Free Camping in the Sierras

July 29, 2018

Free Camping in the Sierras

Remington Hot Springs

Lake Isabella, CA

GPS: 35.576386, -118.552872

Much like many of the sites we review, this is a parking lot. There are pull-outs all along this road, but this GPS point is a lot. It has excellent views of the Kern River below, and access to the Remington Hot Springs just down-hill.

The springs are nice and this spot is a great place to park to enjoy a late-night or early-morning soak.

Behind the Rock

Three Rivers, CA

GPS: 36.409936, -118.94564

This spot is exactly how the title sounds, behind the rock. There is a turnout at this GPS point that is behind a large mound of rocks that insulates the lake-side of the boulder from most of the road noise nearby.

There are toilets just down the road from this spot in the day-use area on the lake and the entrance to Sequoia National Park is only a short drive up the hill.

Stone Creek

Sequoia National Park

GPS: 36.663691, -118.846050

When exiting Sequoia National Park, you will pass Stone Creek Store and just after the store on the left you will see a Forest Service Road that is blocked with a tree. Next to the tree is a new trail/road leading back to several secluded spots.

This is a great spot to explore both National Parks nearby and a short hike North of here is a beautiful cascade waterfall. Animals walk through this area all day and don’t seem to mind people one bit.

Buck Rock Meadow

Kings Canyon National Park

GPS: 36.722725, -118.850537

There are pull-outs all down this road between Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Any sized rig can fit somewhere on this road. We found a spot right near a meadow a few miles down the road with a good view and level ground.

There were vault toilets near the beginning of the road and at both park visitor centers.

Bass Lake

Bass Lake, CA

GPS: 37.293835, -119.531886

Bass Lake is more of a stopover campsite instead of a “stay for a week” campsite. We stayed two nights and moved our rig during the day. The sheriff drove by at least once and waved, very friendly. We kayaked on the lake and explored the “town” before heading into Yosemite. Please don’t abuse this spot by having campfires, leaving trash, or being belligerent. This is a great rest stop before the National Park.

The nearby boat launch had bathrooms and potable water. The local authorities are very serious about collecting their day-use fees and were writing tickets during the week while we were there in the early summer. Tread lightly.

Miami Creek OHV Area

Fish Camp, CA

GPS: 37.415164, -119.636342

This is an OHV area and it appears that OHV drivers get to do whatever they want here. We stayed the evening up this road and only had a few rigs “BRRAAAAAPP” past us in the evening. The mosquitos were moderately aggressive, but the spot was level and relatively quiet.

Makes for a great basecamp for resupply in Oakhurst or traveling into Yosemite.

Goat Meadow Trailhead

Fish Camp, CA

GPS: 37.491268, -119.623491

This is a pretty straight forward parking lot and small wooded section nearby for dispersed camping. This is a simple lot with no amenities. Pack it in, pack it out.

Have you traveled frequently in this area and have a suggested spot? We would love to hear about it and potentially add it to our article. Email us at okienomads@gmail.com

July 17, 2018

A View From the Top: Hiking Angels Landing in Zion National Park

A hike in canyon country with exposed trails, beautiful views, and a chance of a most certain death if you make a mistake makes for a great adventure when visiting Zion National Park. The only thing more dangerous than the trail itself is the thousands of tourists that flock to the trail every year.

Formerly known as Temple of Aeolus, Angels Landing rises out of the Virgin River Valley to a height of 5,790 feet with an elevation gain of over 1500 feet. The rail starts at the Grotto Trailhead inside Zion National Park and is 2.4 miles long. The trail begins with a steep, but wide walking path that terminates at Scout Lookout. Most tourists turn around here and enjoy the views of the summit with very little risk of life or limb. Other more courageous individuals continue up the “chains” to the very top. We hiked this trail in April and the video from our climb is below:

The National Park Service formally recognizes 8 deaths that have occurred on Angels Landing, the most recent in Spring of 2018. Hikers often underestimate the steepness, iciness, or exposure level of the trail and have little options for turning around once they start the climb. Below are some tips to use to decide if you should attempt a hike up Angels Landing:

Insure that you are in good shape before attempting to hike AL- The Trail is steep, exposed, and often requires the use of yours hands to grab chains or to stabilize on nearby rocks. Being in poor fitness, i.e. not able to walk stairs without breathing heavily, will only magnify your difficulties on this trail.

