Tag: boondock

Bryce Canyon National Park + Kodachrome and Escalante State Parks

It was a pretty long  (and desolate, but beautiful) drive from Moab. I actually set a new record, there is a sign on I-70 that there are no services for 110 miles. My previous record was coming through eastern Wyoming ten years ago with my buddy Justin Mercer where there was a 70 mile stretch on I-80 without services. Luckily it was the usual divided highway that everyone knows as an interstate, there were places in Wyoming and Kansas on that previous trip where the interstate went to a two lane highway(I haven’t see that on this trip at all)! It was quite a mountainous drive on I-70 and I hope to come back and do some boondocking in that area. It seems like you might really be able to get away from other people 😉

Anyways since it was late we missed going to the BLM visitors center in Cannonville. Luckily we had picked out an area in the Days End Directory. You just continue south past the BLM visitors center on main street for ~2.5 miles and then turn onto a good gravel road called Yellow Creek. However when we got there you could see where a number of pullouts had been but they were not usable anymore. A little further down the road we were able to find a spot but I’m still not 100% sure that it wasn’t private land. We were in for a great sunset though(check out the pictures).

The next day we went to the BLM visitors center because you need a free permit to camp in that particular area. When we got there the ranger(BLM people are called rangers too, right?) informed us that it may rain and that the road can get real sloppy if it does and we could be stuck till it dries back out. That didn’t sound good so we went in search of another spot, this time scouting without the trailer since we’d already dropped it. We ended up choosing a spot off of FR117 a few miles outside of Bryce Canyon, there were a number of good spots for any size rig along here. If we were to do it again I would have went a bit further up and taken the second left, there was a sweet spot about 0.25 mile up that road, also suitable for any size rig. As a plus this area was not in that red clay and would be just fine to drive on if we got rain(We didn’t).

Once we got situated we decided to go ahead on to Bryce Canyon National Park. For whatever reason Victoria wasn’t expecting it to be as spectacular as the previous National Parks. However it ended up being her favorite. The views from the rim are simply spectacular and the hiking is very easy. The trails down into the canyon are moderately difficult but you feel like you’re on another planet hiking among the Hoodoos. Victoria said she felt like a goldfish in a fish tank, lol. An interesting fact about Bryce Canyon is that it’s not actually a canyon, it’s a series of giant natural amphitheaters along the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Either way, it sure is unique.

The next day we went to Kodachrome Basin State Park. They have 10 or 15 miles of fairly easy hiking with both spectacular views and geology (as usual for around here). Lucky for Marilyn since it was a state park she was allowed on the trails so she could get some exercise after sitting around all day after we were at the National Park. There are 67 large “Sand Pipes” plus a short slot canyon. The slot canyon made a fantastic place to eat lunch. It was roasting outside but in the canyon not only was it shaded but it was also damp and cool. An interesting fact about Kodachrome Basin State Park is that after it was named the state changed it to  Chimney Rock State Park because they were worried about Kodak suing them. However a few years later they were able to change it back after Kodak gave them permission to use the name of their famous film. The name was fitting because the colors here were just amazing, the red and white of the rock, the green of the plants, and the blue of the sky all combined into a shocking display of color.

The last park we visited was Escalante State Park. It was about an hour drive from where we were camped but Victoria had been dying to see a petrified forest since we set out from Jacksonville. The hike was fairly short and easy but there was plenty of petrified wood to see. Make sure you do the second loop, it’s steeper but it also has the majority of the petrified wood. The variety of colors contained in the petrified wood is amazing. It was quite hot out while we were hiking and it was great to be able to jump into the lake afterwards. They had an interesting display in the visitors center filled with letters and pieces of petrified rock that they had taken and then sent back because it brought them bad luck. It apparently did it’s job and kept Victoria, a rockhound, from trying to take any home, lol.

Utah is an amazing state with an amazing variety of scenic landscapes. No where else has such a concentration of National Parks, 5 all within an hour or two of each other. On top of that most of the land around the National Parks is also public land providing an amazing array of places to hike and camp. We’ll be back here for sure!

 

Wind River Range, Wyoming

After we left the Tetons I really wanted to go check out the Wind River Range. I had planned a backpacking trip to the Cirque of Towers(Google some pictures!) years before and it didn’t end up happening. So this was my chance to get a look. We stopped at Rim Station for a night on the way to dump, shower, and refill our water and propane (The only night we’ve paid for in over a month now!). It was a nice park right on the border of the national forest. From there we drove into Pinedale to stock up on groceries again.

