Camping at BLM Laguna Mountain

It’s looking like I have enough travel posts for the time being to actually do Travel Tuesday posts weekly instead of twice a month (at least for the forseeable future)! Come checked out my first dispersed camping adventure in BLM Laguna Mountain (BLM = Bureau of Land Management)!

(This post is superrrrr picture-heavy. You’ve been warned. <3)

Note: Please make sure you check with BLM to check for the most recent updates in regards to fire restrictions before you go!

I’ve always figured my brother would be a super compatible travel buddy since we both like going on preferably-outdoorsy adventures, have the same taste in food, and don’t mind roughin’ it in the name of saving money and getting the best bang for our buck. Unfortunately, for all the time that he’s been back in CA, I’ve been off in school (graduate, then medical) and now residency.

Soooo…during my all-too-short break, we decided to go on an end-of-the-year backpacking trip!

Dispersed Camping at BLM Laguna Mountain

Originally, we’d been planning on going to Pinnacles National Park, but…they didn’t allow pets/fires and there were apparently a good number of campsites already taken, so we decided to go elsewhere!

We went along with one of his college friends and another friend he’s been wanting me to meet for ages because he deems us the two people most worthy of “Humanitarian of the Year” awards (+ we both absolutely adore animals). She apparently just moved to California from…where I’m currently doing my residency! (Sam wasn’t aware of this part.) Tis a small world!

This was our group!

The last, but definitely not least, addition to our team was Alan’s new puppy–Delphi, aka the cutest puppy in the world! <3

A photo posted by Farrah @ Fairyburger (@fairyburger) on Jan 16, 2017 at 8:05am PST

I was actually off in socal the day before, so I found out the confirmed location for where we were going the night I returned. Our information was based mostly off of a couple bloggers’ posts (here, here and here).

The last post advised us not to trust the map since it wasn’t entirely accurate, so we figured we’d just go for it and see what we were in for.

It was a pretty cold and foggy/rainy morning the day we set out for our camping trip, but we didn’t let it deter us!

Based on the blog posts we read, we decided to try our luck with finding the waterfall. It was a super-steep climb, and whilst carrying firewood, our packs, and a happily muddy puppy, probably not the best of ideas, so we made ourselves a campsite first and set up our tents before venturing out again.

We decided on this little clearing for our campsite, also now fondly known to us as Campsite #6. :P

The waterfall was gorgeous! (We were super glad it existed and was not in fact “just a trickle!”)

Delphi was one muddy puppy after our hike to the waterfall, so Alan cleaned her off and Emily fashioned a pouch with her jacket so we could keep her nice and pristine.

The ascent was pretty effing steep, and made even more difficult with all the mud, but thankfully, someone left  a rope there…

Afterward, we returned to our campsite to start building our fire for the night!

Aside from the firewood we’d brought along with us, we decided to disperse to collect more stones + wood/kindling, stripping the bark if necessary with Alan’s tomahawk, to build our firepit. (I like to think Emily and I gained at least +10 each in wilderness survival skills?)

In case you can’t tell, I’m kinda proud of our fire. :O

Dinner was beef stroganoff + summer sausage cooked by our very own Chef Alan (hehe), with s’mores for dessert!

The four cardinal rules you must follow in BLM lands (but honestly, this should go for any outdoor place you visit…):

• Don’t litter.
• Don’t disturb plant life, rocks, minerals, etc.
• Pack out what you pack in.
• Supervise fires at all times.

This trip was the first time I’d gone camping in 6 years (I talked about the last trip I went on fairly recently–up in northern California on the Coastal Trail, Miner’s Ridge/James Irvine Loop + Big Tree Area!), and the first time I’d ever gone camping with a dog.

…Hence, this is also the first time I’ve been out in the wilderness and didn’t take as many pictures of the world around me…because I was busy taking pictures of Delphi.

When I told my friend I was going camping at the end of December, she thought I had gone craycray. She was happy/impressed that we survived though. :P

A photo posted by Farrah @ Fairyburger (@fairyburger) on Dec 31, 2016 at 3:10pm PST

The night was dark and full of terrors rather cold, but thanks to my super warm sleeping bag, only my toes were at a sub-optimal temperature. I wished I could’ve snuggled with Delphi, but she did pay me a visit in the morning.

…and provided me with ~*help*~ while I tried to roll up my sleeping bag…

We had beef stew for brunch along with some more toasted marshmallows and coconut coffee before heading back out!

This should be a portal to another realm. :O

The remnants of our fire.

Our return to civilization lunch was over at Grillin & Chillin AlehouseI had a BYOB (Build Your Own Burger) and stuffed in mushrooms and avocado. It was delicious. <3

A photo posted by Farrah @ Fairyburger (@fairyburger) on Jan 1, 2017 at 7:57am PST

If you’re not a fan of having to pay when you go camping, I feel ya. We weren’t either, which is part of why we decided to venture out into the wilderness that was Laguna Mountain, which so happens to be owned by the Bureau of Land Management. It’s completely free–you can build fires, go hunting in designated areas, no permits needed, etc. (We just went for the camping part, although my brother did recently return to go shooting. :O )

• Have you ever gone off-the-grid camping?
• How about with pets!? <3?!
• Check out my other travels here!