Eastern Sierras or SW Utah

So my son's birthday (23 this year) is the middle of June, and we have always done a birthday/Father's Day camping trip to celebrate. A buddy has been joining us the last few years, as he now has a couple "financial hardships" of his own (boy 8, and girl 6). We had plans to go to SEKI this year, but with the NPS following local guidelines regarding CV, it looks like our reservations will end up being cancelled. Time for a backup plan.

We're looking at a couple of alternatives, neither of which am I very familiar with - the Eastern Sierras along 395, or SW Utah (specifically Zion, Bryce Canyon, and maybe GSENM). We're looking for areas allowing dispersed camping, as we don't like people and practiced social distancing before it was cool. Research has found lots of BLM land in Utah between the parks, and some dispersed camping along 395, but I figured that dozens of people here know these areas better than I do. I welcome any suggestions, info, super secret campsites, or other guidance regarding these areas. Or maybe another area we haven't considered, provided it is within a reasonable drive, say up to 6 hours, from San Bernardino, CA. Interested in areas with light to moderate trails for both driving and hiking, campfires (have a self contained pit if needed), and maybe some possible pew pew time.

Respectfully, before the "Stay at home!" comments start - we will shop at home and bring all our supplies with us, we will glove & mask up for all fuel stops in other communities, it is a 4 day trip and we can make it home to our hospitals if we begin to fall ill, and we are looking for dispersed camping away from others. This is a father/son tradition and we will find somewhere to go.

thx,
bfj

 

SEKI is great a lot of BLM!!!

 

Thanks, we were looking forward to SEKI. The website says SEKI will be opening with limited services tomorrow, so I suppose it is still a possibility. I only see a bit of BLM land at the foothills to the west of the range; most of the BLM land is east of the range. Again, this is an area I'm not too familiar with, so if you'd like to share, I'd appreciate it.

 

I'll shoot you a pm.

 

There's some decent info here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/camping-sites.527242/ Although a lot is about campgrounds which would be closed right now.

Funny coincidence - my birthday is 6/18 and over the years my father and I would always get together when the dates overlapped. Getting harder to do now that we're not living near each other. Also, coincidentally, I'm taking a couple days off for my birthday and heading up to the Eastern Sierras to do a little dispersed camping. I haven't camped much up there but have been going to the Hot Creek/Owens River/Mammoth areas since before I could walk. I know a couple spots really close to Hot Creek where I've spent the night a few times and may stay there as base camp then go explore. I only recently bought a 4x4 so I'm looking to get further out than I've been before since I now have the ability to do so.

 

HBD. It's been a great tradition for us, and I was just recommending to a work associate that he start something similar with his 7 y/o son with a birthday on the 15th. All I know is my 23 y/o still wants to spend this weekend camping with dad, so it must be good. Even when I offered to change it to a party weekend in Vegas for his 21st, his answer was "No thanks, we camp that weekend.".

We ended up settling on a tour of Utah. Our plan is Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. While we won't get to spend nearly enough time at any of the Parks, we'll get a good half-day at each, it will let us explore the areas and determine goals for future trips. Really looking forward to highways 9 & 12 as well.

thx,
bfj

 

^Sounds like you raised him right if he's more interested in camping than Vegas, haha! Enjoy your trip, sounds like you'll have a blast!

 

Good Choice heading to Utah .

I been exploring the 395 and Eastern Sierras for years now...from Bishop to Bridgeport there are many beautiful places to camp and fish, but there are always people no matter where you go...the only place I have been where there is not too many people is Grandview Campground in Big Pine...it’s a primitive campground, up by the Bristol Comb Pine Forest.

The the way things are right now in Cali a lot of people are headed up to all these areas...including San Bernardino Mountains...no little league , sports and beaches just opened today, so everyone has been going to the mountains.

Utah is amazing and you will have a great time exploring those National Parks. All of them offer so much....There is much more open space and less people/crowds.

