Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
2/20/2023 - 2/21/2023 Henry W. Coe State Park
Ah finally got back to my favorite spot. After the January storm damage, the park was closed until recently.
I haven't been back since early December when I took a trip to Mahoney Zone from the headquarters side.
This time I'm taking a custom loop from Hunting Hollow. I've made some similar routes during the Summer when a lot of the creeks, springs, and ponds were dried up. It'll be nice to check out this side when it's not blazing hot.
In the video, I'll be heading up to Willson Camp to check the water sources around the area, hike up to Willson Peak, and then down to Tule Pond and Rodeo Pond.
From there I'll head south back to the Wagon Road/Willson Camp junction and then further down to Redfern Pond where I'll be camping for the night. I'm also keeping an eye out for good looking set of trees to set up a hammock in future trips.
I wanted to get back early since the wind was going to pick up on Tuesday. It looks like we're expecting a rare California Winter Storm with potential blizzard conditions.
I'm bringing along the NatureHike Cloud Up 2 to test out. It might get a bit breezy so the solid inner walls on the Cloud Up 2 should help block the wind a bit better than my other tents with their full mesh inner.
I'm starting to get into freestanding tents lately. I like the idea of quickly pitching a shelter in tight spaces or on hard surfaces. I'm appreciating designs that require less stakes/pegs. The ground is usually hard packed where I go and it's a pain to pitch sometimes. This is one of the reasons I like the Vik 1. In nice conditions, only two stakes are needed. One for each vestibule.
I'll probably pick up a XMid 1P for that reason alone but I don't plan on it anytime soon.
Gear used on the trip:
lighterpack.com/r/ojm8d5
AllTrails Recording (with pictures):
alltrails.com/explore/recording/backpacking-trip-at-wilson-peak-redfern-pond-backpacking-trip-b27d529
I plan on sending the updated water source pictures to the park the water source map here:
coepark.net/planning-your-visit/water-resources
This might all change after we go through this Winter storm.
0:00 Intro
1:04 The hike begins
1:24 Lyman-Willson Ridge Trail
3:40 Willson Camp
5:37 Steer Ridge Road
6:58 Grizzly Gulch Trail
7:41 Tule Pond
8:25 Coffee time
9:25 Rodeo Pond
10:45 Back at Wagon Road/Willson Camp
13:02 Climbing up
14:20 Redfern Pond
15:13 NatureHike Cloud Up 2 Setup
17:10 Miso Soup
17:23 Morning coffee
18:38 Heading back
20:39 Closing
2/20/2023 - 2/21/2023 Henry W. Coe State Park
Ah finally got back to my favorite spot. After the January storm damage, the park was closed until recently.
I haven't been back since early December when I took a trip to Mahoney Zone from the headquarters side.
This time I'm taking a custom loop from Hunting Hollow. I've made some similar routes during the Summer when a lot of the creeks, springs, and ponds were dried up. It'll be nice to check out this side when it's not blazing hot.
In the video, I'll be heading up to Willson Camp to check the water sources around the area, hike up to Willson Peak, and then down to Tule Pond and Rodeo Pond.
From there I'll head south back to the Wagon Road/Willson Camp junction and then further down to Redfern Pond where I'll be camping for the night. I'm also keeping an eye out for good looking set of trees to set up a hammock in future trips.
I wanted to get back early since the wind was going to pick up on Tuesday. It looks like we're expecting a rare California Winter Storm with potential blizzard conditions.
I'm bringing along the NatureHike Cloud Up 2 to test out. It might get a bit breezy so the solid inner walls on the Cloud Up 2 should help block the wind a bit better than my other tents with their full mesh inner.
I'm starting to get into freestanding tents lately. I like the idea of quickly pitching a shelter in tight spaces or on hard surfaces. I'm appreciating designs that require less stakes/pegs. The ground is usually hard packed where I go and it's a pain to pitch sometimes. This is one of the reasons I like the Vik 1. In nice conditions, only two stakes are needed. One for each vestibule.
I'll probably pick up a XMid 1P for that reason alone but I don't plan on it anytime soon.
Gear used on the trip:
lighterpack.com/r/ojm8d5
AllTrails Recording (with pictures):
alltrails.com/explore/recording/backpacking-trip-at-wilson-peak-redfern-pond-backpacking-trip-b27d529
I plan on sending the updated water source pictures to the park the water source map here:
coepark.net/planning-your-visit/water-resources
This might all change after we go through this Winter storm.
0:00 Intro
1:04 The hike begins
1:24 Lyman-Willson Ridge Trail
3:40 Willson Camp
5:37 Steer Ridge Road
6:58 Grizzly Gulch Trail
7:41 Tule Pond
8:25 Coffee time
9:25 Rodeo Pond
10:45 Back at Wagon Road/Willson Camp
13:02 Climbing up
14:20 Redfern Pond
15:13 NatureHike Cloud Up 2 Setup
17:10 Miso Soup
17:23 Morning coffee
18:38 Heading back
20:39 Closing
