An Adventurous Day of Camping in Long Valley Caldera

Solo Adventures

A few weeks ago, I set off on a solo trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains. I often enjoy escaping the hustle and bustle of life to seek some peace and quiet. My go-to spot is a ski resort about five hours' drive from L.A.

I usually leave on Friday night. During the drive, I often sleep in my van at a rest stop or a public campsite. Waking up the next morning, I’m greeted by stunning mountain views right outside my window.

Exploring Long Valley Caldera

This time, after a day of skiing, I decided to explore Long Valley Caldera. Calderas form when a volcano collapses into itself, an event that occurred around 700,000 years ago in this area. It’s truly one of the largest calderas in the world, measuring 20 miles long and 11 miles wide, located near Mammoth Mountain, which I frequently visit.

From the outside, the caldera looks like a vast, flat field covered in tussock grass. But beneath the surface, there's still an active magma chamber, which heats the groundwater and creates the hot springs I adore—small, beautiful blue pools scattered throughout the field where you can soak on chilly days.

An Unexpected Journey

That day, I drove around searching for the hot springs in Long Valley Caldera. Having just experienced a major storm, everything was blanketed in thick snow. I decided to forgo a map and simply typed “hot springs” into Google Maps and took off.

Remembering an old green church, I turned left and continued a few miles down a paved road. When I reached a fork that Google Maps indicated had hot springs, I was caught off guard to find that the road hadn’t been cleared of snow. It was covered in ice and snow, and my van was not a 4x4. In hindsight, I should have thought it through more carefully, but at that moment, I didn’t.

Risky Choices

I must admit that in life, I’ve taken many paths I shouldn’t have. As an international journalist, I've reported on wars and worked in extremely harsh environments. When I was asked about this for a podcast episode, I wondered: Do people really want to hear about the time I was detained by the KGB?

There was a time I found myself on a road with an ISIS checkpoint in Yemen or in Syria when the guide said to just go out behind the fence. Those stories are intense, but the point is I made it out of those situations safely. This has given me a false sense of confidence.

Unexpected Obstacles

When I arrived at the first hot spring, it was truly a wonderful experience. A warm pool of water nestled in the snowy field, surrounded by smooth stones and a brilliant blue sky. I sent a few selfies to my friends, bragging that I had found the spring.

A group of people was also soaking there, preparing to head to another pool. They decided to attempt the next one despite not having a 4x4 either. I waved goodbye and chose not to take any risks.

The Harsh Reality

At the moment I was in the van, I felt cheerful. But after enjoying the first pool, I suddenly thought it wasn’t warm enough. Knowing that the water would be hotter deeper in the caldera, I decided to test my luck once more.

When the van got stuck, I thought I could just call AAA and everything would be fine. But seven hours later, I started to doubt my life choices. The reality was that AAA wouldn’t come to rescue you on these little-traveled roads. They consider it off-roading.

Hope on the Horizon

The road was very narrow, and my vehicle was stuck in a deep snowbank. I noticed some other people nearby, so I waved them over. After a while, a few folks came to help, and they had a tow strap. They managed to pull my van out, but then I got stuck again.

We tried multiple times, but eventually, they couldn’t stay any longer. As night began to fall, I worried I might have to spend the night there. This time, unlike others, I was in a worse predicament. But this was nature, and if it snowed again, I could get buried and no one would find me.

A Happy Ending

Although the van had all the amenities like blankets, a small stove, and some food, the real issue was how to get out of there. Before the group left, they gave me the number of a professional tow service that could come to help.

Finally, after many attempts, I called that person. They were very busy but referred me to someone else. The person I called said it would cost a lot, up to hundreds of dollars. Despite trying to pull myself out, nothing worked effectively. In the end, I had to call the tow service again, and Tim arrived quickly with a powerful Jeep and a big tow strap. After about an hour, Tim pulled me out, and we shared interesting stories, from adventurous experiences to fascinating trips that we both had taken.