Mendocino National Forest - Thanksgiving 2023

Hey all ... my first thread here on the forums. In October, I picked up Camp-Inn #1098, a 2023 560 Ultra. It has the lithium battery upgrade, furnace, Dometic fridge, A/C, a rooftop tent, and an ARB awning. This is likely one of the heaviest trailers CI has made (except for the all-stainless #500).

The drive from WI to CA was sadly a rush home, so I didn't have many nights in the trailer cross-country. Therefore, the first real outing off-grid (my preferred method) was Thanksgiving week near Lake Pillsbury in the Mendocino National Forest (CA). No sign of biscuits or crescent rolls growing anywhere, so I'm guessing it got its name before the bulbous boy in a sailor hat.

Anyway ... temps were in the 60's for highs and 25-35 for lows. The first night, my teen daughter slept up in the RTT with a 12V electric blanket, and I down in the cabin with the furnace. Both of us were perfectly toasty ... but did use over 50% of the battery. As explained in a separate thread, I use an Elecaenta 120W portable solar panel. Even with 3 mornings of heavy fog until 11:00am, this little panel kept us usually between 35% and 55% ... with the lowest reading being 19%. This was on our last morning, and we were flippant with our energy use the last night and morning. The lesson learned is that running BOTH a 12V blanket and furnace will take its toll quickly. The remaining evenings, both daughter and I were in the cabin with the furnace.

Don't ever trust Waze to guide you to your off-grid location. The drive in was torturous. Two years prior, a wildfire went through the area and the USFS road was brutal. The firefighting equipment and bulldozers created 18-24 inch deep potholes all over the place. There simply was not a good line to take the majority of the final 22 miles on USFS roads. This stretch took over 2 hours. But we still made it before sunset.

I knew the CI was capable off road ... but I had no idea how good. Sure ... the trailer was bouncing around back there ... but it handled the terrain better than my tow vehicle -- a 2005 4Runner 4WD. The suspension on the CI is really something ... very smooth, even off road.

All in all it was a good trip. A few too many dirt bikes and ATVs in the area for our liking. But, as usual, the people we ran into were great. We may go back in the future because of its short distance from home (about 3.5 hours).

Oh yeah ... there is a tiny general store near the lake. They told us the "easy way" out of there. The new route took different USFS roads, and were MUCH better. Shaved 90 minutes off of our trip home.

 

Great review and awesome pics!
Bookmarked that as a go-to!

Btw for off-grid/boondocking/dispersed/"softroading":
I use the Gaia Map app which works on iphone/ipad and it routes "drive to" requests via Apple Maps...dunno how much good that would have been on road conditions on USFS lands...

I'm guessing that like Waze/Goolag that Apple Map road delays are not accurate on USFS roads unless someone has reported construction, etc, or its inferred from user data...but it is useful for GPS and maps you can download...to use out of cell range.

I've also fooled with OnX which is great for hunting, and used more and more by adventure moto and by side-by-side and 4wds for routes, that are rated for difficulty - so some trip planning available.

Point being: Derek thats a great tip on checking local knowledge first, somehow.

Fwiw: Getting callbacks from BLM rangers and National Forest regional offices has been poor in past for me...USFS regional info on websites is usually just wildfires, closures...not granular enough on roads...

Maybe the local outfitters or 4x4 clubs?
Hmmm.

This is Coconino Forest south of Flagstaff just over the lip of Walnut Canyon Natl Monument

Walnut Canyon National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

 

Welcome to the forum. Great story.