Amboy Crater

Just three or four hours east of the Los Angeles area is a quiet dark sky site great for car camping overnight, to view meteor showers or just general stargazing, as well as a unique and uncrowded hike into and/or around a volcanic crater.

Note: I hiked here alone, and it is NOT recommended to hike alone. I am an experienced hiker and was equipped with two means of communicating and several survival items as well as plenty of water and snacks. I do not recommend hiking alone.

I first went with my friend Nadine in October 2023 and we watched the Orionids. It was very hot when we arrived, but cooled down with the sunset and we were comfortable to slightly chilly as we sat and watched fireballs streak across the sky. The information online had mixed messages as to whether it was okay to car camp at the primary trailhead parking lot, but that's what we did and it seemed fine. There was also a man in a small RV and a couple who rolled in late and set up camp, so we weren't alone. I preferred camping there to the overflow parking lot, which the online info consistently says is ok, because there were toilets at the main parking lot. No running water, though, so be sure to always have hand sani or wipes for bathroom breaks. 

 

In the morning, I was hoping to do some hiking but Nadine wasn't up for it. So I told her I'd just go a little ways and come back, not wanting to leave her in the heat with nothing to do for too long. Since I could see that nobody had left their vehicles yet in the parking lot, it occurred to me that I was quite totally alone on the hike. I'm used to hiking on trails where there are definitely people ahead and behind me, and people coming back would be passing me. The eerie feeling of loneliness and the peril of hiking alone was exhilarating and creepy. I never really felt in danger, with two cell phones on different carriers (personal and work) and knowing Nadine was at the trailhead - certainly if something happened to me I could either contact her or she would eventually come out after me if I didn't return. Still, it was neat to feel like I was the only one on the trail. Of course, I had no idea if people had started after me, and sure enough, I did see people as I returned. Even though it was pleasant when I left the trailhead, it got hotter quickly and I made it only about 3/4 of a mile before turning back, and it got very hot by the time I returned. 

 

Since then, I'd been wanting to return when the weather was nicer to do the full hike. I got the chance a couple days ago (camping on Jan 5 and hiking the morning of Jan 6) - purposefully planning it when the moon was minimal and also would rise late in hopes of also seeing the Milky Way as I set up camp and relaxed under the stars. It wasn't as spectacular as the best Milky Way pictures, but sure enough I did see it faintly, and I got a couple decent pictures with my cell phone of Orion's Belt and other stars. 

Because it was cooler, I didn't do my full hatch-tent setup to let the outside air into my car. Instead, I slept in it fully enclosed, but with a view out the top through my sunroof. I was mostly comfortable until about 3 or 4 am when I started to get very cold, and I turned my car on temporarily to heat the cabin a bit. I woke up around 7 am as the sun was rising, and while it was still quite chilly, it was so beautiful I was ready to get going. I had a small, quick breakfast in my camping chair enjoying the view but sitting still was making me too cold, so I cut it short in favor of starting the hike. It was 40° when I started, and I layered two sweatshirts over my tank top, knowing that I'd like remove one or both sweatshirts as I hiked, and it was easier to wrap them around my waist than deal with a bulky jacket. 

The hike to the crater is very easy, with a bench at about half a mile (0.47 mi by my tracker) and another "last chance" bench at the end of the easy part, 1.1 miles from the trailhead. Most of the terrain is packed dirt and sand with sporadic lava rocks, but there are also patches of very loose sand and dirt, much like walking on the beach. There is next to nothing as far as elevation change. There is also zero shade, so be prepared to be blasted by the sun. If you're still a Pokemon GO player like me, there are Pokemon on the trail and a stop at the last chance bench!

After the second bench, the hike gets exciting as you wind your way up onto the side of the crater and up and over into it. A half mile past the bench, at 1.6 miles from the trailhead, is a three-pronged fork at which you can go straight to basically head directly into the middle of the crater, or go left or right which will take you in a loop around the rim of the crater to the highest point just under 1000 feet. The Crater Trail taking you into the center is much more moderate and less dangerous, and affords a spectacular 360 view at a saddle point. If you turned around and went back from there, I'd say you thoroughly did the hike and saw what there is to see.

