8-17-13, Wolf Creek, Union Valley Reservoir, Day Two

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A Dose of Outside
A Dose of Outside is intended to share a bit of nature with you as experienced on my local hikes and other adventures. Take a moment to look out the window or step outside and see what it is you see. What you smell. Notice what’s growing around you. Use all your senses and really get A Dose of Outside!

CAMP DATE: 8-17-13, Wolf Creek, Union Valley Reservoir, El Dorado National Forest



I unbury my head to the morning light. John is already up with coffee, reading by the fire. I set some water to boil and wait to make my morning tea.

Frank should be arriving not too long from now. He was planning on hitting the highway first thing to get up here and enjoy the whole day.

Tea in hand, I plant myself next to the small morning fire. There’s still a chill in the air so the heat feels nice. We both have gravity chairs for camping, or should I say “glamping”, and they are the best! Mine is an older version so it’s a little heavier and bulkier than what the guys have, but still a great item to have.

Time to move the car to the back of the parking space and make room. Low and behold, here he comes! Frank’s pulling in and it’s only about 8:30a.m. That’s what a 4:30 wake up time gets you!

We greet our friend and help unpack a little. After he sets up his tent he breaks out a treat. He brought us fresh apple turnovers! We put them in the grilling basket and heat them over the remaining embers, giving them a slight smoky flavor. Yum!

So – camp is now set up, breakfast and caffeine have been had. Time to inflate the water craft!

Frank has the Solstice and we have the Seahawk. The boats are side by side being inflated, and the competition starts immediately. Whose boat is superior? There’s lots of back and forth about the features of each boat, plusses and cons. Once we hit the water, oh, it’s on!

I want to start off rowing and get a little upper body workout out, so John rides shotgun and we chase Frank down in his Solstice. The water is glassy and perfect! The reflections off the water are amazing and the early light is warm and promising. An Osprey soars overhead and we all stop to stare.

We’re now at the end of the little spit floating in the center of the water. There are a few speedboats out now, trailing water skiers. Some have inner tubes instead, bouncing along behind the boats in what I know from experience to be a body pounding ride.

Well, where to go? We decide to head to the opposite side of the lake and check it out. We’re about 2/3 across and my shoulder starts to bug me from the rowing so I slip into the water to swim the rest of the way and let John take the helm.

He stays near me as I swim, serving as my marker car. This keeps my concerns about being run over by a speedboat at bay, allowing me to enjoy my swim. With me swimming, and John waiting for me, we quickly fall behind.

Suddenly John says, “Uh oh! I think Frank’s boat just popped.” What? The sweet Solstice? After all that bragging too! I ask how far the failing boat is from shore and he says not far.

John calls over to make sure Frank is okay, which he is, but sticks with me until we are near enough to shore that I no longer feel threatened by the water craft and boats.

I’m not a fast swimmer so it takes us a few minutes to get to the shore yet Frank is still making his way to land. It seems like he’s taking his time getting his mostly deflated boat out of the water. I suppose - what’s the rush?

Once we touch land, John helps Frank pull the wrecked boat out of the water and the reason for the slow arrival by Frank becomes apparent. Two of the burst chambers have completely filled with water! It must have been like dragging a giant plastic bag full of water, under water.

Well, the good news is trifold. We aren’t that far from the other shore, the other boat has room for 2, and I love to swim.

It’s awesome over here! No one is around and we have the giant granite slabs to ourselves. I brought lunch snacks so the goods are spread out and we set to munching. There’s nothing like hot sun and swimming to bring up an appetite.

Ahhh. Relaxation. We envision what it’s like on the other side and decide to just hang here for the day. The afternoon is spent diving off the rocks into crystal clear water, snacking, talking and goofing. What could be better!

After a while, the afternoon wind materializes and we decide to start back. The Solstice is bundled up and tied to the Seahawk. The fellas set about to rowing and I dive in to start my swim.

With the wind I’m cold in the water, but know that soon enough my body will warm with the effort of swimming. There are little white caps on the water and I don’t have my goggles.