Bring Plenty of Water- Zion National Park is located in the middle of the desert in Southwest Utah and temperatures during the day can reach 100F+. Bring enough water to hydrate the whole way up and back to the parking lot. Keep in mind that Zion National Park requires all visitors to park and ride a shuttle from the entrance of the park to the attractions within, so bring enough water to get you off the trail and back to your vehicle (up to 2 additional hours).

Use the Appropriate Gear- The trail to Angels Landing can be icy for several months of the year and care should be given in the quality and type of footwear that you bring. Traction aids such as YakTraks should be considered if ice is present or simply rescheduling your hike to later in the season. Wicking clothing is important during the rest of the year and a quality day pack or hydration bladder is very helpful for carrying several liters of water on the narrow trail.

Start Early in the Day- Like most trails in the National Park system, crowds of thousands of people will flock to the trailheads beginning at around 9AM. Set the alarm a little earlier, enjoy a cup of Rose Rock Coffee, and start the trail before sunrise to skip the crowds and enjoy some solitude at the top!

Angels Landing, although not overly technical is a dangerous and rewarding hike that requires a bit of thought before embarking. If you enjoyed our post, please stay a while and read about more of our adventures around the country. You can follow our travels more directly on Instagram and Facebook as well.

July 16, 2018July 16, 2018

When Nothing Works in a Bear Encounter

Our legs were tired, our feet blistered and our skin sunburned after hiking 170-miles around Lake Tahoe on the Tahoe Rim Trail. My wife Rachael and I had decided to take it easy and enjoy some small day hikes in the less-traveled region of Lassen National Park, the Warner Valley Trailhead.

We started out on the trail early and reached a geothermal feature called Devil’s Kitchen before most people had woken up in their tents. We enjoyed a quick stroll through the creekside pockets of 100◦F+ water that reeked of sulfur.

We followed the ultra-easy and well-marked trail back the way we had hiked to find the geothermal pools and soon found ourselves face-to-face with something that we hadn’t yet experienced in over 3-months of spending nearly every day outside in the forests and deserts of the American West, a bear.

Rachael stopped first. She reached across my chest, like Kramer from Seinfeld and halted our traffic down the trail. She thought it was a large dog that had escaped it’s owners in the nearby campground, it wasn’t. It was a juvenile brown bear that was too old to be a cub and too young to be a mature bear. My pulse quickened as the bear approached slowly, but directly toward us. I snapped a couple of very quick photos from a good distance then began to execute standard procedure for handling a bear encounter, outlined below. SPOILER ALERT: standard procedure didn’t work.

We ensured that the bear was not a cub- This is really important step in deciding what you are going to do next. If a juvenile bear is alone, it should be afraid of you and run away fairly quickly after you do steps 2 & 3 below. If the bear is a cub with a near by momma-bear, it might run away, but you should be prepared for an angry and aggressive adult bear to follow close-behind the cub. In this case, the bear was a juvenile but not a cub, however, this bear was very intent on walking toward us on the trail.

We made ourselves BIG- In previous encounters with non-grizzly bears, at 6′ 3″ tall, I have had success with standing tall, raising my arms, and jumping in the air to scare off an approaching bear. If you have trekking poles or in our case, nearby sticks, pick them up and bang them together over your head.The idea is to get as big as you can and present yourself as a bigger predator than the bear. After getting big, the bear approaching us was not fazed by our attempts to scare it back into the woods with our size.

