Use the archive on the right to view older posts.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Northern California Coast


Duncan's Cove north of Bodega Bay and it seemed like a cool place to camp but all the turnouts were posted with the signs below.

The sign doesn't seem to prohibit "pop-up" campers.
We didn't think that the Sheriff's Department would buy that argument.

Salt Point State Park Camp. We visited several campgrounds in the vicinity and this one had the best sites and views.

Driving up the road from Needle Rock to pavement.

Lost Coast Camp near Needle Rock.

The Needle Rock Visitor Center contains a wealth of information about the area. The old ranch house serves as the park visitor center.

Sunset at Needle Rock

Lost Coast south of Needle Rock headed for the Bear Harbor camp.
The Bear Harbor camp will be a disappointment because it is located in a small valley where the road now ends before it reaches the harbor with no views of the ocean.

The Cape Mendocino Lighthouse at Shelter Cove

Rockefeller Forest along Bull Creek, Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Bridge over Durr Creek on the Mattole Road south of Cape Mendocino.

Mattole Road at Cape Mendocino

Mattole Road at Cape Mendocino

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Near Lassen Peak


Susan River camp, east of Lassen Peak

Our camp 1/4 mile from West Prospect Lookout

A small doe grazed around our camp for most of the day.

Lassen Peak from the West Prospect Peak Lookout.
We hiked to the summit Lassen in August of 2002.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Sierra Buttes - "narrow shelf road with some sporty exposure"


Camping below Sierra Buttes Lookout. We drove the 4X4 road to the lookout trailhead but this spot on the ridge made for a better camp.

View from our camp looking south.

We gave a lift to a PCT thru-hiker up to the lookout trailhead.

The Stairs

Honoring the men who built the stairs

Upper and Lower Sardine Lakes

Road from Sierra Buttes Lookout.
The JEEP road down the mountain to Sierra City had a large boulder blocking the trail which required a 1/4 mile backup on a very narrow shelf road with some sporty exposure. Neglected to take a photo.

East of Sierra City

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Tahoe National Forest


Departing White Rock Lake

White Rock Lake camp

View of White Rock Lake from our campsite.

Looking for a campsite.

Near Toll House Lake

We stopped for lunch at Bowman Lake

The road to Bowman Lake

Looks like Ursus americanus paid us a visit during the night.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Stanislaus National Forest - "rocky loose climb up to the top"


Calaveras Dome near Salt Springs Reservoir.
We passed this spot on our drive to look at the dam because I had read that it suffered from consolidation problems during construction causing problems with cracking of the concrete face. The cracks were causing leaks and the surface of the dam has been covered with a flexible membrane.

North Fork of Mokelumne River camp, SW of Salt Springs Reservoir.
Early in the morning a rather smallish bird made quite a ruckus hopping around on the rood of the camper. It sounded like a condor.

There were several of these missing person notices, for Steve Sid, posted near the campgrounds.

Driving through the forest toward the North Fork of Mokelumne River.

Bear Trap Basin
I spent a night in this cabin back in 2002 pre FWC.

Sea of Mule Ears, near Bear Trap Basin

Camp on ridge above Corral Hollow.
The only difficult section of this road is the rocky loose climb up to the top of this ridge. Everything else is pretty mellow.

Corral Hollow 4X4 road

Corral Hollow 4X4 road

Near Monitor Pass

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Sierra Nevada Eastside - above Mono and on to Horseshoe Meadows


Overlooking Mono Lake, CA - July, 2009

Near Copper Mountain, Mono County, CA

We contacted some friends on 2 meters and they joined us for the night.

Photo of a photographer taking a photo of a sunrise.

Virginia Lakes, Mono County, CA

Summit of Trail Peak

Trail Peak from Horseshoe Meadows

Owens Lake view from the road to the trail heads at Horseshoe Meadow in the Eastern Sierra. We were headed to HM's to met some old backpacking friends and do a little hiking. Did not take any HM's camp photos.