Campground Review: Ill start off by mentioning that this is a backcountry site in the desert and will require some serious hiking to get to. Plan ahead before camping here since you will need to bring in all your water and temperatures fluctuate widely depending on the time of year. Ok now on to why I loved this site!
The Fremont Saddle is located about 2.5 miles in on the Peralta trail and follows a pretty moderate to challenging climb up the mountain. Right at the campground you can see an incredible view of several of the nearby peaks and explore further onto several other branching trails. The campground itself is not well defined since this is a dispersed site though there is a single campfire ring that someone built right off the trail. (I believe fires are discouraged here however) The park rule for camping is that you can set up your tent anywhere that is off the trail (there is a distance specified at the trailhead). Check out my photos of the trailhead signs for more info.
There aren’t any water sources available so make sure to pack in whatever you will need and consider that it can get very dry during the day so you will be drinking a lot. Give yourself enough time at the campground so that you can set up and explore the area since it is incredibly beautiful. One of my favorite things about this site is that you can get 360 views at different points so you could have an amazing sunrise and sunset.
Overall, this is by far the best site I came across while hiking the Peralta Trail and is well worth the challenging trek to get here. Just remember to be prepared and give yourself plenty of time.
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Product Review:
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to try out new and interesting products at campgrounds I visit. On this trip, I tried out the AfterShokz Trekz Air bone conduction headphones. My takeaways from using the open ear headphones are:
- Hear the world: One of the things that really got me excited about these headphones right off the bat was the ability to her what is going on around you while listening to your music. My wife and I are constantly out doing physical activity including runnings biking, hiking, climbing, and kayaking. For many of these activities hearing your surroundings can be a vital factor and can limit the ability to listen to music. These headphones are game changers and perform incredibly in this role. It often sounds like your music is playing on a speaker while wearing them and it was a shock the first time I tried them out. While wearing the Trekz Airs I was able to have a conversation with my brother hiking next to me and could easily tell when another hiker wanted to pass.
- Comfort: since these heaphones sit on the bones in front of your ear canal you would expect them to put pressure on your head and be uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. However, I found than to be even less noticable on my head than my in ear headphones which bother me after an hour or so. They have nice pads which allow them to rest comfortably and the design is amazing how they lightly rest on your ears without squeezing your head.
- Sound quality: A major concern with using bone conduction is that the quality, depth, and volume will be unacceptable. I tested this out on the Airs by playing a variety of different music styles in different environments and while completing different activities. Overall, I was able to achieve rich, quality sound consistently. The one challenge I found was in noisy environments where I wasn't moving and getting the volume up meant feeling the vibrations. However, this is not what they were engineered far and when the volume is up while running I am unable to feel the vibration. Also, they stay in place when you move around so the sound stays consistent throughout your listening.
Overall, I would say these headphones are well worth the value and an amazing addition not only to your camping gear but also perfect for any other high intensity activities. They have a long lasting charge, great sound, and are comfortable to wear for hours on end. I liked the headphones after trying them out that I ended up buying a second pair for my wife. I can’t recommend these headphones enough.
