Stealth Van Camping in a Hidden California Gem with My Dog

Last week, Jem and I drove straight into a flash flood warning, on the way to one of our favorite national parks so far. Yosemite ended up being one of the best parks I've visited with a dog, even with all the restrictions. If you missed that video, stick around. It's linked at the end. This week, we're heading to the highest drivable lake in California. I found it on an overlanding site claiming you can camp overnight for free. It seems a little too good to be true, but there's only one way to find out. We did in fact camp in the trailhead lot alongside the lake. There weren't any signs prohibiting at the time that we visited back in September. But of note, there is a campground on the property, so it may be more of a day use area. Just an FYI if you're thinking about coming here. Pack ready? We've got bear spray. We've got water. We've got dog bowl. We've got keys. All right, mama, you ready? You want to go hike? Yeah? All right, let's go. Oh my goodness. I cannot tell you how many times that's happened. There's constantly water spilling in here. Are you ready now? Let's try again, okay? I want to say hi to everybody because you're the sweetest little pie in the world. Oh my god, there goes my coffee. This is the most accurate representation now though. Saddleback Lake is a high alpine lake situated in the Sierra Nevada, just outside of the eastern entrance of Yosemite National Park. It's the highest drive-to lake in all of California, sitting at just over 10,000 feet in elevation. Apparently the lake is often frozen well into June. The weather was pretty perfect when we were here in early fall. Come on, this way. Stay on the path. Nice and slow, Jim. We're not running. No, we're not going to run the whole way. Then you're going to be burnt out halfway through, puppy. I'm not sure it's going to be this easy, but I don't know. It's very rocky. It points you to like half of the tactical. And I saw a cute little family, a couple of two kids and grandparents, and they were heading back, so they didn't make it very far. The little girl was like, a puppy! And he was like, a pretty puppy. That's what she is. Oh my god, this is going to blow my mind the entire way. I love it. You catching some shade? All right, listen, I want you to drink some water, okay? Will you please drink some water? She's like, nah, I don't drink water, man. We're hiking the Saddleback Lake loop today, and it is far more stunning than I could have imagined. The four-mile loop surrounds the lake, and per all trails, it's graded as relatively easy. But I'd say for a complete beginner, this would lean more toward moderate intensity. The area is a mix of rocky alpine terrain, sub-alpine meadows, and gorgeous mountain peak views. And now all of a sudden, the trail just turned into a little creek. How adorable is this? You want a drink? You want some water? Look, Jen, you can drink it. Water? Want to drink some of this water? Try it. Yum, is it good? Okay, she's not interested. All right, let's keep going. I want to be present, but it's extremely rocky, so I think a dog smaller than Jen would probably have a little bit of a hard time walking this path, FYI. Good job. One day, as a little old lady in a rocking chair on my front porch, I'll look back at our memories and remember that these were the good old days. This way. You can see the trail on the other side. And he's like, I want to search for chipmunks, mom. I'm like, no, no, no. Come on. I just saw a couple, and the guy was backpacking one of the dogs, and I just, my whole heart just was like, oh my god. Just another reminder to soften into the moment. Mama, come this way. This girl's like, I don't want to hike. I want to explore. That's just so nice. Wow, wow, wow, wow. Another break. Mamacita. She doesn't have a ton of energy today. That's okay. That's me most days. Whereas I have a fair, fairly decent energy today. But also her belly's all bloated, so I know her tummy's hurting her. Gotta figure it out. It's been a lifelong journey, right? We get to good places, though. We get to really good, balanced places. She just needs like a few minutes here and there, and then she's good. Takes you more into like a regular trail, which is really lovely. Just some shade, and it's not so rocky here. How cool. I didn't think anything like this would be up here. Where are we going to rent it? What if it's like, yeah, property of the United States. No trespassing. How cool is this? Wilderness ranger, private residence. How cool. Everyone's like, trespassing, what? So we just came up to this. I don't know if I'm not on the Saddleback Lake Loop anymore. And do you think I downloaded the offline maps? Nope, I sure didn't. Nope. Jammie, that's good water. Ooh, wow. Did she get some? Drink some water? A couple sips. Let her take the pressure off and just let her do it on her own. Good job drinking that water. Wow, is that good water? On the move again. See how far we can get to Saddleback. Lake Loop, all right. These little like pools. A lot of you have asked why I'm not sharing videos more often. And I appreciate you wanting to see more. There are many reasons why I haven't been able to be more consistent. One of the main ones is dealing with about six months of issues with the van's professionally installed house electrical system. And the ongoing stress that's placed on me has really taken a toll on my body. I live with invisible chronic illness. That cycles between dormant and active. And prolonged stress triggers flare-ups and excess inflammation throughout my body. Throughout decades of my life, I felt like I've struggled with this completely alone. Because most people think if you can't see it, it isn't real. And even after receiving diagnoses, there's no real treatment for what I'm dealing with. My illness impacts my immune system and leads to generalized pain. Lately, it's been focused in my joints and hands specifically. Alongside headaches, irregular heart rate, extreme fatigue, and sleep disturbances. I've also had new issues come up this year with orthostatic dizziness and near-fainting spells on many occasions. So on the days or weeks that I have energy and I'm feeling well and I can go out hiking and exploring, I'm extra grateful for those moments. Additionally, I've been moving through the waves of grief related to the death of people I love and the trauma that left behind. I've talked about this a bit in previous videos and it's not an easy thing to express. So I genuinely just haven't had the energy it takes to create these videos. Yeah, it's gonna be a really good workout for sure. So that's a really nice older gentleman. I don't think someone who's an easy hike... I'm doing okay. Gemma's... she's doing good. Ooh, that also looks like a heart upside down. Lots of heart-shaped rocks. So me not being able to crank out several more videos a month is definitely affecting the YouTube algorithm and it isn't showing my videos to as many people as previously. But that's okay. This channel has never been about going viral or fame by any means. Just sharing some travel stories and memories with me and my dog. Peaks are showing themselves. We're getting there. You're doing amazing, mommy. So proud of you. I appreciate those of you who continue to show up in supportive and encouraging ways. Simply watching, liking, and leaving your kind comments helps Exploring Gems reach more people like you. One day I'll likely make this channel private and have these videos just for me. To look back on all the memories Gemma and I created. But for now, I'll continue to share them with you as best I can. Thanks for being here with us. You did so good. My god, these gas prices are peak worthy. This is how she likes to sit all the time. Just like this. She tries to squeeze down here.