BLM - Pleasant Valley

Camp Review:

• As usual, I found this spot on freecampsites.net.

• The site was a larger than usual pullout on a paved two lane road that runs through BLM land.

• There were bushes to make me feel like Ramona wasn’t totally naked.

• The view was nice; there wasn’t much traffic, which meant that what I heard the most was the sound of hundreds of birds which seemed to call the rocky hill behind me home.

• The ground wasn’t too dusty, which was nice since I didn’t track too much dust into Ramona.

• I had 5G on Verizon, which was nice.

What I Learned

• It went down to around 34 degrees and while the two layer of blankets was more than enough to keep my warm, I had to sleep in my sweater and pants to feel comfy. I kind of wished that I had packed my base layer for even more warmth as my sweater isn’t the most comfortable thing to wear to bed. It might have actually been closer to 24 degrees… I need to bring my own thermometer next time.

 

What Happened?

Having arrived at Bishop around 12:30AM after 7+ hrs of driving, I badly needed a camp site close to town. I found this one and since it was only 10 minutes from town, I decided to try this one first before trying out the options further from town.

Having arrived, I found no other cars and immediately parked, brushed my teeth, and went to bed.

I woke to beautiful birdsong--I wonder if they were looking for mates or complaining about how cold the weather was getting. As for me, I headed off to the local donut shop for some warm hot chocolate and a breakfast burrito.

On the second night, I found a spot nearby with even less road noise. The view was even more amazing as I parked on a bluff overlooking Pleasant Valley.

On the third night, I found a third slightly different spot that was equally as nice as the second night. It was the most pleasant of nights as the temperature was the warmest. Though, I did get the worst sleep, so maybe I’m finding myself out as a masechist.