Bordering the Desolation Wilderness

The Lake Tahoe region of the Sierra Nevada range has a lot more to offer than Lake Tahoe itself. To the west and the south of the lake on the California side are three wilderness areas surrounded by the El Dorado National Forest, the most popular being the spectacular Desolation Wilderness. This 99-square-mile area of outdoor adventure has over a hundred small lakes amidst striking peaks and mountain passes of white volcanic granite, alpine and sub-alpine forests, and glacially-formed meadows and valleys. It extends from the southeast near the Echo Lake complex (easily accessible from U.S. 50) to Loon Lake on the northwest, which is accessible from Ice House Road. Technically, these bordering lakes are in the National Forest just outside the wilderness boundary, and the beauty they offer are nothing to sneeze at either. And these lakes provide car camping, boating, hiking, fishing, and other recreational activities.

Echo Lake (2008)

Wrights Lake (2009)

I haven’t quite yet graduated to the deep wilderness backpacking excursions that would be required to hike into the Desolation Wilderness interior, but I have enjoyed visiting its edges, peering at its enticing viewshed, and hiking, birding, picnicking, and even spinning in circles on a raft in the middle of Wrights Lake. In August of 2013, we decided to visit Loon Lake. We chose to take the Wentworth Springs Road out of Georgetown, stopping for a few snapshots at Stumpy Meadows Lake (well, we had to stop there, mom’s nickname is Stump). We accessed Loon Lake from its south shore and started looking for a good spot to have lunch. The north shore Loon Lake campground provided that spot, so we paid a small day fee and grabbed a site. After our nice picnic lunch and me getting stung by a yellow jacket, we took the very short hike down to the lake. A large pile of granite rocks provided sweet couches to kick back upon on the lake’s northern shore and look across towards the Desolation Wilderness. The sun was out and I was so relaxed, I think I caught a snooze.

Loon Lake

Stumpy Meadows Reservoir

For those that are not faint-hearted about very steep, narrow, windy roads that drop very quickly in elevation, Ice House Road is the best way to drop south to U.S. 50. The views are gorgeous, particularly as the road passes right by the Union Valley and Ice House Reservoirs, and a good driver gets you to the highway safe and sound.

Trinities and Pacific Coast Redwoods

In 2012 our 4^th of July Random Ride ended in Red Bluff, in the northern Sacramento Valley of California, heading west on Highway 36, facing the Trinity Alps and Pacific coast. So on July 4, 2013 that is where we picked it back up. We launched from Red Bluff’s Comfort Inn and took Highway 36 west into the Trinities, looking for a place to camp. We found a small, steep hill to hike with a view, and then about 2 PM found the perfect spot. We spent a lovely afternoon and evening at the Forest Glenn campground, nestled along the south fork of the Trinity River in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Besides making the meals, pitching the tents, and sitting around the fire, we made several small trips down to the river; on one such trip I was greeted by a swimming garter snake.

I shared a tent with mom, our blow-up bed sunk to the ground, and we stayed up most of the night talking and laughing.

Trinity Alps

Forest Glenn

The next morning we continued west. Getting ice and lunch was a challenge in the mountains on a holiday weekend; and the Hydesville grocery finally delivered on ice and coffees. Then our journey took us to Fortuna, off Highway 101, and we found a delicious lunch spot at the Hunan Village on Main Street. From Fortuna, we wound up on the southern, windy, and most rural end of Tompkins Hill Road. Passing the farmlands and the college, our next destination landed, happily for me, at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Random riding is a travel game I invented with a set of rules, and no conscious decision-making (other than how to interpret the rules) shapes the trip. It takes us where it takes us, and on this one, we just kept getting lucky. Birding the Humboldt Bay estuary was more than I could have asked for. And what a sunny day for Humboldt County. 

Our next challenge, however, was finding a place to stay on a Friday night, 4^th of July weekend, on the California coast, without any reservations. We almost wondered if we would wind up in our truck, but we were fortunate. The campground host at the Elk Country RV Resort and Campground just south of Orick didn’t realize they were full. She sold us a campsite that didn’t exist, so we pulled up a nice spot of grass between sites, pitched our tents, and slept very coldly, listening to the sea lion choruses from across the highway. Upon striking camp the next day, we didn't see elk, but we were treated to the hospitality of an Elk Country Resort 4^th of July barbeque. For a modest donation, we feasted on ribs, chicken, beans, and coleslaw while listening to a loudly broadcasted classic rock America mix. Now that is patriotic. 

Heading north on 101, we stopped at the beach at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, our gateway to the Redwood National and State Parks. We took the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Our first stop was the visitor center, and we started hiking up the Prairie Creek trail. We were in sudden slow-mo as we lost ourselves in our amazement of being engulfed within the huge, majestic redwoods. I have camped, hiked, and even lived in the redwoods ever since childhood; but every time I go it’s like the first time. These woods are that awe-inspiring. Sequoia sempervirens, the coast redwood, is the world’s tallest tree (up to 377 feet high), can live up to thousands of years, and creates an incredibly diverse ecosystem for hundreds if not thousands of other species. Yet it exists only in coastal northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. The World Conservation Union lists it as Vulnerable, facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future. Its fate rests precariously within cooperation between the public, the timber and other industry, private landowners, conservation groups, and government resource agencies. Our afternoon ended with a visit to the Big Tree Wayside. The Big Tree is a mere 304 feet high, with a 68-foot circumference, estimated to be 1500 years old. Some joker in the past wanted to cut it down and turn it into a dance floor, but a public outcry saved it.

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

The Big Tree Wayside

We decided to try to start a little earlier to find a place to stay. We continued north to the town of Klamath and found lovely tent camping along the Klamath River at Cat’s RV Park. We were given a complimentary stay because of some out-of-hand camper, and I was awoken to quite the symphony of riparian birds singing above my tent. A visit to the river dock terminated the trip. 

Orick’s only coffee shop, the Palm Café, served us lunch on our way back south, and then we headed east into the busy Central Valley.

To be continued from Prairie Creek State Park in July 2014.