For more advanced hikers with confidence in their ankle strength, the Crater Rim Loop offers a steep change in elevation and unobstructed views from the top. I ended up taking the Crater Trail first and then continuing to the other side of the meteor, making my way up to the Crater Rim Loop. At the top, I had trouble deciding which way to turn, but ultimately turned right to hit the highest peak of the hike. I had to be very careful with my foot placement and took my time both going up and down, while along the rim it was fairly easy going. On the way down, I stopped for a snack to recharge and ensure I had enough energy and strength not to slip, especially since I was by myself. 

 

 

On my way down, I finally saw other people on the trail for the first time. Many of them did not have water. Please, people, do NOT go hiking in the desert without water!! Even in the winter, it is very dry and you need to stay hydrated. After making my way down from the crater rim, it was easy going headed back on the same and only trail back to the parking lot. It was about 50° by then so I stripped down to my tank top and had both sweatshirts around my waist - stylish, I know! With the very light breeze, it was perfect hiking weather. I really enjoyed myself but was pretty beat when I finally got back to my car. Luckily, I didn't have much to pack up so I was able to use the bathroom once more and then get on the road home. (And I got home just in time to do Pokemon Go Community Day on my couch - LOL!)

It was a great first adventure for the new year! I nearly procrastinated on going, but so glad I pushed myself to do it. It was just an evening and morning - hardly a big time investment relative to the joy and peace I got from it.

Recommendations for Amboy Crater

• Set up camp just before sunset and enjoy the stars
• Bring a headlamp as it is very dark and you'll especially want your hands free when going to the bathroom
• Bring hand sani or wipes for using the bathroom
• The bugs (specifically, tiny, little flies) are incessant at night - you may want to bring bug spray and/or a face net and have weather-appropriate clothes that cover as much as possible
• Bring good hiking shoes with ankle support - lots of opportunities to twist an ankle on the hike
• Bring a hat, sun screen, and lots of water! At least 2 liters of water per person is recommended. Even in the winter, the desert is dry and you need to replace the water you're losing as you hike.
• Give yourself a few hours to hike it before sunset - you don't want to be caught out there in the dark!

Communing with Nature

When you think of the ultra rich and lavish lifestyles a lot of wealth can afford, you probably don't conjure up images of hiking through rolling hills of flowers or camping in the stark desert. Yet I am going to argue here that living your best life and buying your way to happiness must include elements of nature. 

An obvious feature of getting outdoors is that it is physically good for you in different ways. Most often, you'll have some kind of workout if you're spending any significant time outdoors - whether that be walking, running, hiking, swimming, climbing, biking, etc. Then there is the fresh air - the further away from society you are, the better. I especially love ocean air; I feel like I can breathe best on the beach. Being in the sun means you're getting a dose of Vitamin D - just balance that with sun block so you don't get burned and increase risk of skin cancer. 

Getting out into beautiful landscapes and appreciating the common and uncommon animals and plants around me is one way I feel I can stay grounded in the bigger picture of things. Work can be stressful, relationships with family and friends can be dramatic, personal decisions can wear us down, technology can burn us out. When I'm in nature, the natural beauty and the imperfections make all those things seem small. Being a little outdoorsy from time to time provides balance. 

How do I buy my way into nature? There are several ways. For one, I have a bunch of camping gear that borders into glamping, but is mobile, which I'll talk about shortly. One of my favorite ways of communing with nature is in my (or any) outdoor hot tub (or hot spring) with a nice view of nature. Soaking in a hot tub or hot spring is one of the few exceptions to the premise that most outdoor activities involve exercise, but it has its own benefits in soothing sore muscles. Additionally, travel allows exposure to different regions, different landscapes and more dynamic nature-oriented activities, and of course, travel is rarely cheap - especially if going long distances. Finally, I saved up several thousands of dollars and purchased land, and that is a great way to invest in seeking out nature. One other thought, which I have not yet executed myself, is to sponsor or donate to charitable organizations which support nature preservation - which may get you invites into exclusive hikes, etc. I suppose you could say I've donated my time to such a cause, which did get my exclusive invites - I volunteered as a docent for the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. I enjoyed that because the job duties encouraged me to learn about the flowers and the various plants and animals, and I would typically hike 4.5 to 5.5 miles once or twice a week on my trail watch shift. 

