So Cal Campers

Big Sur Campground and Cabins
47000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
Phone (831) 667-2322

After several battery powered lanterns, I decided to go back to a standard propane lantern and the Coleman NorthStar seems to fit my needs.  I picked this over the other propane lanterns because of 2 main features:  metal globe guard and electric ignition.  These features are great on paper, and I got a chance to test them out at Silverwood Lake.  The lantern takes standard propane bottles that you can get at any sporting goods stores.  The globe guard is a great idea, I’m surprised that I haven’t seen this many years ago (I broke the globe of my previous propane lantern because it didn’t have a guard).  The electric ignition feature is a plus.    I love it because you don’t need to search around for a lighter/match in the dark.  Plus, you don’t need to light a match every time you need to turn the lantern on, just turn the knob and you have light.  The insta-clip feature is nothing more than 2 thin clips that hold the mantle, instead of strings to tie it.  You can probably do this with 2 paper clips, so it’s more for bragging rights than anything.  The lantern is very bright.  One bottle of propane lasted me for more than 6 hours, about 2 nights, and still going strong.  This is my favorite lantern by far, and I’m planning to use it on many of my future camping trips.

Have you ever seen one of these portable butane stoves, and wonder if they’re any good?  Well, we have one for over five years, and it’s still going strong.   We have taken it every where we camped, from Yosemite to Salton Sea.  We have left it out in the Sun and rain, and it’s still working after all these years.  These portable stoves operate using common butane cans, which you can buy at most of the local stores.  Both the stove and cans are light weight.  The stove has a safety feature with won’t open the butane can if it is not locked down with a safety clip.  This way, you  won’t accidently leave the butane can opened while it’s inside the stove.  A can of butane will probably last you about 2 days of cooking, 3 meals each day.  We have fried eggs, baccon, sirloin steaks, salmon, and many other things with this stove and it has been great for us.  For about $20, you can’t beat the convenience, efficiency, and portability of this butane stove. 

Here’s a trail map of Mt Whitney, starting from Whitney Portal.

Anything inside the green zone requires a wilderness permit, day hike or overnight stay.

I’m going to take a short hike at Mt Whitney, up to Lone Pine Lake and back down.   It’s a short hike, but the weather is cool up there.  It’s going to be my first time there, so I don’t know what to expect.  I know that we have to bag everything out, including our own “you know what”. 

Water
knife
magnesium starter
potassium pills
camera/extra batteries
flash lights/extra batteries
toilet paper
trash bags
hiking shoes
long pants
hat
chap stick
dry food (jerkey, power bars, etc)
walking stick

For cold weather:
sweater
extra socks
gloves
beenie
thermal shirt

Whitney Portal Rd
Lone Pine, CA 93545

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/whitneyavail.shtml
760-873-2400
Wilderness permit is required beyond Lone Pine lake.

From Ontario
I-15 North (16m)
Take the U.S. 395 toward Biship/Adelanto (163m)
Make a left on Whitney Portal Rd (13m, only stop light in Lone Pine town)
Camping and Whitney Wilderness trail starts at the end of Whitney Portal Rd

Map of Mt Whitney trail, from Whitney Portal.

The primary function of sleeping back is to provide you warmth and insulation.  Although it can be used to protect you from exposure to the environment, but a tent is better for that purpose.  When purchasing a sleeping bag, there are 3 primary things that you need to look at:  Design, Fill, and Temperature Rating. 

Design:
A standard sleeping back is pretty much a square blanket with a zipper on one, or 2 sides, so that you can fold it in half and zip yourself inside a “bag”.   This will work for most campers, but it may not hold up under “extreme” conditions.  Newer design mummy bags are better at heat retention because it covers your entire body, including your head where most of your body heat can excape during the night. Also, the zipper portion is shorter compare to a standard sleeping back, so heat a lot of room to escape.

Fill:
Syntheic: It doesn’t absorb water easily, dries quickly, and provide warmth when wet. The draw back is that it doesn’t compress easily, so the bag takes up more room when not in use.

Down: It weights less and retains heat better than synthetic, but costs more and doesn’t work when it’s wet. Although, newer design have a water-resistant shell to protect the filling, so it may work under damp condition.

Other materials: Cotton doesn’t work when wet, provide good heat retention, but heavier compare to the other materials. Although, it’s low cost so common for indoor or warm weather bags.

Temperature rating:
The current temperature rating is not the most accurate method. So, use it as a guideline in addition to fill material and design. Typically, a bag with a rating of 30 degrees should keep you warm when the temperature is down to 30 degrees outside.

Lake Mead 
Uninc Clark County, NV

It’s about 30 minutes from Las Vegas
Take the 515 E
Then 93S
Keep left to go on to the 93S (at intersection of 93S and Buchanan)
Lake Mead Marina is going to be on your left about 2 miles from the intersection, or the 93S will take you right over the dam.

There’s no street address for it to the camp site.  The only one I have points to something 10 miles north of the lake.  So, here’s the directions according to Google Map:

I15 North toward Barstow
Take CA-138 exit toward Palmdale/Silverwood Lake
Keep right to stay on CA-138
You’ll see the park’s Kios

Latitude/Longitude: 34.3047 / -117.3125

Phone: 760-389-2281 or 760-389-2303

This place is VERY popular, so reserve more than a month in advance if you want a nice spot.

Pictures from our past weekend at Lake Perris are uploaded in the Gallery.