From there it was back to the boondocks 🙂 We stayed at a spot about half way up Skyline Dr(740) and the road lives up to it’s name with some pretty spectacular views. Our spot was at the Nordic Ski area, during the summer there are 5 to 7 spots there all very well spread out and several of them would fit almost anything. I found the spot indirectly through FreeCampsites.net. The road was mentioned as having nicer spots than down by the lake. We confirmed this with the ranger whose station is actually on the way up(convenient or what?). Even better it’s a paved road all the way up to the nordic ski area (and beyond to Trails End), then it’s a good dirt road. Unfortunately there was construction along Skyline Dr but the delay wasn’t more then 10 minutes and you couldn’t hear it from the spot.

After getting situated we decided to ride our bikes up to Trails End. It was a long uphill ride but the views were spectacular. It took us about two hours to ride up and about 15 minutes down. I forgot to start my GPS but I’m pretty sure we hit 35-40 mph, it was amazing. The next day we went back up to Trails End to do some hiking. Again the views were stunning, much like the Tetons but with a lot fewer people. The forest can be difficult to access so it’s mostly backpackers in the area and even then the trail-heads are usually down long gravel roads. Luckily not the case on Skyline Dr.

However the next day we drove about an hour from 191 to 352 and finally to 650 to get to another trailhead where you can hike some of the CDT(Continental Divide Trail). 650 is a 10 mile gravel road that runs along the Green River all the way to green river lakes. There are boondocking spots all along both 650 and 600 also, with many on the river. From there you can hike the CDT to views of Flat Top a stunning mountain with a…… flat top. The view across the lake and on to Flat Top is on the cover of the map for this ranger district if that tells you anything. Speaking of maps, whatever you do, do not buy the official map for this ranger district. It was next to useless Benchmark Wyoming book had much(much!) more detail. None of the trails in the wilderness area were on the map?? Also be aware that the maps at the trailhead list the trail numbers but on the trail they have names?? Anyways we were able to find our way despite all of that.

I will definitely be coming back to the Wind River Range, I still haven’t done the hike to the Cirque de Towers. It was too cold to go without getting a new sleeping bag for Victoria (I ended up buying a used Western Mountaineering bag in Moab for $150!). If you like to hike or backpack this has to be one of the premier areas in the country. Plus since it’s a National Forest we can take our dog with us. Yes she can hike 10-15 miles a day in the mountains no problem.

Up next Dinosaur National Monument.

Grand Teton National Park

After Yellowstone we continued south into Grand Teton National Park. The easiest way from West Yellowstone was actually driving through the park again. The roads are easily navigated by even the largest rig thankfully. We had originally planned to stay in a campground for a night near Jackson since we had already been boondocking the past five days and needed to dump, fill up, and shower. However the first park we called charged $110 a night! We checked several other and the cheapest was $80 a night. Even the National Park was $40 a night for no hookups and $70 with water. I don’t care where your campground is, we’re not paying that. We ended up paying $4 each to shower in Yellowstone and paid $10 to dump and fill up on water at a campground in town.

Luckily someone on the Boondocking & Free Camping USA Facebook group had a spot they recommended that was down Antelope Flats Rd just across the border of the National Park into Bridger-Teton National Forest. I also spoke with the district ranger and there are spots along Gros Ventre Rd, both dispersed and a large boondocking National Forest Campground. Both spots were listed in The Days End Directory and it mentioned that the view from antelope flats was an amazing, clear view of the Tetons. That clinched it for us.

They were right, the view was simply amazing. By far the best view of any campground we’ve stayed at. There were around seven sites, half of them would fit large units. There were also several dispersed spots if you continued past the campground. Unfortunately we didn’t see those until after we’d already setup camp and it wasn’t worth it to me to move for a slightly better spot. It was very easy to get to, the road is paved for the first four miles or so and then a well maintained gravel road for the last mile. Just be sure to stay on Antelope Flats Rd as you have to turn to stay on it. We were there for labor day weekend and even then there were spots available every night. We were literally feet from the National Park and 15 miles north of Jackson, which has a real grocery store.

After we got setup we went for a walk past the dispersed spots and then up a trail to a peak for a fantastic sunset. The next day we went for a hike to Taggart Lake which was also simply amazing and then went and stocked up on groceries($200+++!). The next day we hiked into Cascade Canyon which was so beautiful I would put it right up there with the hike into the Grand Canyon. What makes the Tetons so scenic is that there are no foothills to block your view. These huge 13,000 ft + tall mountains rise straight up from the Jackson Valley floor at 7,000 ft. They are famous for their steepness but none of the trails we were on were actually that steep, but then we weren’t trying to summit either, lol, just walk into the valley between these monsters.

