After a long hard hike on the NCT, we hiked into camp ready for a meal and a good sleep. We had spot #7 reserved, easily the most beautiful camp spot on the lake. A wonderful strip of sandy beach, heavily treed site, nice flat tent pads, a picnic table and fire pit.
Our hearts sank as we walked to the site only to encounter a big RV parked there and it appeared someone was set up for the weekend. We were baffled! I had my print out confirm and proof it was ours but there was no camp host or any kind of ranger on site. We were on our own.
So the people who took our site shows up. They tried to explain to us that there was a mistake in the reservation system and they had the site reserved too. I have no idea if it was a fabrication or not. But we were willing to share the camp site since we were only there for one night anyway.
We pitched our tent. Enjoyed the sunset over the lake and settled in for a nice sleep.
Pros:
Large treed campsites
Close vault
Excellent potable water
Beautiful serene lake
Close to the NCT trailhead
Vault cleaned daily
Dumpsters and bear lockers
Quiet camp sites
No light pollution. Clear skies
Minimal bugs in late august
Cons:
No camp hosts
No firewood for sale
Gravel back roads far from town
No contact with forest service for issues
NCT stretch of trail through the campsite is not that great
I would camp there again but drive and not hike in.