We made a lot of noise- Additionally, after we got big, we made a lot of racket. I normally start with a stern and deep “Hey Bear” and gradually make myself louder and more aggressive. We continued to have a fairly aggressive and loud conversation with this bear and it did not react at all. If anything, our words seemed to invite further investigation from the bear. After exhausting all of our options, we resorted to a last resort when dealing with bears, get out of the way.

We got out of the way- After making all attempts to reinforce fear of humans into this small bear’s world, we simply did the only option we had left, get out of the way. We stepped nearly 20-feet off of the trail and away from the bear’s path. He continued to advance uncomfortably close to our position, but passed us with no aggression. Once the bear had passed us, he lingered and seemed interested to see if we would stick around. We walked quickly with our eyes never leaving the bear for more than a couple of seconds. We cleared the next hill and the bear continued on the path away from the trailhead.

After a few minutes had passed, our collective blood pressures dropped and we reflected on what had just happened. This bear, being a young bear and living so close to a campground has probably associated humans with food. This is the unfortunate result of people spending a lot of time in bear-country and not properly storing their food and other scented items. This is a perfect example of why hanging a bear bag or using bear boxes is essential in the wilderness.

Keep in mind that these suggestions are sufficient for black and brown bears, not grizzlies. Grizzly bears are aggressive carnivores and if you encounter one, make yourself as small as possible and play dead. Acting aggressive toward a grizzly is dumb and will get your face ripped off if you are lucky, and killed if you’re not.

Have you ever experienced a bear in the wild? What was it like? We want to hear about your story and share it on our blog. Send us an e-mail at okienomads@gmail.com and tell us all about it.

July 4, 2018March 5, 2020

FREE Camping in Southern California

We were pleasantly surprised to find more than enough FREE camping SoCal and we didn’t have to camp in a Wal-Mart parking lot! Below are some of our favorite sites from our time in Southern California.

Laguna Mountain

Julian, CA

GPS: 32.977978, -116.524818

We end up in trailhead parking lots a lot of the time because they are well-traveled, have access to trails, and normally have toilets. This spot was simple, had a great view of Anza Borrego in the distance, and was right on the Pacific Crest Trail.

There are quite a few level spots here and a vault toilet is available. Take a walk on the nearby Sunset Trail for beautiful views at the foot of the Sierras.

San Diego River Preserve

San Diego, CA

GPS: 32.76000856, -117.2250726

This site is a pull-out along the San Diego River in the heart of SD. There is bound to be a fair bit of traffic noise and potential conversations with homeless people living nearby, but you can’t beat the location for a quick night’s sleep and 5-minute drives to Sea World, Ocean Beach, and much more.

This can be an intimidating place to park, but we left our rig here for 4-5 hours at night and rode our bikes to Ocean Beach to have dinner and drinks and enjoy the ocean. There are plenty of runners and cyclists that use this abandoned road day and night, so we never felt unsafe here.

Law Street Beach

San Diego, CA

GPS: 32.8025916, -117.2595628

This section of curbside next to Pacific Beach is one of the best FREE camping spots we have ever had. The view of the Ocean is magnificent and the amount of active people around was very refreshing. There is not a lot of solitude here, but there is plenty of ocean to share.

This site had bathrooms and showers nearby and one only had to make sure not to park here during street sweeping, one day per week.

Thomas Mountain

Anza, CA

GPS: 33.5792566, -116.6241575

There are loads of pull outs and campsites along this OHV trail/road near Anza, CA. The road can be a bit rough and steep, so we stopped short of the top and had a great view of the valley below.

Vehicle with low-clearance should really try somewhere else, this road is rutted and rocky in places and could be hard to navigate in a rig larger than 24 feet.

North Joshua Tree BLM

Joshua Tree, CA

GPS: 34.172932, -116.224663

If you are looking for a peaceful escape from the modern world, this is not it. This is a dry creek bed that is used heavily for off-roading, dirt biking, and any other loud vehicle driving that you can think of. The lake bed is beautiful and very flat, but don’t plan on going to sleep until dark.