The last day we decided to go for a kayak trip down the Snake River to take in the beautiful Tetons from another perspective. We were able to do the same as before and left our bikes at the takeout and then road back to the truck so we didn’t need a shuttle. However it still cost us $25 as the permit to boat in the National Park was $10 and they required a $15 AIS sticker which you could purchase online. They checked for all of this as you come through the gate and they will check your boat for invasive species. It was still well worth it if you consider what going with a raft company would cost. Although there are no real rapids within the Park the river can still be quite tricky as it will split into multiple channels and only one will be deep enough for even a kayak. This has the potential to be pretty dangerous as even with the water being very low we had about a 6 mph.

We also drove to Granite Creek which was an hour and a half ride from where we were camping. It was worth it though. It’s a natural hot spring high up in the mountains. They actually built a pool on the hot spring with a deck and everything. It was $3 a person to get in but man did the water feel good. It’s in the 90’s in the summer and varies a bit with the snow melt. People also come out here on their snowmobiles in the winter and since there is no runoff in the winter it gets up 112! There were a ton of boondocking spots all along the 10 mile gravel road to the hot spring. I would recommend simply pulling up for a day or three rather than drive like we did.

Yellowstone may have the more unique environment with all of it’s volcanic features but Grand Teton beats it on shear beauty. Especially if you can stay in the same campground we did. The hiking and kayaking is fantastic, if a bit crowded. We were there for Labor Day so that certainly doesn’t help. Even with the crowds it was well worth it and we will certainly be back. Enjoy the pictures!

Whitewater kayaking on the Trinity River (Shasta Trinity National Forest)

We initially had planned to drive through the Shasta Trinity National Forest on our way to Redwood National Park. As the road followed the river we noticed a bunch of rafters, and from the road the white water rapids looked pretty large. So we randomly decided to find a place to camp and go rafting. We first tried Big Flats, a national park campground that was empty. Although I could have gotten the rig in there is was not meant for trailers our size and the trees were heavily overgrown.  Also because we hadn’t planned on boondocking our water tank was empty and there wasn’t any water at the campground. A mile or two down the road we came across an RV park right on the river. It was a killer location with views of a rapid so we got to see rafters come by every now and then.  The next day we ran it ourselves…

Once we parked and settled in, we only had to walk across the street to find a rafting company. They have a class five run but unfortunately the water was too high to run it. Lucky for us it was at a perfect level for the class three run. When she found out I had run the Gauley in West Virginia (a famous BIG class five river) a few times she recommended us renting kayaks instead of going in a raft with a guide. We’d done this before on the Nantahala in North Carolina (Class 2 with one small class 3 at the end) but never on a river as wild as this one. I was amazed that they rented all manor of rafts and kayaks to take down guided or self guided. There are very few places I know of that still do this.

The two owners and one of the guides all recommended that we each take a one person kayak but Victoria felt more comfortable in a two person kayak. They thought this was funny and were taking bets on how many times we’d flip. The two person kayak is much less maneuverable and does not have leg straps to hold you in, plus you have to be able to coordinate between the two paddlers. They nicknamed them “divorce boats”.

We followed along with a guide taking a family down in a raft for mothers day. As usual Victoria and I dominated and didn’t flip once. In the first large class 3 rapid we hit, the guide was getting ready to rescue us. He had told us to avoid the largest holes and waves but I figured, what fun is that? So we blasted straight at them. Although Victoria did almost fall out twice, once she was saved by the wave that we ran into, pushing her back into her seat. If I had a picture you’d know why he thought we would fall out. I guarantee the only thing you’d see was the tops of our helmets in some of those waves and holes. We kept paddling and although our boat was completely filled with water we made it out no problem. After that he wasn’t a doubter anymore, and I think he was a little impressed. 🙂

We happened along at the right time, just after a dam release but not too soon after. The river was running at about 2000 cfs. This provided for a lot of big class 2 and several big class 3 rapids (6 or so). I say big class 2 and 3 because the reason for their ratings was the size of the waves and holes more so than their technical challenge. There was one class 3 that took more finesse because there were boulders strewn through out it, so you needed to be more careful with the line you choose. If you wanted to run the class five section apparently the end on May is the time to be there. A little bit later and Victoria might have had her first Class 5 experience!

