Lassen camping trip: Mon-Wed, Jul. 9-11

Monday, July 9:
I left home at 7:30 am and ran into heavy traffic, but once I cleared the downtown area the traffic was ok. I stopped at a rest area next to an olive grove, and each tree I saw had thousands of small green olives, but I’m not sure when they harvest them.




The road back into the campground is in as bad a condition as it ever was. I met two gentlemen who are traveling separately but who keep meeting up with each other in national parks, since they originally met in the canyons of Utah. One is Mike and the other is Michael, one is from Florida and the other is from Louisiana. I can’t remember which is which so I will refer to them as FL and LA. I really enjoyed talking with them, and wish they had stayed at Butte Lake a bit longer. LA had an accent that was pure liquid silk, and he showed me how he had converted a Toyota 4WD vehicle – it looked like a Jeep but I didn’t get the model name – into a camper to live in. As he says, when he’s camping he is outside except to sleep, and that is the way I go tent camping.

He looked at my Highlander and made some suggestions as to how I could convert it in a similar manner. That would really be great for me, because it would allow me to camp outside regular campgrounds, in the National Forests or on BLM land, or even in the state and city parks I hear people talking about. I could also stay overnight while traveling at a Flying J or Cracker Barrel, and not advertise the fact that I am a woman traveling alone. I will have to think about this and look into the possibilities, as well as to find some one or company to do the major work.

Tuesday, Jul. 10
I drove to Manzanita Lake this morning, and found Mike at the entry station. He is the employee who comes out to the boonies to pick up the “Iron rangers”, the metal boxes that folks are supposed to put their fees into. He will be out to Butte Lake on Sunday, and promised to tell Sheryl and the others “hello” for me. I’d like to talk to Sheryl in particular about a possible future camp host position here. I’m not saying I’d want it, but since they house the hosts in the ranger station it would solve the problem of my lack of RV. The only way I would do it would be to get completely away from here, ALL DAY LONG, on my 2 days off. I might still make a round of the CG in the early morning and in the evening, just to keep the paperwork straight.

I met the Butte Lake hosts this morning as they were making their rounds before taking their 2nd day off this week. They are Andy and Ann, and we have had some great conversations in the meantime about volunteering. Last year they worked at Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota and said they would never go back there again. It is surrounded by oil fields and tankers can be heard driving by 24 hrs a day. Then, many workers do 2 wks on and 2 wks off, and want to stay in the CG on their off weeks, but have no idea about camping rules, etiquette, etc. They pay double the going rental rates for their work lodging and are displacing locals who can’t afford those rates.

Wed., Jul. 11:
I spoke to Andy this morning as he brought me a load of firewood he had chopped. He told me he and Ann might not return to Butte Lake next year and the job would be open. The downside is that I couldn’t keep a dog in the housing. I’m anxious to talk to Sheryl about a lot of things that have changed. Staff and services have been dramatically reduced because of budget cuts, and I doubt if I could get a ranger out here to save my life.

These are a few photos of my tent setup:
Lady's side:

My side:


Full view:






I took four cameras with me, so you will undoubtedly see many more pictures once I sort it all out. I wrote some notes for the blog in Word while at camp, but they need a lot of work. So watch for the next installment.