 Big Blue and I camped under huge pines. Now, nothing but ashen stumps existed. So, we drove on down the road with our eyes open for a dirt road to beckon us in. It didn’t take long at all, and after a few minutes scouting around we stumbled onto a spot that I think Kerri wanted to settle down for good. We camped right beside a small river (or stream, I guess) under tall pines. The area had obviously been camped in before, but not for some time. First thing Kerri did was start picking up the trash left behind by others. Not that we have any room to carry an additional bag of trash, she does it anyway at every spot we come too. We then settled into a beautiful night of axe sharpening, cocktails, and laughing before pulling the bed out and sleeping with our windows open for the first time in a while.

 
Good ol’ Hetch Hetchy.[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Dam camping and my first rattle snake
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/dam-camping-and-my-first-rattle-snake/
[size=medium] 
We moved every two days this past week, partly due to the need for better solar, partly for the need of showers, and partly because we live in a van and can! It all started with a few days on a mountain above Oakhurst, CA. Although the area is an OHV trail system, we figured it would be manageable on the weekdays. We spent the afternoon scouting all the roads, finding numerous mediocre spots, and an “eleven” right beside a small waterfall. The only problem with the waterfall spot was the lack of a usable cell signal, even with our boosters. We settled for one of the mediocre spots for two nights, until our battery was screaming for us to move. Tall trees surrounded the van, preventing the sun from getting ti our panels. As I write this, I find out that neither Kerri or myself took a single photo of the place we actually camped, that’s how mediocre it was, but I did get this one of the “eleven”.

Once we decided to move Kerri found a nice spot about an hour’s drive away, perched above a dam and a reservoir out in the middle of no where in the National Forest. After the work day, as we were moving to the new spot,  we ran into my first ever sighting of a rattle snake in the wild. Actually, Kerri spotted it on the side of the road as I was driving past. I then backed up to see it as well, catching only a glimpse. The thing was huge, at least 6 feet long, and just slowly slithering it’s way back into the tall grass beside the road after Big Blue disturbed it’s afternoon sunbathing. We made it to the dam camping alive, and settled in for two more days camping above the roaring waters being released out the far side. During that time we were notified of another rattler nearby, and I found a large snake skin that one shed not too many days before. The place was packed with rattlers, so as you can imagine both dogs were kept on very short leashes during the duration.



By the end of the week we both seriously needed a shower. With no gyms nearby, the task fell into a paid campground. Once again, Kerri scouted out a nice state recreation area – Millerton Lake – to stay a night and abuse their showers. Certainly not the best showers we have had, but they were the best we had *that week*, and they did do the job of getting a week worth of grime off us. The Millerton Lake area turned out to be nicer then originally expected. Maybe we caught it at the best time of the year. The flowers were popping, the grass was golden and tall, and with the large oak trees sprinkled around, it just did it for me. Moose stayed leashed up the our big Oak, chasing lizards and squirrels for hours. He really enjoyed it there, so did I.

Thank you [/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Kings Canyon Nat’l Park
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/kings-canyon-natl-park/

[size=medium]I’ve been on the road for years, and seen more than 100 National Parks across this country, but two that have always eluded me all this time is Kings Canyon and Sequoia. I have had to pass them by so many times only because I am never in this area during the correct season – winter is not the time to visit these mountain parks. This week, I get to check one of them off; Kings Canyon National Park.

After parking Big Blue and the dogs in the campground, Kerri and I set out on foot for the 1 mile trip to see the General Grant tree. A massive – I mean really massive – sequoia tree… the second largest tree in the world in fact. I’ve seen a lot of big trees, but I admit being at awe by just how massive this guy was. As much as I tried, the poor little iPhone just wasn’t up to capturing it’s scale. We continued to explore the trail system in the grove before making our way back to the van. When we pulled in to the campground earlier in the day, we setup in the less-traveled loop right beside a well known Airstream.  The Watsons had been here all week and we hadn’t seen since the eclipse gathering in Idaho back in August of 2017. They were leaving the next morning, but it is always nice to see friends on the road none-the-less.
We set out the following morning to visit the Cedar Grove area of the park. An hour’s drive down a windy road into the valley provided numerous breathtaking views. A quick stop at Grizzly Falls for a view and a lunch broke the drive up for us.
Much of this area is in National Forest, and we even considered setting up camp for the night somewhere in this area. But first, a hike a few miles down the South Cedar Grove trail. We had no real destination but to get out there a few miles and see what Kings Canyon was offering. All in all it wasn’t much more than a picturesque walk through some amazing forest, some of which was recently burned by a forest fire.