If you happen to be in northern California and enjoy whitewater rafting I can’t recommend the rafting company or RV park enough. The campground is simply beautiful, surrounded on all sides by the mountains and with a view of the very rapids you’ll be running. Plus when we were there, we were the only people in the park. Although we got zero reception anywhere around there the campground had excellent internet (can’t say that about many parks).

The rafting company was a small family outfit that had been there for 25+years and were very laid back (most rafting companies are more like joining the marines as they try to get huge groups of people ready for the river). In addition the fact that they will rent several different types of boats is amazing. By all means if you’ve been rafting a few times, take your own boat down. Self guiding certainly adds some excitement. If your into to big water like me and can’t make it for the class 5 section, rent a kayak. A class 3 rapid feels like a class 5 when you in a boat a quarter the size of a four man raft and you don’t have a guide helping you out.

All in all that was definitely the coolest unplanned stop of the whole trip.

P.S. The only picture we have was of the view out our window and Victoria with the largest pine cones known to man. The rest are photos of others on the river. I really need a Hero Cam 😉

The campground was $28 a day with full hookups(water, sewer, electric).
A single kayak was $45, a double $65, and rafts depend on the size. We also paid $15 for a shuttle (We only have one car). A guided rafting trip was $75 a person and it was $190 a person for the class 5 section. Self guiding certainly makes for a very reasonable day on the river. I’m glad we decided against trying to use our inflatable kayak, it simply does not drain water quick enough and the tubes are small for a true whitewater boat. It would be fine on class 2 and maybe even a small class 3 here or there but we almost certainly would have done some unintentional swimming on this river in our boat.

 Trinity River Rafting, Inc.
P.O. Box 572
31021 State Hwy 299
Big Bar, CA 96010
800-30 RIVER (307-4837) or (530) 623-3033
splash@trinityriverrafting.com
 Trinity Adventure Park – Campground, Store, Restaurant
Across the street from Trinity River Rafting
530-623-3964

What is “Boondocking” and what do you need?

Two roof mounted panels
My Two 100 Watt solar panels mounted on the roof of our fifth wheel.

So before we left I had some additional equipment installed to allow us to boondock fairly comfortably. Your probably wondering what boondocking is. It basically camping without the usual hookups you get if you stay in a developed camp (Water, Electric, Sewer). Boondocking opens up where you can stay tremendously including National Parks, National Forests, BLM Land, and even Walmart parking lots if necessary. In most National Forests and BLM lands and many other types of wilderness you are allowed to camp any where as long as you are off the road. This allows you to not only save money(it’s usually free) but also gets you out of the sometimes crowded and loud campgrounds. There are also many “Primitive” campgrounds in these parks that allow RV’s but don’t have hookups. Being able to stay in those can be a real boon when the regular campgrounds are booked up.

The first items I had installed were two 200 watt solar panels along with a MPPT solar charge controller. This allows us to charge our batteries while camping without an electric hookup. This is important if you enjoy such things as lights. Another option for this that a lot of people go with is a generator. However they are loud, need regular maintenance, and have to be watched while running. The solar panels on the other hand need almost no maintenance (A wipe down periodically), are completely silent, and are fully automatic. The disadvantage is of course that they only work while the sun is up and to match the capacity of a large generator you would need a LOT of solar. Instead we plan to ration our electric “budget.” I do have a very small generator my dad gave me for backup if we have several days of overcast but we are not relying on it.

The panels I had installed were purchased as a kit from Amazon(there is a link below if your interested). The reason I chose to go with two 100 watt panels was because we currently have room for two batteries. A rule of thumb is to have one watt per amp hour of battery storage. The price on solar panels has come down drastically in the past few years, they are as much as a quarter the price now. This makes it so anyone who has an RV or a sailboat ought to have at least a panel or two.

I also choose to go with an MPPT charge controller versus a PWM because although it is slightly more expensive it is also quite a bit more efficient (as much a 25% in cool weather). They have kits with both types available on Amazon.

Solar panels are the number one item people add to their RV to prepare to boondock. Without them you would be limited to your battery capacity, usually only a day or two, or you could just forgo electrics all together. Considering we have slides that require electricity going without wouldn’t be fun and we want to have the ability to spend up to a week out enjoying solitude. We won’t be doing much boondocking till this summer as we are only spending a day or two in each spot so we can make it out west in a reasonable amount of time. Anyways, if you have any questions about our solar panels, fire away.

Check back in a week or so for part two where I’ll discuss what two other items we had to have before we left to be ready to spend some time outside of developed campgrounds.

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