Tahoe-Bound
A raging river, historic fire tower, and the biggest pine cones we've ever seen
From our dispersed campsite near Cherry Lake, CA we continued northwest four hours, looping from the Stanislaus National Forest into the Eldorado National Forest, winding out and around to navigate the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
We knew that private and national/state park campgrounds would still be busy, as it was the Sunday of Memorial weekend, so we hoped to find a dispersed area to camp somewhere near Kyburz — roughly 45 minutes west of the South Lake Tahoe area.
On the drive to one of our identified dispersed areas we passed a campground that miraculously didn’t look full, so we stopped in to inquire.
It turns out that we lucked out in a few ways by finding this place: the Sand Flat Campground had just recently opened for the season so folks hadn’t booked it up yet, the campground manager was still sitting outside and willing to check us in at 8:30pm, we had enough cash for the $36 fee, and it was a STUNNING spot.
The whole campground was nestled around the banks of the South Fork American River, and even better, we got the last open spot located directly on the water.
We drove in late on Sunday evening, slept soundly with the white-noise roar of the rapids behind us, and spent a lazy next morning enjoying coffee, oatmeal, and a later picnic lunch at our campsite before heading out for a hike.
Taylor used one of his off-roading apps to find a rarely-used forest service road that led to a historic fire tower, and we drove through gnarly switchbacks and rugged off-road areas (largely burned out by a previous wildfire) before hitting a gate and hiking the rest of the way in.
At the crest of the mountain, we reached the old fire tower, which had a tiny sign at the base that read “Do not climb” — but it also wasn’t roped off at all and seemed more or less structurally sound — so we climbed it.
Normally I am a proud and ardent rule-follower (thanks to my type A personality + strong social anxiety), but something about the mountain air and Taylor’s authoritative and mustachio-ed appeal worked on this fine afternoon.
The views from the top — roughly 60 feet up and with only a few panes of glass remaining — were breathtaking, as was the steep and creaky hike up the wooden stairs. The whole structure swayed gently in the wind, and was slightly terrifying, but totally worth it.
As we trekked back down, we were less focused on the summit and more aware of the landscape around us. We enjoyed pointing out the tiny wildflowers that dotted the mountainside, when we suddenly spotted the LARGEST pinecones we’ve ever seen.
Taylor found this excellent example first, and we were duly impressed, and then about 25 feet further down the rough dirt path we discovered some even longer specimens.
I picked them up for a picture and instantly realized I’d made a huge mistake, as they were covered in a resinous sap that stuck my fingers FAST together. I truly couldn’t separate them at first and spent the rest of the hike trying to dislodge the grainy goo with a fine dirt bath, pine-needle exfoliant rub, and by spitting on them (why did I think that would help??).
Taylor’s saner mind prevailed and he gently encouraged me to try a squirt of hand sanitizer back at the truck, which promptly freed my sticky fingers.
And thank goodness, because I needed those nimble fingers to use chopsticks for an unexpected and delicious dinner after our hike.
On our drive back to the campground, we wondered what (if anything) made up the unincorporated Kyburz, and decided to drive through. The answer was precisely one mid-renovation motel, one gas station, a tiny fire station, and a family-owned Korean restaurant with a few listed photos and a 4.7-star review on Google. We were sold.
We have been mostly cooking out at camp (side note: would folks be at all interested in a post on what we are cooking/eating on the trail?), but were happy to welcome this delicious meal and to return to our river-side campsite warm and happy for the night before heading to Tahoe the next morning.
Also, when you say you "air down" the tires, how do you air them back up? Are you constantly going to gas stations to add air, or is there another method? from a human who doesn't know anything about cars :)
Yes, interested in cooking/eating post! Also, really impressed by your lack of fear of heights! These switchback roads make me sweat just to read about.