Travelerwash Creek Dispersed Campsite #3
Be aware of your neighbors
If I was reviewing for just the location and how beautiful it was I’d give a 4 stars for a dispersed campsite however your neighbors do impact your experience.
The site itself I really loved. I was about 200 -300 feet from where you park your car right off the road (the roads by the way are definitely passable by most vehicles but keep in mind I was there in May). While there was alot of traffic going by (cars and bikers) the way it was set up it gave more privacy than most especially if you put your tent in the right place. It was nice to have some distance between the car and the campsite with the large black bear population. Highly recommend keeping all food far from your site and washing any dishes as far from where you sleep as much as you can. Also keep all soaps, perfumes, or toiletries out if your tent. That also attracts.
Wash creek was close by so accessing water that I filtered for use was very easy. There was a hiking trail that cut across between the site and the creek. I never saw anyone while I was there for the two weeks but it’s something to consider if your a solo camper as other campers could easily travel it to access your site without you being aware. I had Portable Outdoor Perimeter Alarm... (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXGJRD2K?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) to keep me safe and alert at night which I can’t recommend enough because it ended up saving my life. About 1am towards the end of my two weeks for the first time during my stay all four alarms were going off at the site and it continued for over an hour.
I decided to go to and air bnb the next night when I returned my tent was roped in several places and my dewalt tool box I was storing dried food (I forgot I had it) had what looked like puncture marks and was opened.
Some items were stolen from the site. A few things were taken with a note from a nearby camper with his cell (no name ?) letting me know he was keeping them safe for me. When I was at the site inspecting things he showed up. Was nice enough and did return some of my items but my portable firepit and large propane tank were gone.
Granted I had left the site unattended for a few days after the bear attack waiting for things to dry up (as it had been raining for several days) so it could be the more permanent folks thought I had just abandoned my things. I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
So while the spot itself was profoundly beautiful - I did see blue ghost fireflies , Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (two days in a row my site had over a hundred right next to my tent!) Spicebush Swallowtail, and Azures (One day a cardinal sat right on the rock in the middle of the campsite 10 feet from me) the neighbors add an element that needs to be factored into your decision to come.
