After reaching the top of Mt. Vaca and checking it off our Nifty Ninety list, we continued our drive north towards Clear Lake where we planned to camp in the Mendocino National Forest for one night. Aside from taking advantage of being this far north already, we also wanted to see the Perseids, which were expected to peak in the pre-dawn hours of August 13.
Our target was the general vicinity of Lakeview Campground. As 220 left the valley and started heading into the hills, we saw a sign indicating the road would be closed up ahead due to fire damage. Undeterred we decided to keep driving, hoping that even if the gate was closed, we’d already be in the national forest and could find a dispersed camp site.
The road was bumpy and dusty, marked by fences on both sides with “No Trespassing” signs. We drove past one group of people parked along a side road target shooting. Eventually we came upon the gate and it was open. We saw a few more vehicles and figured that we might as well keep going.
When we reached Lakeview Campground the site was taken over with trucks and campers. Looked like a group was having a rally so we kept on going. A little ways up the road we came to a clearing and decided to snag it.
Our site had peekaboo views of the lake. While there were signs of prior humans – shells casings, plastic bottles (which we picked up), an old cast iron pan – it was nice enough with trees off to one side that led to a small rock outcropping from where we could see the lake.
After setting up camp we took out our new drone and practiced flying it. There’s definitely some skill required to maneuver the tiny thing around. It was cool to see the aerial shots of our camp.
As the sun went down, little bats started zipping around. They must have been roosting in a nearby tree. About 20-30 flew a few feet above us, heading towards the lake. Living in San Francisco I don’t think I have ever seen bats at twilight so it felt like we were seeing something special.
We went to sleep for a couple of hours, getting up at 12:30 AM to see the Perseids. It was warm out, no blankets or hot drinks required. Fortunately, our site faced the northeast and we had relatively unobstructed view of the sky. Not long after letting our eyes adjust, the first meteor raced across the sky. I don’t think we quite saw 100 meteors an hour, maybe closer to 10, but nonetheless it was still fun. After hanging out for about 1.5 hours we decided to call it a night.
The next morning the sun was hot in the sky while we ate breakfast and broke down camp. We plotted a course that took us around the northern shore of the lake, across to Highway 101. A three-hour drive later, with a stop for lunch in Santa Rosa, we were back home.