Another trip report: with our Trailer in the Sierras

[ferider]

My wife, our two puppies and 20' airstream just returned from a 10 day camping trip to "Volcano Country", Plumas and Lassen County, a part of the Sierras around 300 miles north of San Francisco. This is one of the main water sources of California. We spent 5 nights at Lake Almanor, and 5 nights at Eagle Lake, with daily hikes in the surrounding areas.

(click for enlargement)

I took the following gear: M with 21/2.8 pre-asph, 35/1.7 Ultron and 50/1.1 Nokton + alpha 850 with MAF 200/2.8 and 500/8; no tripod.

The area is dominated by Mount Lassen, an old volcano that has left basalt rocks everywhere.

(MAF 200/2.8)

 

[ferider]

Lake Almanor / RF photos

Lake Almanor / RF photos

Our first camp at Lake Almanor's North Shore, and first night's BBQ

The first week, it was raining daily and pretty clouds in between.

One of our day trips took us along the North Fork Feather River, the main outlet of Lake Almanor, a historic river due to water power plants and the Pacific Western Rail system.

This is an old Silver Mill exhibited along the river.

 

[ferider]

Lake Almanor / Fauna / DSLR

Lake Almanor / Fauna / DSLR

If you cook (like me) or fish, you'll love the area.

If you are a birder, you'll like it, too. A Bald Eagle close to our camp, ...

... plenty of waders like the Spotted Sandpiper and Killdeer below, ....

... and - quite rare - Sandhill Cranes (taken by my wife with her Lumix and long Panasonic zoom)

 

[ferider]

Eagle Lake and Surroundings / RF

Eagle Lake and Surroundings / RF

Historically, Eagle Lake was the second largest natural lake in California, but almost dry in the last four years. This year it has started to fill again, but still has very wide shores.

There are many other small lakes, creeks and meadows in the surroundings, accessible by dirt roads.

Silverlake / Caribou Wilderness

Upper Pine Creek (only water source of Eagle Lake)

Dogs love creeks 🙂

 

[splitimageview]

Beautiful pics. Have visited Lassen Volcanic National Park a few years ago, amazing place.

 

[ferider]

Eagle Lake / Fauna

Eagle Lake / Fauna

Here is a passable 500mm shot from a mammal that I've seen for the first time during this trip:

The Pronghorn Antelope

All for now 🙂 Hope you enjoyed.

Roland.

 

[MikeL]

Very cool Roland! Livin the life!

I did research in Eagle Lake and Pine Creek 20 years past. Wonderful area, thank you for the photos!

 

[daveleo]

Nice pictures, Roland.
"The dream trailer trip we never took" ... Airstream, dogs, cameras, wildlife ..... jees !

 

[MCTuomey]

Wonderful!

Whole lotta creek bed showin' there, whew, at that elevation ... big big dry.

 

[ferider]

Thanks, SIV, Mike, Dave and Mike.

MikeL, my better half has a couple of respective geological questions for you, for our next beer ...

MCTuomey, you're right, all is still very dry. We saw a couple of small snow patches, but by far not enough. The drought is still scary - not sure how long Eagle Lake will continue to exist.

Dave, it's the best partner activity I can imagine. What's hard to show is nice and slow evenings, good wine and food with my very best friend.

(at Eagle Lake)

Cheers,

Roland.

 

[ferider]

Two more landscapes at Lake Almanor. (Elmarit 21 + Ultron 35)

Roland.

 

[Michael Markey]

Beautiful and very interesting.
Thanks for posting Roland.

 

[ferider]

Thanks, Michael and Fred.

Lovely photos, and nice to see the fairy lights on the canopy, my girlfriend loves them!

WRT twinky lights, Fred, a man's got to do what he's got to do ... 🙂

I started off with a DSLR B+W pic of Mount Lassen. Here is a final color one, taken with my 35 Ultron, a lens that I appreciate more and more.

Roland.

 

[jja]

Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing.

 

[ferider]

Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing.

Thanks ! 🙂

 

[ferider]

A final shot by my wife (with her Lumix), also showing the tow vehicle. The GL was wonderful on this trip, both for pulling the 2 tons of airstream (about 300 kg tongue weight), and to use on a couple of 100 miles of dirt road (when detached from the trailer of course).

 

[peppard]

Roland (the paladin of Roncesvalles),

I enjoyed your photos and the places you've visited. As I have a couple of degrees in Mechanical Engineering, I very much admire German tooling and manufacturing capabilities.

Thanks for sharing,

Giorgio