This is a perfect overnight spot before entering Joshua Tree National Park. The West Entrance is just minutes away and has a bathroom and brochure station for the park.

Sawtooth Canyon (New Jack City)

Barstow, CA

GPS: 34.670395, -116.98423

We recently (March 2020) added this campsite as we traveled to LA for work and this made a perfect stopover from Northern Arizona.

This campground is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is very busy in the climbing season (October-March). There is a ton of climbing available in this area and something can be found for climbers of all skill levels. This site has toilets but they were full when we visited, there was also zero occupancy when we arrived on a Wednesday night in March-arrive early. All in all, it wasn’t a bad place to stopover on the way to LA. Be sure and hike to the top of the ridge and check out the views looking toward Big Bear.

We had some of our most unique campsites of our whole summer in So Cal and we think you will enjoy them too! Did we miss any spots along our route? E-mail us and let us know!

July 2, 2018July 2, 2018

The Mist Trail: Hike Through Yosemite’s Iconic Waterfalls

The Mist Trail

Distance: 3 miles to Vernal Falls (round trip), 7 miles to Nevada Falls (round trip).

Elevation: 4000 feet @ trailhead, 1000 feet to Vernal Falls, 1900 feet to Nevada Falls

When to Hike: Mid-April thru Mid-July; You want to catch the peak runoff flow from the mountains into the valley to get the best waterfalls. Time of day is a huge factor on this trail as well as it is extremely popular. Pack a snack, eat a quick breakfast and hit the trail by sunrise to avoid the crowds on the way up and barely catch them on the way back down.

Why Hike This Trail: Simply put, the views! Spectacular views are scattered throughout this half-day hike. Views of both falls, Liberty Cap, and the rest of the valley can be had from nearly every spot of this hike. An added bonus is you get to hike a section of the iconic John Muir Trail (JMT) on the way down from Nevada Falls.

Time to Complete: Depending on distance, fitness level and time of day, this trail can be completed in 2-6 hours.

Difficulty: The climb up the falls is not technical, but it is strenuous given the elevation gain. The hike down is mellow with gracious switchbacks.

What to Bring: Rain gear and plenty of it. The hike up runs right along both large waterfalls and you will get wet, very wet. Bring a jacket and something to protect your camera and other electronics. Also bring plenty of drinking water and snacks for the top of the hike, there’s a good chance you could be worn out by the time you reach the top.

Parking: Park at the Happy Isles Trailhead and walk on the paved path toward the falls. There is a nearby campground if you’d rather spend the night close to the trailhead and bathrooms are plentiful both on the valley floor and all along the Mist Trail.

Enjoy this beautiful trail and remember to be aware of where you are at all times when outdoors. More people die in Yosemite National Park on the Mist Trail than anywhere else in the park. Most accidents occur from hikers falling or swimming in the water and being swept away by the current.

June 11, 2018

New Travel VLOG Episode: Moab Madness

The newest episode of our Travel VLOG series is live on our YouTube Channel!

In this episode, we travel to Moab, Utah and explore Canyonlands and Arches National Park as well as area mountain biking and hiking. Thank you to everyone that subscribes and follows our adventures, it means a lot to us. Enjoy!

June 4, 2018

We Need Your Help!

We have been on the road for 2 months traveling through some of the most beautiful parts of America and we have come to a few realizations:

We are extremely blessed! We have both lived very fortunate and privileged lives growing up in nuclear, Christian families in the Bible Belt. We are both so very grateful for the upbringing that we have had and the support that continues to this day. Although this is a good thing, it has led us into point #2…
We have grown up in an age of consumption and entitlement. By being extremely blessed and comfortable as young people, we have grown up in a generation that consumes much and cares little about it. Part of the motivation for moving into the bus was to simplify our lives and focus on issues that really matter (see point #3).
We want to help others while we travel and we need your help! We have felt a calling, burden, whatever you want to call it to help others while we travel around. We have tossed around the Peace Corps and feeding the homeless, but we don’t really know where to start.

