Boondocking above Kingman

I used my apps to find a place to stay at a higher (cooler) elevation. There were two I had in mind. The first one was OK (AZ state trust land for which I already had a permit) but the road going in was very, very rough, so I would have had to park close to the road in a big open spot. Not really that bad and later I wished I had stayed there. It was still fairly early so I went to the second place which was BLM. Right as I pulled off the highway, there were quite a few older rigs gathered that appeared to be there permanently which always raises a flag for me. I drove on past those (on another very rough road) and found a spot well away from those other rigs but I could see them in the distance. I had already decided I wasn’t going to unhitch or put anything outside. I kept an eye out when a vehicle went by or (rarely) if I heard voices. It began to dawn on me that I hadn’t yet seen another female. It was getting later so I decided to go ahead and stay the night which probably was not the best choice. At one point, I had a long, long look from a very, very large, shirtless, male human from that group of campers in the distance. I locked up and kept my “convincers” very handy. It’s a shame because there was a nice view from there and I did get treated to a particularly beautiful sunset (photo doesn’t do it justice). I think I’m lucky nothing happened, however, and I left first thing in the morning. I should have listened to the “little voice” and driven the several miles back to that previous spot (I had seen one woman camped there).

I will say, “Don’t do what I did. If you’re by yourself especially, and you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable, leave!” I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that but didn’t take heed on this occasion. Not wise.