Best Dispersed Camping near Tollhouse, CA

RANGER REVIEW: Mountain House Spaghetti with Meat Sauce at Gladys Lake Backcountry Campsites, Ansel Adams Wilderness, CA

CAMPGROUND REVIEW: Gladys Lake Backcountry Campsite, Ansel Adams Wilderness

Backcountry camping often offers great hiking, epic scenery, serene solitude and otherwise missed sights. Depending on location, backcountry campsite locations can offer their own challenges, whether through the permitting process, preparation of gear and meals, logistics, or difficult terrain…but the trade offs can pay out big dividends.

Leaving behind the din of packed campgrounds…getting unplugged from electronic encumbrances…relaxing beside an untouched alpine lake where the only sound you hear is the whir of dragonfly wings as they dart about.

Only a set number of backcountry permits are issued daily, so crowds and impact remain minimal to nonexistent.

Permits are necessary for all backcountry overnight stays in the Inyo National Forest. https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/inyo/passes-permits

Whenever backcountry hiking/camping in California, do yourself a service and go online https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/passes-permits/?cid=stelprdb5139009 and take the California Campfire Permit test to acquire your certificate and possess it when in the backcountry.

Several ways to get to Gladys Lake exist…

1. John Muir Trail (JMT) thru-hike permits NOBO or SOBO

2. John Muir Trail section hike permits

3. Wilderness Permits Day hike permits

You could enter from Reds Meadows and follow the JMT north to Gladys Lake…or better from Agnew Meadows and follow the Shadow Creek Trail (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/inyo/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=21272&actid=51 ) up and around Shadow Lake and then south on the JMT past Rosalie Lake to Gladys Lake. Each access trail has a daily quota…such as Shadow Creek, which has a daily quota of 30…18 secured through reservation and 12 walk-ups. So if you are choosing to walk-up, have some flexibility of starting days.

We had a JMT SOBO permit acquired six months in advance through the NPS permit lottery. But next visit, I will likely enter through Agnew Meadows via day permit.

Most hikers will stop and camp at Rosalie Lake, which is a wonderful option and a much larger lake. Some would suggest a more picturesque lake than Gladys Lake…but that is all in the eye of the beholder.

August of 2018 saw little precipitation and the winter snowfall was below expectations, so lake water levels were lower and surrounding shoreline not marshy or soggy. Which made for dry and mosquito free conditions.

The effects of local forest fires did cover surrounding mountain views during certain times of the day, and brought with it a bit of lung burning and eye stinging. Early morning and late evening hours brought clearer skies.

Be forewarned that seemingly every backcountry campsite brings with it a steep uphill slog, but worth it. Gladys Lake is at 9600 ft elevation.

I believe there was one other camper at Gladys Lake the night we stayed…but we neither heard nor saw them. It was a perfectly peaceful evening!

Amenities? Well, no showers…no toilets…no water spigots…no electricity…no picnic tables…one lonely stone fire ring but open fires are not permitted. No cell service or WiFi…no general store or local grocery store. However, Gladys Lake water was refreshing both to wade and drink (filtered). You are surrounded by fragrant conifers that buffer sound. A perfectly peaceful location to relax and dream.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Mountain House Spaghetti With Meat Sauce

https://www.mountainhouse.com/

As a frequent user of Mountain House freezes dried dinners, and being a creature of habit, I often settle into a couple favorite meals and don’t deviate to new offerings. Mundane and boring?…perhaps.

But…after winning $100 worth of Mountain House meals through an early season TheDyrt.com contest… and with my daughter as my hiking buddy, I selected several different meals to avoid mutiny.

One of these meal pouches was Mountain House’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

I admit, I was a little suspect as to how freeze-dried spaghetti with meat sauce would taste, but we were both very pleased with the sauce flavors, seasoning and the amount of meat in the sauce. The only thing I would add is a couple slices of toasted garlic bread.

If the next rotation of Mountain House Spaghetti with Meat Sauce was easily located in our bear canisters, we would’ve likely had a second helping…but sadly, it was not.

In pairing down weight before our backcountry hike, I removed the contents from Mountain House’s original packaging and utilized a commercial vacuum sealer to make smaller, lighter meal packs as 11 days of food needed to fit in a bear canister. It worked, but the distinct drawback was not being able to prepare the meal in the resealable pouch. A pot was necessary to allow the freeze-dried contents to soak in the boiling water. So clean up was more extensive than it would’ve been by using the Mountain House resealable pouch. It was a trade off and we made it work.

If you are new to Mountain House freeze dried meals, directions are printed plain and simple on the pouch.

•Measure out the prescribed amount of water

•boil water

•open meal pouch and remove moisture packet

•pour boiling water in pouch and stir contents thoroughly

•seal pouch for prescribed time

•open pouch and stir contents

•serve and enjoy

It doesn’t get any easier.

After accidentally driving to this location following the directions of another reviewer for the “Yosemite Boondocks” campground across 41 (which we never found) we were very happy with this location.

First, to tell you how to properly get here and find all the spots, drive to the end of the road (don’t pay attention to the gate and “off road” dirt road you see to the left before the parking lot. Don’t go there. Go to just before the big Snow Play parking lot and head right through the dirt. There is no paved road but the area is flat and any car, truck or rv/trailer can make it back here easily. I got nervous at first about ability to turnaround so I parked prematurely near the entrance. Keep going and you’ll find at least 4 or 5 big private areas separated by huge cut logs all with plenty of room to turnaround and not have to back up.

If you’re nervous, we watched several cars, vans, and trailers camp overnight in the big paved parking lot right past this, and that’s fine, but you’re in a parking lot. Come out to the right and you’re in heaven.

We were the only RV here and had it to ourselves an entire week (granted it’s early November). Can’t beat the proximity to Yosemite south entrance.

This was a second stop along a 50 mile backpacking trip with my son when he was 11.

This is a broad area along the Pacific Crest Trail at the Deer Creek crossing. Fresh water to filter (always filter stream water), so you can resupply.

Even in August there are occasional thunderstorms and sudden downpours in the Sierras, regardless of the weather forecast. Be prepared just in case.

Dispersed camping, spread out to minimize your impact on the area.

Beautiful and serene, this is the beginning of the deeper backcountry of the Sierras, so press on!

This is more of an ATV spot, I arrived on a Sunday evening and the ATV people were set up and essentially taking up most of the spots meant for camping. They were using the many many trails meant for ATVs before I arrived and, when I parked a decent distance away from where they were set up, they opted to ride circles around my RV throwing dust everywhere and revving their engines (likely an attempt to run me off). The open space at the top of the hill where the restrooms are is meant for camping, I would NOT ADVISE taking any of the other roads as they are steep, uneven, and you will struggle to turn around.

There’s one spot at the entrance good for camping (away from most of the ATV action) but it is taken up by a permanent boondocker.

One of the great rewards of backpacking longer distances is the fact that the further you get away from the trailhead, the less people you encounter, and the more unspoied your surroundings.

Such it is when you reach Lake Virginia. A fairly flat area, the lake sprawls out in an uneven pattern amidst rocks that protrude from the ground in clumps. The trail itself jumps across these if the water is high, it is a picturesque lake, very lush in it's surroundings.

This was stop three on a 50 mile backpacking trip, where we were able to refuel our water and renew our spirits in one of the greatest lakes in the area. We also renewed our energy for the rest of the hike.

V-mart location is an area for a dispersed campsite, but the whole idea of dispersed campsites is to let areas that are overused regrow. So if it looks overused spread out into other areas and allow re-growth. Keeping in mind to try to camp on durable surfaces, rather than on top of growing plants.