Stays – Page 9 – Subaru Vagabond

Boondocking on San Diego’s “Big” Black Mountain

Tivona at the top of the mountain

I had my two nights of staying with friends in the San Diego region, celebrating July 4th, nursing the resulting hangover, and just hanging out. It was time to head back to the mountains!

Back in September, 2014, I hiked up San Diego’s “Big” Black Mountain, located in Cleveland National Forest. It was also one of the first major off-road experiments that I took Tivona on back in December. To say that this is a spot that I already found to love would probably be an understatement. It is one of my favorite spots in San Diego, easily! With those previous experiences on the mountain, I had seen several places that looked perfect to set up a boondocking camp, and after stopping at the nearby National Forest District Headquarters to confirm the possibility, I came here to camp!

Boondocking in Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, Cleveland National Forest, San Diego

View of my campsite

After a week spent “in town” with my parents, on their boat, I have really started to itch to get back out to the wilderness! With a 4 day weekend ahead of me, I’ve got plenty of time to truly enjoy it, if I wanted to. So, once a few errands were complete for the day, I headed up to the mountains, to a boondocking spot I scoped out in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area of Cleveland National Forest.

Zion, Vegas, San Diego

On Thursday, June 25, I headed out of my camp spot in Cabin Hollow with plans to head to Las Vegas one night and then San Diego. I made the decision to drive through Zion National Park on my way to Vegas, which was absolutely amazing! It took a bit longer, but I hadn’t been through Zion before, so I enjoyed the drive, before meeting up with my parents in Vegas.

Boondocking in Cabin Hollow, Dixie National Forest

I don’t much like leaving a camp spot early and putting off work onto the weekends, but Willow Springs was just too much for me to stay! Packing up, I headed back up to I-70, where I headed west through the San Rafael Swell and Fishlake National Forest. I absolutely love that drive–one of my favorites. I pulled off onto US-89, which I found to be an absolutely stunning drive as well!

Willow Springs Adventure

I was really sad to be leaving the Pole Mountain camp, but I had a plan and wanted to try to stick to it to the best of my ability. So, I set off for Willow Springs campground in BLM land just outside of Moab, Utah and Arches National Park.

Camping at Pole Mountain

After heading out from the Badlands, I made a quick stop in Rapid City to fill up on water and buy a few extra bits of food supplies. From there, I headed into Wyoming, towards the Pole Mountain area of Medicine Bow National Forest, between Laramie and Cheyenne.

The drive was largely uneventful, except for passing through a gorgeous area of the Black Hills in South Dakota and more gorgeous area in Wyoming before hooking up onto I-25. I followed that to Cheyenne, where I got off at Wyoming State Route 210, and followed that into Medicine Bow National Forest. There was some really terrible storms blowing through as I drove on 210, making me nervous about getting the camp spot I was hoping for. However, it had passed by the Pole Mountain area without significant effect, and the drive through that area was absolutely stunning.

Camping at Sage Creek Campground in Badlands National Park

After spending a week with family around South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, I set out for my first solo adventure. I planned to head to the Sage Creek Campground in Badlands National Park. Having stayed with family on the Eastern side of South Dakota the night before, the drive wasn’t too terrible, and I arrived at the Badlands with plenty of time!

Panorama of the badlands form one overlook