Those sections gave a feeling straight out of a kids story book, but were also prime locations to find a very elusive mushroom that Kerri had been seeking for years. She came prepared for the hunt, and on our way back down the trail she scored with a single sighting. That one mushroom turned into a 40 minute scouring of the nearby forest, netting her a nice bundle of edible mushrooms. She was one very happy girl on the hike back to the van, with a bag of shrooms in her hand and a pep in her step.

The next four days were work days, and we settled into our normal routine while the cold weather rolled in for a few days. Freezing rain, normal rain, fog, and below freezing temps were the norm for the next two days. No big deal though, we had things covered. The van stayed comfortable inside thanks to the added insulation during the rebuild, and some well positioned curtains and blankets to block out the chill from the windshield.

The sun returned on Thursday, and so did the warmer temperatures. The battery desperately needed some charge, but we were only getting direct light on the panels for a few hours each day. Again, no big deal – I just took Thursday off and set out for a hike of my own; a 3 mile loop on a not-so-regular trail helped reset my brain and get a little “me time”. I’ve been promising myself (and Kerri) to take more hikes on my own (with Moose whenever possible), both for my own mental well being and Kerri’s. No matter how much you love a person, a few hours away is necessary… especially when you have to live within a few feet of me all day![/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Redwood Canyon hike
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/redwood-canyon-hike/

[size=medium] Saturday morning we left what was our home for the past week, hoping to find another camp site in Sequoia National Park. It was a risk, as the campground in King’s Canyon was near full the night before, but we had a big hike to pull off before. It came highly recommended from Tim and Amanda Watson after their hike just a few days before, so we arrived and set out on a four-hour journey through some crazy badass forest land filled with Sequoia and mushrooms galore.
Literally, the mushrooms ended up what the hike was all about. Kerri and I were spotting one or two every few minutes. This meant we stopped many times while Kerri inspected and decided to harvest or not, and then harvest (or not) each mushroom. It brings her so much joy, who am I to rush it, right? Heck, even though I have no love at all for mushrooms, I definitely enjoy foraging for them. We left the trail that day with a full bag of mushrooms, none of which I am interested in sticking into my mouth, so Kerri has a lot!
 


I will be the first to admit that my hiking in recent years has greatly reduced. What use to be a fairly mild hike is now a long one for me. This day we hiked nearly 7.5 miles including up and down some good grades. I was OK the first six miles, but the final mile was a slow climb up to the parking lot. It completely wiped me, but it was nice to put in some decent miles in my hiking career again.


 
Thank you[/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

nice, thanks for the updates. I sure missed your adventures, when the forum was down. I upped your rating because there is no like button at the moment. highdesertranger

 

[Van-Tramp]

Sequoia National Park
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/sequoia-national-park/

[size=medium]
 
It was a short visit, being that Sequoia National park has no cell signal for us tospend the work week. Instead, we spent two of our weekend nights at the Lodgepole Campground and visited some of the main attractions in that area. First being the General Sherman tree – another monsterous Sequoia tree. Though slightly smaller than General Grant in King’s Canyon I couldn’t help be wonder how these guys can do what they do. It requires a lot of resources, and a long time, to grow to this size. Dinosaurs, they are, for sure.[/size]

[size=medium]
On our one full day we had, we set out for another 6+ mile hike through the Giant Forest and into Crescent Meadow area. The prestine trail indicitive of the high sierras made for a mostly easy hike, thanksfully. It was just the day after our previous 7+ mile hike. The meadow was spectacular, of course, but it is Tharp’s Log – a cabin built into a downed Sequoia tree – that reallycaptured me. We only spent a few minutes there to eat a quick snack, but I spent the time wisely- day dreaming of living out there while my shee/goats/etc grazed in the meadow. Oh man woud i have loved to do that back in the day.





The following morning we set out West, on our way to the Big Sur area. Six hours of driving (and restocking supplies) got us most of the way. We just have to wait out the work-week before driving the last hour… no cell in Big Sur and all.[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Williams Hill Recreation Area
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/williams-hill-recreation-area/

[size=medium]It was certainly a culture shock to make the jump from the Sierra Mountains to William’s Hill – a few hours due West of our previous weekend’s adventures – but Kerri had a hankering for some sea views in Big Sur, and who am I to keep my girl wanting. But first we needed to burn off the work week, and that is where William’s Hill comes in.
Honestly, it is a nothing of a hill. Not very high. Not very scenic. And not very large an area either. I don’t know who this William character was, but he must not have been the greatest man to ever live to get this hill named after him. Obviously great enough to get a hill named, but not all that great. Nonetheless, William’s Hill (BTW, thanks William) was exactly what we needed – out in the wild, peaceful, a cell signal, and free! An established campground in a tiny rec area, with a pit toilet and everything I tell you. (Yes, that is right, pit toilets are considered a luxury in my life again).

