Finding Campsite 13
Campsite 13, April - 25 In this post I have capitalized words to highlight our priorities for campsites.
It snowed last night and the weather report for today says cool (22 F) and windy.
Campsite 12
We decided that meant we should leave Campsite 12. We have maps that show topography and property ownership so we look for locations on BLM land or National Forest that are PROTECTED from wind by a hill or mesa. The end of the trail, shown below, looks promising. That’s my marker (poorly placed) indicating where we might look. The arrow is our location. I typically mark three or four spots in an area to consider. If one doesn’t work, having other possibilities keeps us from backtracking or having to figure out where to try next while we’re driving.
A Potential Campsite
We packed up camp and headed down the trail. We camp on public land not just because it’s FREE but more because you can’t buy PRIVACY. Actually if you pay, someone will be right next to you. Also by camping on public land, we are helping maintain trails, by simply driving on them. They might be needed in the future by firefighters, by ranchers moving cattle, to look for missing hikers, by other campers…
A great campsite by our definition needs to have a good VIEW but a great view is better. It needs to have enough ACTIVITIES, within a reasonable drive, that we can stay for a few days, more days is better.
We found several trails that met our criteria and headed to the closest one. The trail was not too rough but we were surprised at the amount of TRAFFIC. Turns out that while it’s an unmaintained trail, it is one of the few and shortest ways between two highways. So while that trail was not promising, trails off of it should be fine. We turned onto a side trail. There was now no traffic. There were also no campsites. You have to use existing campsites on public land.
We went farther and eventually found a sheltered, LEVEL site. It was pretty there. But if you’re picky, and we are, it was not great.
Option 1
There was an ant hill in the middle of the flat spot. You need a flat spot to park a trailer on to be comfortable. We quickly decided that NUISANCE ANIMALS would not work. We camped over a yellow jacket nest once and had no problem. You just have to watch where you step but why, if you don’t have to. We moved on down the trail. Finally we found a pretty, flat spot off the main trail it was perfect except it was a long way down the side trail.
Option 2
If it were summer, being a long way down a good sandy trail would be fine. But a little rain here and the TRAIL CONDITIONS would deteriorate rapidly. We don’t mind staying in a place for a day, if it’s raining, so we can stay dry but staying until a trail dries is a bit much. We traveled back to the main trail to try again.
If this sounds like a lot of work. Yes it is, but we are exploring which can be fun until it gets dark and you’re desperate. It was 11:00 a.m. We had lots of TIME.
The next trail had a no trespassing SIGN so we kept driving.
Option 3
The next trail was perfect. We are calling it home for a few days.
Option 4, Campsite 13
There are a few other HAZARDS we watch for. We don’t camp close to creeks as they can flood, even without rain in the immediate vicinity. We also avoid areas with dead trees or steep cliffs. Both can drop debris on the trail or worse, fall on us.
Sometimes we stop at the first place we come to because it meets our criteria. Other times, like campsite 10 near St George, we end up settling for a less than ideal spot because it was what was available in the area. Campsite 10 was pretty but a 30 minute drive with steep switchbacks to get to what we wanted to see. We stayed a week! Looking is part of the fun!
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