High Bridge Campground is located in the Lassen National Forest, about 10-15 minutes outside of Chester. Chester is a good town to fill up your gas tank, get supplies, etc. There are lots of small places to eat, a great grocery store called the Holiday Market, and quite a few outdoor equipment stores. It is also a good jumping off point to explore the Caribou Wilderness, Lassen National Park, or the Lake Almanor area. There are plenty of lakes and streams in the area as well.
Campground Review: High Bridge Campground is run by the Forest Service https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lassen/recarea/?recid=11318 and cost $14 per night. There was nobody there to collect payment when we visited, just drop you money into the payment slot by the information board at the entrance. There may or may not be campground hosts there. The campground itself is separated into two loops. The first is directly in front of you as you drive in and the sites are located on, or close to, Warner Creek. The second is up and over a slight ridge, where the sites are located on, or close to, the North Fork of the Feather River. Both loops have water and vault toilets. Be sure to check the second loop before you set up, as I think the better sites are on the loop on the Feather River. We had set up camp before realizing the other loop was there, and although our site was wonderful, some people may prefer one loop to the other. Each campsite has a table and firepit, some sites are larger than others. The campsite was pretty buggy in Late May, there may be less bugs later in the season. We had campsite #6, at the end of the first loop. There were no sites close by, it was a massive campsite, very private and backed on to Warner Creek which is great to take a dip in or fish. There are trout in both Warner Creek and North Fork Feather River. There were no signs of bears while we were there, however the information board had warnings about them. Our stay was very peaceful, as we were the only people on our loop. Just lots of birds, deer, and the sound of the river. An absolutely fantastic 5 star campsite.
Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products from time to time. At High Bridge Campground, I tested the Renogy Portable Outdoor Water Filter https://www.renogy.com/renogy-portable-outdoor-water-filter/ . The website provided has more of the technical specs for those who are interested.
Overall, the filter worked great. It is very simple to use, filled up a 1.5 liter Nalgene bottle in about 3-5 minutes. I filled up the Nalgene bottle 4 times while I was there and that was the average. The website claims a 3000 liter or 1 year lifespan for the filter, so that should be plenty unless you are going on a months long thru hike. If you were in a rush for some reason, you could really start pumping and fill it faster if you wanted to, the website claims a flow rate of 600ml per minute, but I was never in a rush and took my time filling up my bottle while i soaked my feet in the river. The input water hose has a small gasket that attaches over one end to keep sand, silt, bugs out of the hose when pumping, as well as a foam floater to put around the hose to keep it off the bottom of your water source. Once pumped through the filter, it outputs via another small hose. Purely as a device to filter water, it is a total success. It is fairly lightweight (8 or 9 ounces), it is compact (not much bigger than an iPhone, although about 1 1/2 inches thick), comes with a stuff sack, backflush syringe, hoses, etc, and gets the job done perfectly. Also, the price is a reasonable $40. It has found a home in my car camping gear box and will be traveling with us from now on.
But, I can't give it a full 5 star rating when compared to something like the Sawyer Squeeze or other competitors. First, it has a lower flow rate than many other water filters on the market. Second, the filter needs to be replaced after 3000 liters or a year of use. Third, it can't be hooked up easily to any type of water carrying system/bladders etc. Fourth, there are multiple parts to the filter - see pictures - (Filter/Case, two separate hoses, floater, gasket, backflush syringe) that could get lost of broken while backpacking, making it more difficult to use, or useless.
It gets a 3.75 out of 5 stars. It is great for car camping or emergency preparedness, but I would not recommend it for backpacking or thru hiking, based on my reasons above.
