SECRET HIGH ALTITUDE 4X4 CAMPING | Eastern Sierra

On this episode of Taco Roamer Adventures, we head out to a remote area of the eastern Sierra to a beautiful alpine lake for three nights of camping. We hike, make some delicious meals in the dutch oven, and explore some pretty fun four-wheel roads. We're Brian and Emily Whitley and we love exploring new places together. With full-time professional jobs, we are self-proclaimed weekend warriors who try and fit in as much adventure as we can. Whether on a backpacking trail to a remote destination or overlanding in our 2021 Tacoma, we love getting outside. We're here to share that it is possible to balance a work schedule and find time to see the world in a variety of different ways. Follow along on our Taco Roamer Adventures. About two hours from our home in northern Nevada, there's a windy road that will take you to a fun trail system high in the mountains. I had been here once years ago but couldn't remember exactly how to get to it. After studying maps for hours, we figured it out and knew it would be perfect for 7 p.m. We got there just in time and scored what could not be a more perfect spot to call home for a few nights at 9,400 feet elevation. All right, we made it. An interesting drive. What do you think, Brian? It's a four-wheel drive trail, that's for sure. Not impossible. There's there's some, uh, doesn't have to be an extreme four-wheel drive to get up here. It was fun. A lot of fun and look where we ended up. We cheersed a cocktail and settled in for the night. The next morning, the view from bed was picture perfect. For breakfast, we're having keto bagels that Emily made. Poppy seed today. Pretty good. I have a sausage patty. I'm just gonna make my bagel sandwich like this. Some cheese. Someone forgot to pack the cream cheese. So, looks good. After breakfast, we took a short hike around the lake to explore the area. It was the perfect time for wildflowers and they could not have been more beautiful while we were there. When we got back to camp, we made a light lunch and spent the rest of the day taking in the beautiful view. That afternoon, we decided to take a little hike along the stream. After our afternoon hike, we played a super competitive game of Yahtzee, as per usual. Tortured the dog a little and got ready for an Italian dinner baked in the Dutch oven. First, brown some chicken thighs in the oven that have been seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano. So, cauliflower rice, chicken, and we'll be adding more stuff in just a couple minutes. After the cauliflower rice is a nice light golden, add spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese. We ended up shredding baby bells because the mozzarella we meant to bring was with the cream cheese in the fridge at home. Let it cook with the lid on for about 30 minutes and then serve up and enjoy. All right, what do you think? I would never know this is cauliflower. It tastes like rice, like chicken cacciatore on rice. It's awesome. We spent the evening talking around the campfire before it was time to wake up and Brian to have his coffee ritual down by the lake. Seriously, don't get in the way of Brian's coffee in the morning. He takes his coffee ritual very seriously and has it down to a science Brian floated in his inner tube and we did some chores around the camper. Well, Brian did the chores and I supervised from the hammock. Later that day, we decided to go for a hike to a couple of lakes we saw on the map. Little did we know that we would find a wild, beautiful valley and absolutely no one but the frogs in sight. Short hike from camp to an awesome set of lakes. Waterfall back there. Wes is swimming. Definitely our happy place. After exploring this little slice of paradise, we headed back to camp to clean up and get ready for dinner. It's so cold. That's cold. I feel human again. That is snow melt. Fajitas. After the meat was cooked, we used the top of the Dutch oven and flipped it over to get our tortillas hot and some cheese melted on there to put the fajita filling into. We couldn't believe the weekend was already coming to an end. We packed up on Sunday morning faint of heart and definitely not for a two-wheel drive or low clearance vehicle. This is probably the most wheeling the Taco Roamer has done so far and we couldn't be more happy with how it handled even with all the extra weight and top heaviness from the four-wheel camper. Stay tuned for more adventures and we hope to see you on the trails.