Mendocino Backcountry Discovery Trail

Last weekend I had the incredible opportunity to lead a group of four awesome overlanders and three adorable pups through the Mendocino National Forest, as we adventured along the Mendocino Backcountry Discovery Trail. This was my first time leading a trip as a Trail Ambassador for overlandtrailguides.com and I couldn't have asked for a better group of like minded individuals as my first guinea pigs. Jeff, Ben, Rosa, and Wood were ready for any option thrown at them and were always on the same page as to where our next stop or place to swim, chill, or camp would be.

After meeting up in Upper Lake and going over the game plan we hit the road. Our first stop would be for a nice dip in the Eel River. On our way out Ben spotted a rattlesnake in the bushes right near our rigs. I took a few pictures of it but none of them came out.

From there we continued on past Lake Pillsbury. We didn't see any elk, as it was already nearing 90 degrees and any self respecting elk would be bedded down in the shade somewhere, but here's a picture from a previous trip of Lake Pillsbury elk just to prove they actually do exist.

After Lake Pillsbury we began our ascent up into the Mendo National Forest. Next stop on our agenda was the look-out just below Hull Mountain.

Next stop would be at the top of Hull Mountain.

After there we headed to the top of Bald Mountain.

It was nearing time to stop for the day so we stopped at a nice spot near Grizzly Flats to camp for the night. We were treated to an amazing sunset and an incredible almost full moon, stained red by the smoke from a distant prescribed burn.

More from camp.

On day two we packed up camp a little earlier than planned and headed North. We had extra fuel available so we skipped the out and back to Covelo and instead opted for a refreshing dip in the Eel River again. I didn't get any pictures from that stop, but I promise it happened. We continued North and made a stop at Little Doe Campground for lunch. We skipped the out and back to Howard Lake because I had scoped it out 2 weeks prior and it was very overgrown and there was only one decent spot to chill by the lake, and if that spot happened to be taken then it wasn't worth the extra time.

I think it was a good call because we spent that extra time at our next stop near the end of M1. It was an amazing stop and I can't believe I only took one picture. I guess it was because I was too busy enjoying an ice cold beverage and having a dip in an ice cold waterfall pool in the middle of a hot ass day.

From there we meandered East, then South, making a few stops along the way until it was time to camp for the night. We checked out Green Springs Camp, Sugar Springs, a few dispersed sites, then ultimately settled on Well's Cabin CG.

We packed up on the morning of day three and said our goodbyes to Jeff and Ben who had to hit the road for their almost 6 hour drive back home.

Rosa, Wood, and myself weren't quite done with our adventure yet so we decided to head up to the top of Anthony Peak and check out the fire look-out.

 That's awesome Dustin. Great shots love 8120 so cool.

That’s cool!   You take reservations?

That’s cool!   You take reservations?

I'm down to go any time!

That's awesome Dustin. Great shots love 8120 so cool.

Thanks! That's one of my favorites, too.

Looks like a great time, Dustin. Thanks for sharing some great pics.

Once again, a super cool overland outing.  Thanks for sharing