Have a great time with your son !

 

I used to backpack Bishop Pass into Dusy basin every year when i was younger; it's a beautiful area and I wish the knees were still up to that kind of abuse. I don't know the area well when it comes to USFS roads, BLM, etc. We do make regular overnight runs up to DVNP during the cooler months, and may need to take some detours to explore the 395 area better.

I live in the SB mountains, and am quite familiar with all of our visitors. My regular 20 minute commute up the 330 turns into 1.5 hours if I get stuck heading down the mountain on Fridays. I understand the desire to get out, and to head up here where it's cooler, etc., but they'd suffer far less contempt from the locals if they'd use the 38 and the turnouts...

I've spent the last week route planning and researching, and we are really looking forward to Utah. I'm thinking there is a 50/50 chance I may decide to just not come home. It will be tough settling for a half-day at each park, but will provide good recon. We're already planning a return trip to Canyonlands to do White Rim, and I'm hell bent on hiking quite a few trails in Zion & Bryce after some conditioning.

thx,
bfj

 

Totally agree with all you stated...I live 20 minutes from Mt Baldy...and I used to fish Big Bear when I was younger ...like my twenties , right by the dam....fishing seems good back then...anyway...I was up in Big Bear last week and it took 2 hours to get home...I heard the 330 is going to be shut down for construction...I stopped trying to hike up and around Mt Baldy which is closer to home for me..people just trash everything and don’t even bother with San Gabriel mountains, trash, litter, graffiti, it’s so sad to see.

I totally get it about not coming back, Cali is nice, don’t get me wrong but I wish out of towners could respect and be courteous to all our public spaces in regards to sharing the outdoors and especially leaving no trace.



Take Care, be safe and enjoy yourself !

 

East Sierra all the way!!!

 

Pretty ridiculous the amount of people who dont use the turnouts going up the SB Mountains. I was up there 2 weeks ago in such thick fog you literally couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of you amd there were so many people without any lights on.

Anyways, I went to SEKI a week ago and there were literally no people in the national park. I've never seen it that empty before. The national forest however did have a good amount of people.

I've been thinking about doing a trip to the 395 around Laurel Lakes. Seems like a beautiful place.

 

Eastern Sierras were PACKED this past weekend. I don’t make it up often in the summer anymore but sure seemed as busy as normal up there - maybe busier.

We tried to head up to Laurel Lakes to scope it out for future camping but only made it about halfway then my truck overheated. Caught me by surprise and I didn’t notice it till it was already way, way too hot. Wasn’t sure what the issue was since the truck is new to me and I’m new to off-roading in general so I turned back. In hindsight we could have kept going after it cooled off. Bummed we didn’t make it to the lakes ☹️

 

Damn sorry to hear that. You live in lakewood which is near long beach right? If so, you shouldve kept going up since it's such a far drive to get up there.

I never knew there were a lot of people up there. All the videos I watch on the area make it seem super deserted. I should probably go there soon before it becomes really popular.

 

I recommend doing both. Do one this trip, and the other the next...then find somewhere else to go the next time...

 

No way I was going to risk continuing to go when I didn't know if I'd done permanent damage to the truck or if there was a problem with my cooling system. It seems to be OK but that wasn't the place/time to risk it.

There weren't a ton of people up on Laurel Lakes trail, I was talking about the Eastern Sierras in general. But, the trail was pretty heavily trafficked although I don't know what's typical. We saw at least a dozen guys on motorcycles, two rigs camped at the meadow partway up and maybe a half dozen other vehicles on the trail that we saw.

In general, it was just a bad time to go. People are restless (which was my reason for going up - I've been very anxious and stressed from work/life and needed to get out of the city for a break), schools are out for summer, and it's a generally busy period anyway. Ideally, you'd only go up there on weekdays during peak seasons but most of us don't have that luxury.