We stayed the four days, worked, walked, ate, enjoyed a few sunsets, and just did our normal thing until we could leave on Friday night to make the final 90 minutes drive into the mountains before the sea. William’s Hill was a perfect spot for exactly that.
On the down side, not only were the flies just some of the most annoying on the planet, the locals that come up here really show their breed in how they leave their our public lands. And, on our way out, not only did we see our second rattler in as many weeks, we saw this… um, display. Scary as shit right? (Yes, that is what you think it is on top of the shot up car).
[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Boondocking the Sur
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/boondocking-the-sur/

[size=medium]T’was all about the ocean for a few days over the weekend. Kerri’s fixation on the Big Sur area brought us to the top of a coastal mountain the first night, where we planned to stay until morning and swoop in at the ocean-side campground down the road. Kerri navigated us few files down a rough dirt road, to camp cliff-side for a view of the Pacific – which did not show itself the first evening thanks to the fog. We had a great view, ocean air, and we thought some privacy as well. As it turned out, many more people traveled this road than I originally thought. By nightfall it was quiet, however, and all ours.
 


We departed early the following morning, drove down the mountain side to Kerri’s chosen campground, and found (as we suspected) that there really was no hope of getting a site. Almost all were reserved many months in advance, and the few that were “walk-in only” were going to be occupied for the remainder of the weekend. Oh the joy’s of being in a state with 40-million others. No worries, we don’t need no stickin’ campgrounds!
Instead, we took the time to drive the coastline as far as we could to the South. Eventually we ran into the slide that has blocked the road for a few years now. Here we turned back North for a few miles were we left the asphalt once again, climbing up the coastal mountain on a dirt road a few miles, and parked Big Blue cliff side for another afternoon and evening overlooking the Pacific. Kinda crazy to think there are some free-camping spots in such a place. Coastal California isn’t known for being so welcoming to free-camping, but there are some areas if you are willing to take the rougher dirt roads.

For Kerri, things don’t get much better than this. She loves the ocean. For me, I found myself facing East more than towards the waves. To the East were mountains, trees, streams… life! Those mountains, both visible and too far to be seen, were where my brain wanted to be. I’m fine with the ocean, but to me it signifies the end of the land – hence, the *end* of adventures. I will have to get over that if we plan to be sailing in a few years I suppose.

T[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Mugged in Monterey
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/mugged-in-monterey/

[size=medium]With our weekend in Big Sur coming to an end, we rolled into Monterey to spend a few of the work days. There, not far out of town, is a county park that allows camping, up to 3 days. This would work out perfectly for us as we wanted to stay only a few nights before making the jump over to visit my family for the last days of the week.[/size]
[size=medium]
We had a non work day in town to spend as a tourist, so we called up Lyft for a ride (one of the great things can-camping so close to town) and got chauffeured straight to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. There we were immediately mugged for an outrageous sum of $100 for us to enter the aquarium in which we both agreed was way too much. Too much for the average family to pay to bring their 2.3 children to learn about preservation and wildlife. We were not alone in this thought, as others complained out loud to the staff and some walked away instead. We opted to be nice silent victims and be an oblivious tourist for the day – afterwards walking the Cannery Row and eating lunch at a touristy dinner before calling for our chauffeur to returns us to our mansion in the hills.

[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Mineral boondocking
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/mineral-boondocking/

[size=medium]After all of Big Blue’s spa week, we finally got on the move again. Although it had only been just over a week of visiting both families, it felt like an eternity of stationary life. Northbound was our direction, although we would end up tossing in a whole lot of West and East in the mix. First, we needed to drop in at my brother’s new place in Red Bluff, just a few hours up the infamous Interstate 5. There we suffered through our first 90+ degree day in… I don’t know how long, but it’s been a very long time. We did just hang out in the house, eating BBQ and visiting a part of the family I rarely get to hang out with. I was never very close with any of my family members, but since starting my nomadic life, I sure have gotten to know them, as well as all my nieces and nephews, a lot more.
The following morning, with high 90’s coming in, we got moving early. The plan was to shoot up the mountains into cooler elevations. We were coming here for Lassen Volcanic National Park, but we had to wait out a work week first, so instead aimed for Mineral, California. A tiny town – just three buildings – but surrounded by National Forest and only a few miles away from the National Park. Kerri, once again, picked an amazing dirt road for us to scout, and within just a few minutes we spotted a great place to call home for the week. We moved on anyway, driving a few dozen more miles along twisty dirt roads. Up and down mountain sides we looked for an epic spot, but after a few hours scouting we decided the first spot we found was the best.

