Guide to Camping/Shredding in the Eastern Sierras
Updated: Aug 19, 2020
When it comes to camping in the Eastern Sierras, no matter what time of year it is, you will want to bring a mix of bluebird day attire and versatile outdoor apparel.
This past winter Mammoth Mountain had a slightly less notable winter - the road to the infamous crab cooker hot spring was just as dry as the desert. Compared to February winter 2018/19 when the road was hardly even accessible from the main highway.
As we concluded the more mild winter conditions of California, we decided to overnight camp just a two minute walk from the notorious hot springs. If you haven’t been to crab cooker hot spring, or the neighboring wild willy's hot spring, you are in for a treat of miles of open valley overlooking the Eastern Sierras.
Location & Conditions
As we pulled into the delicate lot of the notorious springs, we were thankful to have arrived on a weekday in the middle of February. Though, as soon as the sun set we saw the weather drop from 60 degrees and sunny to 20 degrees, rapidly falling, and gusts of wind howling through the valley.
While my fiancé stoked a fire with a mix of kindling and pine, I finagled my ski attire to become comfy camping attire. Ski clothes are versatile, though how you layer them is key. I started with a tight base layer top, next a fleece, a large hoodie and then my trust ski jacket. As a Florida native I somehow find myself thriving in cold weather as an adult, but only with the right women’s ski wear.
Attire
For pants, I only needed my nevé apparel 5 mm. women's ski pants. The game changing pants fit like leggings and make peeing in the forest a breeze. So let’s compare the simple ski leggings to the latter. Before nevé apparel ski pants, I was layering basically sheer leggings, blue jeans and bulky snow pants to ensure optimal warmth.
Now we have all worn a romper, bib or bodysuit, but no other women's skiwear have seemed to care about women’s bathroom breaks. Especially if you’re car camping and drinking lots of wine around a fireplace praying not to break the seal.
Now that we covered outdoor apparel, a bathing suit (for some) is needed for a pre-shredding hot spring dip. It really relaxes all muscles, before or after riding, and your body feels rejuvenated and revitalized. Hoping into hot water with a cool breeze hitting your face... few things compare.