Most organizations just seem to want donations, which we don’t really have the ability to do and the Peace Corps is a huge commitment that we might not be ready for yet. We need your suggestions. Do you know someone doing inner city work in Seattle or have a cool idea that would require you to quit your job and be mobile to do it? Let us know. We are on the West Coast until Fall and are up in the air after that. Send us an e-mail at okienomads@gmail.com to give us your ideas or connections.

Thank you in advance!

Zach and Rachael

June 4, 2018

A Different Kind of Adventuring: Volunteering at Overland Expo West

We had just walked out of the Grand Canyon after a 5-day backpacking trip through some of the most beautiful canyon-country in the world. Surely, whatever activity we picked to occupy our time in Flagstaff following the bucket-list hike of a lifetime would be a dud, right? Wrong. Overland Expo West would prove to be an excellent experience as a volunteer and as an attendee.

Expo West, as it is called around the event headquarters in Fort Tuthill County Park, is the premier overlanding expo event in the country.

What is overlanding? The best way that we have been able to describe overlanding to folks that ask is: it’s just like backpacking, only with a truck, van, or other off-road capable vehicle instead of your feet.

Tens of thousands of 4×4’ers, motorcycle explorers, and weird adventurers like us flock to Flagstaff, Arizona for a 3-day event full of specialized training, trip report films and presentations, and overland experiences that include a Land Rover Driving Course. On top of all of that, nearly 400 vendors from the outdoors industry swarm the county park to showcase their newest products and offer show-discounts on a lot of great gear.

Before the show can begin, volunteers and staff show up to the enormous county park as early as Sunday (Mother’s Day, mind you) to begin setting up the event. Goodie bags needed to be stuffed and booths needed to be staked out and marked to ensure that all of the exhibitors have a spot to display their newest and grandest gear. The rest of the week carries on this way to coordinate signage, parking, camping, and food vendor locations. We were amazed at the amount of man-power and resources that goes into making this event a success.

Wednesday before the event was capped off with a “Cool Ride Contest”, a sort of fan-favorite vote of a few overlanding vehicles on display in Downtown Flagstaff, followed by a pub-crawl of local breweries being served in the various outdoor stores in Flag. Wednesday was a fun night where we also met Jordan and Candice from @beoldlater. These two are traveling in their built out Delica 4×4 van from British Columbia to who knows where. They are both super talented and if you don’t already follow them, you should.

While we are on the topic of the amazing people that you can meet at events like this you should also follow Noah and Amalie (@hella_mello, @anamalie; Destined for Lateness). These two are the real deal and are traveling North America in their Toyota T-100. Another fantastic couple that we ran into at Expo West was Amie and Matt (@the_traveling_together_journal) they are seasoned overland travelers that have a great YouTube Channel documenting their travels and their interactions with other overlanders around the globe. Back to the show.

Once everything is perfect (emphasis added, nothing is perfect in large event planning), the show can begin on Friday morning. Thousands flock to the park for classes, demonstrations, and to spend their money on roof-top tents, new coolers, or recovery gear to get themselves unstuck out in the wild.

The weekend flew by as we checked attendees in at HQ, helped direct parking, and even emptied some trash cans. If it sounds like work, it’s because it is. In exchange for volunteering, however, we were given free admission to the event, all sorts of freebies, and a place to camp for a few days. It is a great deal! The majority of staff that we volunteered with were knowledgeable of their field, helpful and friendly, and most were very fun people that we were very happy to have met. A lot of them have been a part of the event for a long time, some since its inception, and it shows.

Long story short, we can’t wait to be a part of Overland Expo again! The same folks host Overland Expo East in Asheville, NC in November and we are making moves now to be a part of that event as well. We want to send a huge thank you to Cyan Samone for being one of the better volunteer coordinators that either of us has ever worked with. Cyan was always friendly, upbeat, and very informative and helpful throughout the entire week. Another huge thanks go out to Roseann Hanson for founding and directing such a fun and unique event. There is not an event like this in the country that we have found.