Here, two miles out of town and a few hundred feet down a barely visible two-track path, we settled between tall pines and hoped we would get enough solar for the week. We had a view of Lassen though the trees and all of the forest to ourselves. The dogs were able to run free again, something they have been held back from doing for a few weeks now. I got to pull out my holster and pistol and get some much needed practice in. And Kerri and I both got a lot of time sitting outside with cocktails after the work day was complete. Moose and I even took a walk to town to drop off my Brother’s keys that stowed away in Big Blue when we left Red Bluff.
It took a few days before a neighbor dropped by to check in on us. He, Tracy, mentioned that he camps up on the main road regularly (he is a National Park trail worker) and had never noticed the small path we decided to drive down. He was surprised enough to come see who we were. Over a beer, I got him to give up all sorts of secret spots in the area. So many that we completely scrapped our plan to visit the National Park the upcoming weekend and stay another week in the National Forest around the National Park so we can do all this exploring that Tracy showed us. That story to come.
[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

100 miles of forest roads in a weekend – pt1
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/100-miles-of-forest-roads-in-a-weekend-pt1/

[size=medium]I’ve always dreamed of spending a chunk of my life off-asphalt – just driving for days on the dirt and gravel forest roads that sprinkle the West. I’ve always shy’d away from it though, some times due to the hit in my mileage and others from the safety concerns. He is an old van and in all reality was never intended for off-road trekking. He’s no Sportsmobile. It has only been this year that Big Blue has really had that ability with the larger tires and slightly raised suspension and we have been spending more time off road than ever before. Armed with a ton of info from our neighbor trail worker from our last spot – as well as Kerri’s satellite map scouting – we left our boondocking spot near Mineral on Friday evening for one big weekend adventure. First we needed a quick stop in town to resupply. That is where Chester came in with a grocery store and a top-off of the ol’ fuel tank… and then we were off.
It was only a few minutes before sunset, but we pulled into our first stop of the weekend on Friday night. It wasn’t far out of Chester, but Domingo Spring Campground checked all the boxes. Forest camping, no Internet, and we had the place all to ourselves. Yea, we could have boondocked right next door but the tiny little campground had a vault toilet (a luxury), fresh water, and trash cans. We desperately needed to dump some trash, and the sign was quite clear that the cans were for paying campers only… so we paid as to not take advantage of the Forest Service.

Domingo Spring, I assume, was found by some guy named Domingo. I don’t really know but that is the story I’m going with. The Spring was right outside the campground, but the water that ran out of the spring came directly through the campground – splitting it in half. A walkway traversed over the marshy meadow, which was as picturesque as I could ask for.


In the morning we walked the campground, checked out the spring and pool, then headed out to take our first dip into Lassen Volcanic National Park. Way down at the South-East corner of the park, accessible only by a long and winding road through the forest is the Warner Valley section of the National Park. Here we set out on a 5-mile (round trip) hike out to what the NPS calls the “Devil’s Kitchen”. Sounds cool right? It is a hydro-thermal area – one of many I presume – of boiling water and steam coming up through the rocks. Very much like a mini Yellowstone here, and thankfully without the huge crowds.


Now, late in the afternoon, we had to drive back down the same forest roads we came up and return to Chester. Not for any reason other than to pass through the town, though I did top-off the fuel and candy again before popping right back out the other side. We only drove a few miles on the main highway before taking a hard left and back onto forest roads, in which we would spend the next two nights traversing.
The location we were going to spend our Saturday night  turned out to be a bust. A cute little lake (Echo Lake) was recommended by Tracey, the trail worker, but ended up being a local favorite and crowded. We moved on to a place Kerri had earmarked to explore. Hay Meadows was our spot. Way down at the end of a dirt road, it looks used very little by anyone. We parked and swung open the doors to setup camp. An amazing marshy-meadow was visible through the trees right outside Big Blue’s side doors.