 

Nothing worse than having a trip cut short due to mechanical issues, especially when you're on the trail. I've been on so many trips that required trail repairs - everything from simple hose/belt replacement to welding up an axle on a trailer. If you're not certain of the issue, or confident in your skill/knowledge, it is always best to exit the situation as quickly and safely as possible - even more so if traveling solo.

We ending up doing the grand tour of Utah. Passed through Zion early Thursday afternoon but the shuttles aren't running and the Scenic Drive had closed for the day. Headed up to Bryce Canyon where my primary and secondary campsites were under USFS closure order. Ended up a little further away, but hit the Park early Friday morning (31 degrees according to the dash), then back to camp for breakfast and to load up before taking HWY12 though GSENM to Capitol Reef Friday afternoon. Over to our campsite just north of Arches, where we had lots of neighbors but gorgeous stargazing. Hit Arches early Saturday morning, back to camp for breakfast and pack up. Over to Canyonlands, which was far more impressive than the Grand Canyon IMO, then 5.5 hours back to the east side of Zion so we could get on the Scenic Drive early (0430) before it closed Sunday morning, before getting on the road back home. 1800 miles in 3.5 days overall, with an average of 5 hours of sleep each night since Wednesday – and worth every bit of it! Nowhere close to the time we'd have liked to have had there, but a successful trip by all accounts. We'll definitely be going back to Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and are in the planning stages to do White Rim in Canyonlands. While Capitol Reef was interesting geologically, it doesn't seem like there is much to do there. Maybe after I get though all the books I bought I'll change my mind.

I have to say, Utah is beautiful country, and people know how to drive up there. Everyone keeps to the right, signals left, passes, and signals back. The only ones sitting in the left lane the whole time, or weaving in & out of lanes, predictably had CA plates...

My son and I are already looking at a couple weekend turn around trips to SEKI, at least 1 for each Park. I did get notification that our reservations at SEKI were confirmed for the past weekend after all, but with the Parks still having minimal services, decided to skip them and head to Utah where the Parks were open with 90% of their services available (mainly just the shuttles not running).

If anyone is on the fence about making the trip to Utah, anywhere, not just the Parks, do it! There is so much beauty to see there that I fully understand the half-joking idea of turning the entire state into a National Park.

thx,
bfj

 

Yeah idk why I said that I'd do the same thing lol
Must be because I just watched a vid of a guy in a 3rd gen who almost overheated so he let it cool off and then kept going. But he was low speed crawling in super hot weather. I'm more used to vehicles overheating due to abuse than actual mechanical issues.

Some places are seeing a lot of people while other places are deserted when they normally have a lot of people. It's weird. Some trails I've been going to have no people at all when they're usually packed.

 

Theres a lot to do in capitol reef, it's my favorite park. Theres a good amount of off roading too. The hiking trails are pretty cool too. Just gotta know where to go.

GSENM is also another favorite of mine. I spent a whole day off road there and it was amazing, very scenic. You should check out alstrom point when you get the chance, and the trails around there too.

I feel you on the driving in Utah thing. Everyone actually drives like they're supposed to. When there is someone on the shoulder, people actually move over, unlike in Ca where even though it's a law, nobody moves.

 

I bought books/guides for each of the parks while there. Some for hiking, some for history, and others on geology; I'll have to see what I got for Capitol Reef and reserve judgement. Feel free to share any hints if you like.

GSENM, and pretty much all of 12, was just a gorgeous drive. I was disappointed that their Inter-agency Center was closed when we got there, I'll have to chase down more info on it.

Yes, they were good about moving over for those on the shoulder as well. Funny thing, drivers in AZ were good about keeping to the right 20 years ago too, but I think the exodus of former CA residents to AZ may have changed that curve for the worse. It was quite irritating to come back to the Interstate NASCAR mentality when hitting north Vegas. Thankfully, we were on the leading edge of the Sunday southbound traffic.

thx,
bfj