A friend recommended an area to us with beginning level hiking and mountain lakes galore. It turned out to be just as described. There was lake after lake after lake all within just a few miles. To me it felt like we didn't work hard enough for the reward, but for the young kids new to backpacking, it was perfect.
The first day hike-in was the whiniest. By the time we packed up at home and then dropped off Blake in Lodi with Jeff's parents and then made a few stops to pick up necessities (and non-necessities) and then arrived to the trailhead, it was late afternoon. The hike, of course, was a little farther than we anticipated, and the kids were hungry hungry and tired and tired. See:
We hiked past several beautiful lakes - this one my favorite:
But it was Milk Lake we were looking for, with the hopes that just maybe it would have a good campsite for us. Oh the rapture I experienced when we descended the hill to find a BIG, beautiful campsite waiting for our grouchy clan.
We set up camp, including a bear bag
Ate some delicious pizza that we packed in (the necessity), followed by the delicious Ikeda's razzleberry cobbler that I packed in (the non-necessity). I assured Jeff that this cobbler would be the thing that would help everyone remember the trip. He said, fine, then you carry it. That night I prayed that the bears would not come picking berries out of the teeth of my children as they slept.
The next morning started with hot chocolate and un-eaten oatmeal for breakfast on our "table" rock.
Then I tamed the daughter's wild mane ...
... and pretended for a moment that it was just me and my love in the wilderness.
After the previous afternoon's unexpected s.l.o.w.n.e.s.s, we adapted our original plan to go farther into the wilderness on day two. Instead of continuing around the long loop, we backtracked to the fork in the loop and headed up the other direction.
Part way to our expected destination, we saw a reasonable campsite and decided to drop our packs there. It turned out to be a very good decision. To get to Penner Lake (the expected destination), we had to climb a steep, switchback-y trail. We pushed those kids along, promising that the reward comes after the hard work, and everyone made it to the top! Here's half-way up the ridge:
At last a peek at Penner Lake!
One brave child took a dip in the freezing water. Just feet were enough for the rest of us.
We hiked back down to our campsite and enjoyed a night and a morning of hanging around in the forest next to a beautiful lake. Not so bad. Except that I made a LOT of trips up and down the hillside to help each child find an appropriate place to "take care of business." Up and down and up and down. Not the highlight, but one of my main memories, unforunately. It's a good thing I have the cobbler memory to cling to!
On the morning of day three, we took the short trek back to the van, but not before Eliza shed a few tears and begged to never leave. I guess she liked it? She asked about the life of a forest ranger and then wondered if she could do that and have a family too. Cute.
Here we are. Not the complete family (missing Blake and Lily-pup), but the right crew for this trip.
Okay, mountain man, where to next year?
1 comment:
Oh you brave woman! You give me hope that I might be able to do something like this in the future :)
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