The dogs got to run around like crazy, playing fetch and dipping paws in the marshy waters. Kerri and I relaxed over a fine van-prepared meal, some cocktails, conversation, and a game of Yahtzee while the sun set. This is what van-life is all about!
to be continued…[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

100 miles of forest roads in a weekend – pt2
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/100-miles-of-forest-roads-in-a-weekend-pt2/

[size=medium]A peaceful night at Hay Meadows is where we left off in the story, although I did leave out the hordes of mosquitoes due to the marshy landscape just a few feet out our door. Kerri and I are just beginning to accept that it is the season for those F’n things. For the life of me I can’t figure why they exist at all.
Anyway… we survived the mosquitoes at night and rested peacefully until morning. After coffee, we decided to walk some of the trail leading off into the woods. Moose came with while Byron worked on his beauty some more. It was a pleasant 1-mile hike out into the woods, along tiny ponds and meadows, crossing a small stream or two… and more mosquitoes of course. I was in no mood for a proper hike, just a stroll, so once the trail began going uphill I opted to turn around to return to out weekend’s adventures.

We had the majority of the day (Sunday) to do what we wanted. We did not have a huge number of miles to travel before out next hopeful location to camp, so we took our time doing just about everything. It was nearing noon by the time we left the meadow, passed by Echo Lake again, and immediately stumbled onto another fantastic spot overlooking the lake. Not only did we both wish we had found this one the night prior due to no mosquitoes, it also had enough cell signal to work from. No biggy though, we noted it and moved on towards more lakes to our North.

We arrived at Caribou Lake, found a spot to camp, but decided to move on to see what else was right around the corner (lessons learned). An hour was spent looking around random dirt roads, but in the end we returned to Caribou Lake. Not because it was the most scenic place, but because it was the largest lake nearby and Kerri really wanted to put the kayak in the water (which we haven’t done since Baja). That would take place the next morning. First, we had an entire afternoon and evening of just hanging out. Kerri foraged for mushrooms, the dogs played in the water, and eventually I laid down for a quick nap to reset myself. In the evening Kerri and I setup the kayak for an early paddle in the morning, prepared a simple meal, and settled in for a night of Yahtzee again before calling it a night. The area was quite through out the night and once again we had the place all to ourselves.

In the morning we stuck to the plan to put the ‘yak in the water for a lap around Caribou Lake. While it was good to get back out on the water, the lake itself was simply okay, and barely 30 minutes later we had paddled the entire thing. In the end it took more time to setup and repack the kayak then it took to paddle the small lake, but that’s just fine.

Again, we took our time getting going. We were not in a huge rush to end our weekend so it was late into the morning before we got rolling again. We still had miles of dirt road to travel, but unfortunately the destination now was back to an asphalt highway where we could make the hour-or-so drive to Burney, where we planned to stay the work week.
In the end, over the three days nights and nights since we left Mineral, California, we traveled more than 100 miles on forest roads around Lassen Volcanic National Park. It really was a fun little weekend away from the asphalt and the rest of the world.
This national forest has really taken us for an adventure, and we have been falling for it in recent weeks. So much so that we decided to stay this extra week just to explore already. But now we decided to stay a third week in the general area so we can explore even more of the national forests of California before rolling into Oregon. This I have mixed feelings about – the recent months exploring the state have been great, but I’m all for getting out of CA too.
 
[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

McArthur-Burney Falls
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/mcarthur-burney-falls/

[size=medium]Every time I speak with someone about going to Lassen they bring up Burney Falls and how it is a “must see”. With all the references I made sure to include it on the map of destinations that I “must see” while exploring California. Initially, Kerri and I thought we would be camping the work week not far down the road from the State Park that surrounds the falls themselves. In fact, we planned to camp a few miles down river from the falls. But, the Internet Gods lied to us (I’m looking at you TMobile) about their coverage in the area, so we had to turn back to find another spot.

