We (well, Zack and Amy) spent months planning for this trip. Frank wanted to take his kids backpacking, Amy hadn't been since she was a kid, Tatum had never been before and Zack and I just had to go! I have to say all of that planning paid off in the perfect first-time backpacking adventure. And all of the little extras that people contributed put it over the top...
I drove down the day before in what I would say, hands down, was the single worst driving experience I've ever had where we didn't hit some kind of giant wildlife. I had some truly crazy driving experiences (accident right behind me, horrible traffic, bridge work, malfunctioning railroad crossing). I won't go into details because I really don't want to remember it but I was so glad when I finally arrived over 7 1/2 hours later at Zack and Tatum's. They took me out to a distillery and BBQ joint that was pretty yummy. I had a pandan rum pina colada and brisket street tacos...
We all got up early to do any last minute prep but we still unfortunately arrived at the trail head 30 minutes late and found that they had left without us...
The two-mile trail was level and easy and even at a leisurely pace we made it in under an hour. Frank had already done a bit of scouting and we decided to go ahead and set up right where we were. While the campsites were right on the trail, they were also level and right along the shore of the lake. The kids had been promised they could swim as soon as camp was set up and so in no time at all the backpacks were emptied, the tents set up, swimsuits were on and they were in the water by the time we got back from checking out the campsites on the other side of the trail. We found the perfect group camp off the trail with several level spots off the trail right on the lake but no one wanted to move their stuff so we just stayed where we were...
The kids suckered me into going swimming and despite their goosebumps and chattering teeth, the water was actually quite warm for a mountain lake at over 5000 feet in elevation. We attributed it to the fact that it was probably also quite shallow and got lots of sunlight...
The kids were never bored and had a ton of fun setting up a clubhouse (complete with pathways and their own personal logo in the dust/dirt), playing with Argus, braiding each other's hair with tiny ferns, reading; making tiny bird's nests, relaxing, and fishing...
Frankie brought his fishing pole and gave it a go but didn't catch any fish. His dad, however, did catch a fish. The poor thing swallowed the hook so we had to clean it and eat it. We didn't have any oil, so we had to just steam/boil it in a backpacking skillet. It also didn't have any seasoning. But everyone tried a bite (or two)...
A bit of smoke rolled in during the afternoon but cleared up again by evening so I could look at the stars through the mesh top of my tent while laying in my sleeping bag. Not only did I see a lot of stars but I also saw a few shooting stars and a couple of satellites. While the view was lovely, I later came to regret keeping the rain fly off my tent as temps dropped to the 40s overnight...