If you are interested in being a part of Overland Expo in any capacity, your best bet is to start at the Overland Expo Website. If you are going to be in the Flagstaff or Asheville area before, during, or after one of the Expo events, we highly encourage you to volunteer. It will be well worth your time. In the meantime between events, we will continue to scour Instagram and drool over the coverage from this year’s event until we can make it to the next one.

May 29, 2018June 5, 2018

Let’s Talk Coffee- Our Favorite Coffee While Traveling Across the Country

We have been drinking Rose Rock Coffee since before we started traveling in April and we are fans! They offer some really unique things that we look for in a coffee company whether we are on the road or back in Oklahoma:

Rose Rock is Local

One of our favorite aspects about Rose Rock is that their beans are roasted in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. We have had a cup of Rose Rock in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and California and the summer hasn’t really started yet. We enjoy drinking Oklahoma coffee in these beautiful places because we aren’t supporting a multi-billion-dollar corporation in Seattle, we are supporting a small-business in a town that we called home for nearly a decade.

Their roasting location is 2199 W Choctaw Street, Tahlequah, OK 74464, across from the City of Tahlequah Golf Course.

Rose Rock Sells Coffee Online

While this is not a ground-breaking offering for most folks reading this in major cities, in rural Oklahoma, finding a business that will sell you a product online, in-store, and ship it to you is hard to find. We love that we can be on the rim of the Grand Canyon or on the beach in San Diego and order our coffee from anywhere. It is delivered quickly and is always well-packaged and in good shape when it arrives.

To check out their product offerings, cruise over to Rose Rock Coffee and place an order. Our personal favorites are the Scissortail and Chocolate Gravy roasts. Plus, their vintage campfire mug is perfect and travels in our bus everywhere we go.

Rose Rock Coffee is High-Quality

We are not coffee snobs by any stretch, but we can spot a bad cup of coffee a mile away. Rose Rock uses top-notch beans and the difference is clear right away. As soon as we start grinding and pouring the first cup with the sun peaking over the mountains, we can feel, smell, and taste the difference and we think you will too.

Rose Rock Coffee is Affordable

As frugal travelers, we simply cannot afford to travel to the places that we do and still buy $5 cups of coffee. You can buy a whole bag of Rose Rock for that much! It really is a great deal on great coffee.

We really do love working with Rose Rock and we enjoy getting to try new roasts and reporting back to you what we liked and what didn’t work as well for our tastes. Be on the lookout for tasting notes from us in the very near future.

To check out what Rose Rock is up to, head over to their website at Rose Rock Coffee or follow them on Instagram and Facebook. If you have a cup of Rose Rock and like what you taste, take a picture of your cup and tag #okiecoffee.

It should be noted that we have a working relationship with the coffee roaster that we are promoting, but we would never push a product that we don’t use and enjoy every day.

May 16, 2018May 16, 2018

Top 5 Things to See and Do in Southern Utah

Utah is beautiful, mystifying, and captivating. These are our top-5 stops in Southern Utah. These might not be the most popular, but they are unique, creative, and rewarding experiences for the traveler that is looking to beat the crowds and still see amazing things.

Explore the Irish Slot Canyons

Utah is synonymous with canyoneering. Spend some time exploring the labyrinth of slot canyons along the highway near Hanksville, UT( Mile Marker 80.5 ish). You will be rewarded with amazing views, challenging climbs, and amazing solitude.

Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument- Escalante, UT

Backpack in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

Explorers that venture down Hole-in-the-Rock Road near Escalante, UT will be rewarded with nearly endless trails and awesome scenery. The overnighter that we chose followed Harris Wash to the Escalante River and back. We had the trail mostly to ourselves and got to hike in some of the most remote and scenic areas of the Monument.

Continue reading “Top 5 Things to See and Do in Southern Utah”

Author: Zach