Looking for that isolated spot to Boon-dock?

[7.3Ford]

Reading some to the post on Boon-docking (old ones), I since some folks are looking for hiding places. Here are three of my favorites when we lived in the Bay Area. Long drive for sure, but we loved it.

Now these pictures are dated 1983 to 1986, this was our first 5th wheel (27 foot Fireball). I had turned the axles so it was a little higher off the ground than normal. The truck was 1983 F350 Diesel (first year Ford made them) We never camped in a campground, always Boon-docking (didn't know it was called that back then). All these places we went we never saw anyone that didn't come with us. I could ride my murder cycle any direction I wanted to go for miles, and still never see anyone. All were National Forest or BLM land.

First place I will share with you is Little Hog Canyon (Northeast end of Nevada). We were on a dirt road from Black Rock Dried Lake bed for 6 hours. At some point we went thru George W. Lumis Memorial Petrified Forest. We went out other way and came out near Dog Lake in Oregon. Road was pretty bad when we turned off the main road to go up to the camp area (about .25 mile or less). I had to straddle ruts that were 2-3 feet deep.



There is a stream you can't see behind the trees.







Looking out East from where 5th wheel is.

The next place is a little easier to get to. It is 10-15 minutes Northeast of Alturas, CA in National Forest. There is a small campground with pit toilets, but keep going up the road about a mile I think on the left side you will find a place where you can back your 5th wheel parallel to a Plumb Creek. Brown and black obsidian nettles where about 10 minute ride by motor cycle.





The last place is about 90 miles South of Fallen, NV. The is the old Kaiser Mine. There are several old mind around this area, and you can camp around most if you don't go destroying things (well at least we could back then). We went here every Memorial Day from 1982 to 1986 until we moved out East. I do miss the these places, nothing like it out East. Lots of jasper to collect if you like that kind of stuff. If I remember correctly we are at 7,000 feet.

[NCFischers]

Thanks for the memories. I lived in Placerville, Ca. for 20 years and loved the country out west.

[7.3Ford]

quote:Originally posted by NCFischers

Thanks for the memories. I lived in Placerville, Ca. for 20 years and loved the country out west.

I grew up in Placerville (actually Pleasant Valley was about 5 miles from us) 1958 to 1965, and Pollock Pines near Sly Park from 1965 to 1967.

[NCFischers]

I was there from August, 1978 to August, 1998. I lived on Green Valley Road near Shingle Springs.

[Art-n-Marge]

Wow, Green Valley Road at Shingle Springs.... Jim, I've been on that road at least half a dozen times (probably twice that when driving around the area) in the early 80's to mid 90's on my way to white water rafting on the Middle or South Forks of the American River or on my way to a 1000 Trails campground - Ponderosa. We always wondered who lived in these homes and now I know at least one person now. What a small world.

John, nice rig combination in those old pictures! You were well prepared with toting a motorcycle, having a tote-a-boat and having a nice trailer to stay in and being able to boondock wherever you wanted. That's some fine RVing you were doing compared to most of us "campers". Have you been up there lately in your new rig? Sounds like that would be some test of your gear to get up those roads.

John, in the third picture down, overlooking your rig in the canyon, is that a black cat crossing your path to the right near where the picture was taken?

[7.3Ford]

quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

Wow, Green Valley Road at Shingle Springs.... Jim, I've been on that road at least half a dozen times (probably twice that when driving around the area) in the early 80's to mid 90's on my way to white water rafting on the Middle or South Forks of the American River or on my way to a 1000 Trails campground - Ponderosa. We always wondered who lived in these homes and now I know at least one person now. What a small world.

Small world indeed.. I use to ride my bicycle up Green Valley Road from Rancho Cordova to P-ville to play with friends (I was in 6th and 7th grade at the time). Was about 50 miles mostly uphill.

quote:John, nice rig combination in those old pictures! You were well prepared with toting a motorcycle, having a tote-a-boat and having a nice trailer to stay in and being able to boondock wherever you wanted. That's some fine RVing you were doing compared to most of us "campers". Have you been up there lately in your new rig? Sounds like that would be some test of your gear to get up those roads.

Just drop into low range 4 wheel, never had any trouble. Also had two 53 gallon olive jars filled with water in the back of the truck.

quote:John, in the third picture down, overlooking your rig in the canyon, is that a black cat crossing your path to the right near where the picture was taken?

That is my puppy at the time (Irish Wolfhound), she was about the size of a German Shepard at the time.

[NCFischers]

Art,
I rafted the American many times. I used to own a 2 man white water raft. It was made of hypalon and shaped like a canoe. What a blast that was.

John,
Going home back down hill had to be a nice ride, no peddling. If you weren't careful, you could be doing terminal velocity by the time you hit the valley.

My old house is up for sale and my nephew and his wife are looking to buy it. Small world, indeed.

[Art-n-Marge]

John, I'm sorry I called your dog a "cat", but the angle it was walking confused me. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. It's really something when you can identify with the experience and picture exactly what one has done. I love the Placerville, Coloma, Sutter's Fort Auburn areas. So much history there.

[NCFischers]

I agree, Art. 20 years of good memories. I loved to show visitors Gold Rush country. I still like to tell people that I lived 7 miles from Sutters Mill where the California Gold Rush started.

[7.3Ford]

quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

John, I'm sorry I called your dog a "cat", but the angle it was walking confused me. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. It's really something when you can identify with the experience and picture exactly what one has done. I love the Placerville, Coloma, Sutter's Fort Auburn areas. So much history there.

No problem Art,

I is kinda hard to tell what it from the view of the pictures. There are a lot of wild horse out there at Little Hog Canyon too. I am 4th generation Californian, my kids are 5th. I left in 1986, and we sold the 5th wheel around 1988, because camping in the East was such a let down from what we were use to doing. National Forest here is pretty restrictive, with a lot of the road not maintained at all, or chain closed. We like Grindstone in VA as far as camp grounds go.. lots of space bewteen sites, and it is about 2 1/2 hours from Charlotte. It never gets above 80 even in the hottest part of the summer. We are head up there Memorial Day Weekend.

[NCFischers]

John,
After Memorial Day weekend, why don't you head on over to Renfrew, Pa and the Northeast Rally? We'd love to have you join us.
Jim

[7.3Ford]

quote:Originally posted by NCFischers

John,
After Memorial Day weekend, why don't you head on over to Renfrew, Pa and the Northeast Rally? We'd love to have you join us.
Jim

Jim,

We already have reservation, but will only be there 3 days. I think we are near the only tree there. My wife does all the planning, I am the opposite.. just tell me what time to leave, and what direction to go.

Hope to go camping sometime the week of April 12-17, unless the weather is really bad. It is hard with my work schedule, which seems to be every other weekend for the next 3 months.

[7.3Ford]

quote:Originally posted by 7.3Ford
We already have reservation, but will only be there 3 days. I think we are near the only tree there. My wife does all the planning, I am the opposite.. just tell me what time to leave, and what direction to go.

Oops, I got the wrong ralley. We are going to the one in August.

[7.3Ford]

Here is another spot, just go across the Sly Park Dam (Pollock Pines, CA), up Iron Mountain Road. There many forest roads you can take, but camp fires may be a no no, depending on fire danger.

[NCFischers]

The fire danger is very high there for a good part of the year. The last fire that I worked up that way was the Cleveland Fire, 27,000 acres. We had to replace 6 miles of utility poles through BLM land. We worked dawn to dusk 7 days a week for three months.