Backpacking Lists

Backpacking and/or Camping is an Adventure

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Hope Valley Area Campgrounds

Hope Valley is known for its stunning beauty, especially in the fall when the aspen leaves turn to vibrant shades of yellow and orange. Painters, photographs, fly fishermen, and nature lovers are drawn to the valley. A newly renovated campground is located right in Hope Valley while others are found to the east along the Carson River.

When my family was young

Our Favorite Time in the Vanagon

Our favorite time as a family was when we loaded up our Volkswagen Vanagon with tents, food, fishing poles, and sleeping bags, and headed to the Hope Valley Campground along the Carson River in the High Sierra Mountains.

We’d spend three or four nights in our favorite spot, nestled among tall pines with the sound of the river always close by. Everything we ate was cooked over the campfire—simple meals that somehow tasted like five-star feasts when made under the open sky. We took day hikes together, exploring trails that wound through meadows and along the river, always returning to camp for lunch or dinner.

Jamie was our littlest at seven years old, Becky was nine, and Scott was thirteen. Sue was thirty-five and I was forty. We were young, full of energy, and even more full of our need for adventure. Those trips weren’t fancy, but they were rich with laughter, stories, and the kind of connection that only comes when you're far from the noise and schedules of everyday life.

Hope Valley was more than just a campground—it was our family’s happy place. Looking back now, those moments shine like gold in my memory.

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