First, we popped into Burney Falls…. wait, you know what? I want to say something here; the name of the state park is “McArthur Burney Falls”… McArthur! (This happens to be my actual last name, by the way). What happened to McArthur? Who was this guy/gal? Why have we all decided to stop mentioning him/her when referring to the state park or the falls? So, I did a bit of research and found that the McArthur family helped Samuel Burney in preserving the falls and the surrounding area from development by purchasing the land and gifting it to the state in the 1920s (PS – this info is NOT on the state parks website). So there you go; McArthur Burney Falls State Park (see which name is first?) although the name of the falls go only to Burney (he was there first and all).
Okay then… back to the story. We drove all the way into the town of Burney to restock our food and fuel, then took off to go to the state park to see the falls, get a shower, and re-fill our water tanks, and that is exactly what happened, and in that order. Exciting right? We were excited I must admit. Not by the falls (although they were spectacular) but by the showers. Certainly not the best showers we have ever had, and I’m no fan of token-style showers, it was the best shower we have had that week, and we were in desperate need. Cleaned up and full of food and water, we left the McArthur Burney Falls State Park to rejoin the wild in the national forest just outside of Lassen Volcanic National Park, which we still hadn’t gone into the main area yet.[/size]

 

[ratfink56]

Thank God for people who had the vision to preserve these places. And thank you for sharing your adventures.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Boondocking Lassen Ntn’l Forest
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/boondocking-lassen-ntnl-forest/

[size=medium]With plans to finally go into Lassen Volcanic National Park the following weekend, we backtracked a half hour’s drive to position ourselves not far out of the North entrance. There are so many forest roads all over the place up here, all mostly in fantastic condition too, we would have no problem’s finding a place to call our own for the work week.
Kerri’s scouting skills have surpassed mine – at least in the amount of time she invests into the scouting. I’m no fan of staring into an iPhone for hours looking at maps, while she happily plugs away at it, earmarking a dozen spots to recon each week. So, thanks again to Kerri’s tireless efforts, we had a few places to choose from – selecting a wide valley miles down a dirt forest road. Then, to to make sure we had some privacy we drove a 100 yards off that dirt road into the trees. Ah!
 

There was no creek. No lake. No river. No spectacular view. Just a stable cell signal (I dunno how, but there was) and a nice open space to soak in the solar rays for the work week. And it was simply quiet and relaxing all week, although we were just hunkered in the van and working. I even pulled the Camp Chef stove outside for the first time since Baja for breakfasts in the morning sun. The dogs enjoyed yet another week of total freedom to roam the forest. Byron slept, while Moose took full advantage of said freedom.
On our final night we got some visitors – Jeannete and Eric dropped in. We saw them last in Idaho in August and happily hung out with them for the evening over a camp-fire, drinks, and great conversation. Just as we called it a night, put the fire out (drown it!) and made out bed, the rain arrived for the night and following day.
[/size]

 

[A Savage Adventure]

That place looks absolutely beautiful and inviting! Very nice!

P.S. - Would you be willing to provide coordinates so I can add it to my boondocking map?

 

[Van-Tramp]

I stopped publishing wild camping areas online due to the increased traffic and destruction such practices were bringing. I blogged about it recently if you care to read more, at https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/go-find-it-yourself/

 

[A Savage Adventure]

I understand...it's just that I am having trouble finding most places I see people post about and when I give up in a given area I usually end up in a Walmart or Cabela's parking lot, like I am now, which isn't living the dream at all. Perhaps I will find more places as I get away from Idaho or at least this part of it.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Lassen Volcanic Ntn’l Park
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/lassen-volcanic-ntnl-park/

The primary reason we came to this part of California was to see the wonder that is Lassen Volcanic National Park. Though we had distracted ourselves with other adventures for two weeks, we finally got into the park-proper at the very end of our stay in the area. Sadly, the weather was not in our favor during our short visit. The rain started the previous night and lingering around for much of the day. A little bit of dreary weather wasn’t going to keep us away though. First, a stop into the visitor’s center for a lapel pin for the collection. Then we simply drove the entire park, pulling over at each pullout to read the info on the placard. Eventually we made it to the top of the road and pulled over to enjoy a few minutes of the snow… Moose loves the snow.
[size=medium]
Down the other side of the mountain, towards the town of Mineral again, we eventually made it all the way to the Sulphur Works section where we were able to get back out of the van and walk among the boiling mud pots.


Unfortunately, with the main attraction (Bumpass Hell) closed for repairs we knew we were not going to get in any hike out. Add too it the snow that was still on the ground at that elevation, no way would we have been able too anyway. Luckily, we have spend so long just outside the park boundaries, exploring it’s sister forests, that I do not feel I am lacking the exploring of this area. I may not have been able to hike the path that everyone that comes here does, but then again most people do not spend two weeks camped all around the surrounding forest either.
Eventually we turned around and repeated the entire road in reverse, popping back out the entrance we came in too, and drove up and past McArthur Burney State Park again towards the Shasta-Trinity and Modoc National Forests. With warm weather down the mountains, we would spend the following week camped under the watch of Mount Shasta, trying to stay cool.[/size]