Cruising through snow-capped covered mountains was not what we were expecting on this trip. However, we have found that winter tends to last longer here than back home in Australia. We seem to go from winter to summer in a couple of weeks at home. Not so here, in northern USA, winter likes to hold on as long as possible. Hence, boondocking Eagle Lake California we are surrounded by lovely white covered peaks. Having set up Cup Cake in her parking spot for the night, my mind shoots back to 30 minutes ago.

I am lucky Carolyn isn’t writing this as she would have a slightly different view of our last adventure. Cup Cake found herself, playing four wheel drive on a sketchy bit of gravel road. Thankfully, she navigated her way out of this tricky position. Albeit with a few scratches and bumps.

Needless to say, I was in the bad books for a little while with my darling wife. My hearing has yet to recover 😊. I admit it wasn’t the best of decisions, but I have learnt. From now on Cup Cake will only venture down appropriate roads. Thus, keeping me in the good graces of my darling wife and protect my hearing a little longer 😊. Boondocking Eagle Lake California had jumped off on the wrong foot. But, the current vista from our dining table is quickly erasing the prior slight error in judgement I made. Don’t tell Carolyn, but I may have been wwrrronnnnngggg. Just maybe lol. Moving on past this minor incident we have settled on a lovely spot with magical views of Eagle Lake.

Cup Cake at Eagle Lake

Our location for the night at Eagle Lake is approximately 50 kilometres north of Susanville in North East California. Just outside the Lassen National Forest the lake sits at 1554 metres above sea level.

It is the second largest natural lake in California and is an endorheic alkaline lake. Eagle Lake gets its name from the Osprey and Bald Eagles that call this lake home.

The lake is also home of the Eagle Lake Trout which can live up to 11 years. Boondocking Eagle Lake California is turning out to be quite relaxing. While we are situated just off highway 139 the traffic during the night is relatively light. Behind us where are encircled by snow-capped peaks. To the front we gaze out onto the idyllic vista that is Eagle Lake.

The temperature is due to be very low 0°C tonight. So, we are very thankful our furnace has been repaired. We will be as snug as a bug in a rug. Sitting at the dining table I contemplate how fortunate we are in this time of global crisis to be looking out on such a perfect sunset. Peacefully the sun slips below the horizon, creating a beautiful silhouette of the epic mountains off in the distance. The AT&T signal is not great but it is giving us 3.5G which will suffice for the night.

The site is not completely level so we have to do some levelling of Cup Cake. The pull-out is gravel, mostly hard packed, though it does have some large potholes. This is boondocking at its best, no services but amazing scenery.

Rating

Boondocking Eagle Lake California had its challenges, but overall, it was a great spot to spend the night.

Cost: Free 1 night
Access: *****
Location: *****
Cleanliness: *****
Site Quality: ****
Noise: ****
Safety: ****
AT&T Signal: **  3.5G not 4G
GPS: 40.706531 -120.672696

Check out our other reviews of Kla-Mo-Ya Casino and Celilo Park.

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Take care

Andrew & Carolyn

Travel is Sweet (Dream It, Experience It, Treasure It)

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