My camping setup is a recent set of purchases with which I'm quite happy. It started when I bought my first SUV. Through the magic of Amazon, I was able to find an air mattress that fits snuggly in the back of the SUV when the seats are folded down flat, a two-person sleeping bag rated down to 32 degrees, and a one-sided tent that goes over the hatch door and around the back of the vehicle to basically turn the SUV into a tent, with bug guard and a shade and everything. That's the basic setup, but of course I didn't stop there. I found magnetic bug screens so I can open my moon roof and/or windows, and have more moving air while minimizing exposure to bugs (because - uck! I hate bugs, and I am a little bit of a princess even while camping). I found that the tent enclosure didn't perfect seal around all the edges so I bought some pretty strong magnets (with hooks in case we want to tie things to them) and use those to secure it to the vehicle better. I found a portable toilet which can be collapsed and tucked under the floorboards of my SUV when not in use, but fully expanded it has a toilet paper holder and everything. Cooling towels proved to be useful when camping in the desert heat, and a small electric lantern / power bank combo with a hook is a great accessory to hang from the handles in the SUV. Camping chairs and coolers are a must if you're hanging around for an extended stay. I don't have the cooking gear (yet) but the people I camp with often bring a portable camping stove of some sort - I'm perfectly happy eating protein bars and cold leftovers and whatnot unless someone else is cooking. 

When I go, I usually set up my air mattress before I leave (although the inflator plugs into the car so it can be done even in the middle of nowhere with ease), and then pile things on top of it or leave them under the floor boards until I need them. I think it's also worth mentioning, unrelated to actual camping trips, that sometimes I have my air mattress set up for late nights - I like to go swing dancing about an hour away from where I live, and I am prone to falling asleep behind the wheel. So now, if I'm driving home and start to get drowsy, I'll find a nice spot to pull in for a bit, and take a nap for a couple hours in the back until I'm ready to drive again. Someday, I'll be happy to invest in a fully self-driving car and this won't be an issue, but until that day…

The first (and currently, only) piece of land that I bought is in the Mojave desert, about 30 minutes north of where I live. I had scoped out inexpensive multi-acre properties online and then spent one Saturday visiting my top 5 or so. I fell in love with the Mojave property, because it backed up to a gorgeous little mountain range, had a view looking down at the city, but was far enough removed from the city that it was just the first level of light pollution up from being a completely dark-sky site. This meant that I could do some stargazing from the property. And stargazing I did! Once I purchased the property outright with cash, I camped up there one night in search of the green meteor that was in the news. I was so excited when I finally found it! I've camped up there a couple other times for meteor showers. 

I've also gone camping a couple times so far with my setup elsewhere. My friend and I went to Isabelle Lake over the Fourth of July weekend, and while we had camp site with a creek which we spent most of the time in, it proved to just be too hot for an extended stay, and we left early the first morning. 

We drove out to Amboy Crater to see some meteor showers and do some light hiking, and we were thrilled to have a fantastic view of dozens of meteors and a few pretty good fireballs streaking across the sky. There were only a couple other parties camping there that weekend, and so when I went for a hike that morning, I came to a slightly disturbing realization. Since none of the other parties in the parking lot where we had set up camp had gone hiking, and no new comers had pulled into the parking lot prior to my departing for my hike, I realized I was the first, and possibly only, person on the trail that morning. Often, when we hike, there is likely someone ahead of us and we'll pass people on their way back as we head into the hike. But there I was, sure that there was nobody ahead of me, nobody who would be passing me as they headed back, and I was completely out of eyeshot from the observation deck. Should something happen to me, I mean obviously my friend would come looking for me after a long while, but I literally had nobody to help me immediately. I did have my phones on me, but realized my personal cell phone had died (it had been plugged in but the chord was busted), and my friend didn't know that and may try to reach me there instead of my work cell phone. I wasn't scared, really. It was more just novel to feel so completely alone and so completely out of touch. I was never in danger and I wasn't really THAT far from people. It was just a fun, slightly spooky, feeling that I found refreshing and exciting. These types of experiences, I think, are really good reminders of why it is important to get out of the air conditioning, get away from modern society, and be out in the wild. 

I'm reminded of time when someone with me had a similar realization. My friend and colleague had suffered some chest pains and dizziness and was prescribed healthy eating and exercise as the main remedies. He had previously spent almost all of his time outside of work at his home, playing video games, and really not much else. With the medical issue giving him a little wake up call, I was able to convince him to do some light hiking with me a couple times. As we walked through the winding trails and small hills, he stopped at various places and was clearly awestruck at the beauty around us and the feeling of being outside and being away from society (even if the trails were partially paved and certainly well marked when not paved). It helped me to really appreciate what I had started to somewhat take for granted, and I recall that awe I saw and heard in him whenever I visit those specific hikes again, and many other times as well.