I bailed Trona Pinnacles at the end of last weekend, heading back to San Diego to finish off the last things to do there. Picking up my mail and appropriately setting up mail forwarding to the new address, I hung out for a week, and am slowly heading my way out elsewhere.
Category: Nomad Travels
Nevada Residency and Trona Pinnacles
Yesterday, I drove into Henderson, NV to finally make my Nevada residency official! It took most of the day, but it’s all done, finally. Then, I headed out of Nevada to go find a campsite at the wonderful Trona Pinnacles.
8 Mile Road
Sometimes, a campsite just kinda sucks for me. It can be one that seems great, has great reviews, etc. For whatever reason, it just sucks for me. This was Government Wash for me this weekend.
Last night, an LEO came and told me that the spot I had setup in was apparently not acceptable for some reason. I didn’t understand why, to be honest, but I wasn’t going to argue, so I packed up and moved to whatever random, acceptable spot I could find as night set in. Only to then be woken at 2am by some asshole blasting music. Again.
So, I broke and gave up on it. Government Wash was just not working out for me at all. I had read that 8 Mile Road, just a couple of miles further East, was a good, more quiet and solitary alternative. After breakfast, I packed up and headed there, where I found some nice, quiet (so far!) spots to setup. The views aren’t quite as spectacular and there’s no toilets here, but if I can actually sleep through the night and not get complained at by law enforcement, among other possible improvements over Government Wash, I won’t complain!
Government Wash Lake Mead
Yesterday, I decided that I had enough of Telephone Cove. After finishing my work for the day, I packed up and headed North again. I made my way up to Hoover Dam, which was quite an enjoyable experience on its own. From there, it was a rather short drive up to Government Wash, a large camping area many other nomads I’ve met have mentioned. So, here I am, now!
Leaving San Diego: Amboy Crater and Telephone Cove
The time has finally come. I’m headed out of San Diego for however long it takes. I left yesterday morning, taking a scenic drive through San Diego’s desert, and continued on through scenic desert driving all day. I visited the Painted Canyons, Box Canyon, and Joshua Tree National Park before finally arriving at Amboy Crater. After one night there and a morning hike, I passed into Nevada and found a camp in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, at Telephone Cove.
Gettin’ Caught Breakin’ The Law
Today, I was hanging out in camp when a law enforcement officer with the USFS showed up and chatted with me for a bit. I haven’t had a permit while staying here, and that is required. Caught! Ooops!
An Evening Walk Around Pine Valley Creek
As I’m camping around the Noble Canyon and Pine Valley Creek area, I decided to head up a nearby dirt forest road and see what was up that way. It looked cool from the campsite, but I fell in love with the area upon exploring the area more!
Noble Canyon: Hike and Camp
On Saturday, I decided to head to the southern end of the Noble Canyon National Recreation Trail. I ended up hiking about 6 miles up on the trail, before turning back for a total of 12 miles round trip. It was a lovely hike! Afterwards, I found a nearby campsite and set up my home with some beautiful views as well.
Hiking Big Laguna and Noble Canyon
Yesterday, I headed back up to the Mount Laguna area for some more boondocking. While here for the weekend, I decided to also do some hiking. The campsite I chose, specifically, is right next to a crossing of the Noble Canyon trail, near where it intersects the Big Laguna trail. I opted to spend this weekend hiking along those 2 trails.
Pine Creek Road Boondocking and Other News
While camping up on Big Black Mountain, I ended up running out of water and so had to head on down to refill my water jug. While already down the mountain, I then decided to head over towards the Mount Laguna area of Cleveland National Forest and check out some alternative boondocking locations there. I found a lovely area down Pine Creek Road, with a few good options available.
I’ve also settled on a change of future plans: instead of staying around San Diego, hiking, I will be headed out to larger adventures, traveling cross country again.