In preparation for the upcoming
2nd Sunday Ride, I got some info from SFMCJohn and headed up to Buck Island Campground this past weekend.
That's an amazing area as I'm sure you all already know. It was my first time there, and I'm always on the lookout for BLM that's close to SF, especially with most dispersed camping not allowed in National Forests at the moment.
Berryessa/Knoxville Rd is super fun. Everything is pretty burned out, though. For the most part, everything is windy/grass-burned - burned through too quick to take out the trees. But a lot of black. Up closer to Buck Island, it's like Road 40 is a cutoff. Everything south of Road 40/Fiske Creek Rd is burned, everything north of Road 40 towards Buck Island escaped the fires.
I was the only one at Buck Island. Originally I wasn't going to stay at the spot SFMCJohn spoke of because of rocks, but after checking out the rest of the area, I really wanted that part of the river's white noise, so I found a place for the tent in that area. So many bats swirled around in that little area of water like crazy for about an hour as the sun went down - icing on the cake!
The trash was disappointing - I filled quarter of a 4gal bag from that campsite before I left. Bathrooms were unlocked, but there were too many legged critters hanging around to entertain any idea of using them.
Found a few cool places that are campable on the Fiske Lake (pond) side of Road 40, but I figured it was best to stay out of the blackened stuff.
It's going to be a fun ride on the 10th if it takes place. In any case, I'll go (weather and fires permitting).
Pics/vids of Saturday/Sunday:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PpVW57eqWTJx5Kx36
Thank you SFMCJohn and BARF!