Back in May 2021, I ventured from Washington to the Sierra Butte region of California's High Sierra to attend the inaugural Descend on Lost Sierra. The term “Lost Sierra” is attributed to William Berry, one-time official historian of the United States Ski Association, who used the term to describe the region when he visited it for the first time circa 1933. Many publications also refer to the area as Northern California's best kept secret as it doe not get as many tourists and many of the towns are still quite small and quaint. I highly recommend exploring the Lost Sierra if you’re near the Plumas and Sierra Counties, about an hour drive north of Truckee.
My journey started on May 26th driving south of Interstate-5 to Oregon with a quick stop at Gee Creek Safety Area, which is part of the Blue Star Memorial Highways and has a war memorial plaque for the men and women who have endured hardships as prisoners of war, who have been killed in action, and those who are still missing in action. There is also an interesting old wooden sign there about Fort Vancouver, which is located about 13 miles south. After a stroll around the rest stop with my cat Maverick, I continued on the freeway down to Eugene, OR, where I spent the night in front of a Boondockers Welcome host in the countryside.
The next morning I headed east past burnt Oregon forests to Klamath Falls near the California border and enjoyed lunch in Veterans Memorial Park, my favorite spot to stop there due to the lovely water view of Lake Ewauna. This time around, I actually walked around the veterans memorial which features memorial bricks for past and present military personnel, a covered pavilion, and a display of Locomotive#2579 used by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The sky and clouds were magnificent that day creating an incredible backdrop for photos!
After my park explorations, I headed south into California and stopped at Eagle Lake to see if it would be a great place to spend the night and possibly get a swim in. I stopped at Rocky Point East Campground to check out this small undeveloped campground. Unlike the developed campgrounds along the lake, this site is most suitable for self-contained camping like a camper van as there is no potable water nor trash removal available and only a vault toilet for use. The lake was super low and access for swimming impractical, so I gave up on that idea and just enjoyed the view. It was a bit windy that afternoon and sadly I didn’t realize my fedora hats got blown out my open back doors, including one my mom gave me before she passed away and my favorite black and zebra one, which are now lost forever! Due to the wind and lack of swimming access, I left and continued on to find a good overnight spot. I ended up driving just outside of Portola, only 30 minutes away from where Descend was taking place on a private ranch, and arrived just in time for a wonderful sunset, which I enjoyed from the L.T. Davis Rest Area before town.
The next morning I drove to Sierra Valley Basecamp where the event was taking place and found the perfect spot for my van along the edge of camp near some vanlife friends I knew from prior gatherings and waited for more of my friends to arrive. Descend on Bend has been my favorite vanlife gathering since 2018 when I attended my first one, so I was excited to be part of their new venture in Northern California. I volunteered to help out working the registration/merchandise area, hanging out with the organizers and the usual “Descend family” that you see at every one of their gatherings. I especially loved the rustic and romantic 19th century barn on site with an awesome stage and a cool saloon where we watched all the amazing artists and bands perform.
I camped with my good friend Ricardo and my new friend Mary, whom I met a few weeks earlier in a hot spring near Mammoth (see previous post). Mary has a super cool old Swiss Army Pinzgauer radio truck that got a lot of attention during the three day festival! One highlight was meeting talented artist Jacques, who joined our little group and has become a good friend of mine since. I was also camped near the Sēkr crew and Josiah from The Journal of Lost Time, who’s dog Rona tried to get into my van daily, freaking Maverick out a bit. On Sunday the 30th, I even got to meet up with my good Bay Area friends who just happen to have a vacation home near Portola and were there that weekend with some other mutual friends, so they picked me up and we enjoyed some lake time at Lake Davis Recreation Area to cool off as temperatures were in the mid-90’s. Then we went to their cabin to eat and play games until they dropped me off at the festival grounds that evening. It was so good to see them as it had been a few years!
It was sad to say goodbye to everyone the following day and head to our respective home bases, but memories from this gathering will forever be in my heart! The people you bond with at a Descend event generally turn into lifelong friends and I always look forward to seeing them the following years.
I originally planned to drive to Chico to visit some other friends, but a heatwave was hitting California with over 100*F temps in the valley, so I headed north to the cooler regions to stay away from the roasting areas. Read all about the next chapter of my journey as I worked my way home with stops at Lassen Volcanic National Park & McArthur-Burney Falls, Crater Lake National Park, the Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway, and the North Clark County Scenic Drive (near Vancouver, WA)!