It’s not far, but I’m moving extra slow because of the conditions. Plus I’m a relaxed, slow swimmer in general. I’m taking a lot of water up my nose so repeated stops to cough it up are required. I can’t swim facing west, or on my right side, because the water is too rough and smacks me in the face, so most of my swim is done on one side.

Whenever I check, the boys are pretty much at a standstill, waiting for me, hovering close by to alert boaters of my presence in the water. I could easily hang onto the boat and rest, but I want to make it across. It takes longer than it should, but eventually we reach the other side.

We hit camp, have some lunch then settle in for a little afternoon R&R. John is reading in his gravity chair, Frank has his glasses on, reclined in his chair, I suspect he’s snoozing. I’m in the hammock curled up and feeling like I’m almost down for the count.

Suddenly there’s a loud succession of noises. It’s me! Making the Scooby Doo sounds because an insect just flew into my ear. I’m awake now! And so is everyone else. Sorry guys. . .

We hang out for a while and the boys slip into motorcycle talk. I’m interested as the topic is mechanical and not compound related.

It’s an hour or so before sunset, so we gather our things and head back down to the shore. Frank is going to fish, being the avid fisherman in the group, and John and I are going out on the boat to watch the sunset, as is our tradition.

There are lots of clouds in the sky and it’s sure to be am incredible display. We float and watch. With each passing moment the sky changes, getting more colorful. Highlights appear on the bottom of clouds, then disappear and reappear elsewhere.

The sky becomes RED and the water becomes RED. It’s intense. As we move our gaze left, the shades soften, turning to soft pink and blue. Sky and water a mirror image of each other. It’s spectacular!

Once it’s over, John rows us back to shore and Frank greets us with a hand up out of the water. Back up to camp to think about dinner. Frank brought chicken and rice pilaf. We’re all tired, but he accepts the chicken duty and I accept the rice pilaf task. John gets clean up.

The grilling basket is the best piece of car camping equipment I have purchased in some time! It does the job right and the chicken is dripping onto the fire and smells fantastic. I check on my pilaf, timing the completion to coincide with the chicken. The meat is almost done and I do another check. Hmmm. . . Something isn’t right.

More time goes by and the meat is done, but my pilaf is not. Not even close. Well, it’s clear that someone, ahem, misread the very simple cooking instructions and put in too much water. Oh well, dang.

We mow through the chicken and try a little of the pilaf. It tastes kind of like overcooked, very bland rice. We eat a little, but throw the rest out. Disappointing, but so it goes sometimes.

Tonight is warmer and the sky is cloud covered. We’re up later than last night. It’s about 11pm and we all turn in.

Late at night, or early morning, I hear a lone dog start to frantically bark. I’m not sure if it’s in our campground, or if the sound is traveling. But usually a dog barking like that in the middle of the night means one thing. Bear.

I decide to leave my ear plugs out so I can hear what’s happening, if anything. All is quiet, for a minute. Then I hear a dog very near start to whimper and whine. There’s a loud noise, something that sounds like a pot being smacked off a table. I’m pretty sure there’s a bear in the campground. We have seen bears in nearby campgrounds on this reservoir and it's much quieter tonight. creating more of a draw.

Well, there’s nothing to do about it and nowhere to go, so I decide to just try and get some sleep. The stars aren’t out for long this night. It seemed to clear for a bit, but then a heavy mist settled in during the wee hours of the morning. I wonder if it’s going to rain as we lay out in the open air and I feel the moisture wetting my skin.

Morning comes and we’re all still alive. Neither attacked by hungry bears nor soaked by rain. The usual routine of coffee and tea and breakfast commences. We decide to pack up almost everything, then spend some time on the water before heading out. It’s another hot day and the water is refreshing.

Frank fishes off the shore and John and I hang around. Doing a whole lot of nothing and loving it. I play a little in the water, but I’m tired so it’s mostly quick in and outs for me this morning.

We leave the campground around noon and take off to revisit a primitive campground that John and I had found up here a few years back. I’m driving and don’t have my local map and I’m also not sure which dirt road we turned on. So we stop by the information center to have a look. The map isn’t the same one I have, but I think I know where it is.

We head up 32 toward Wrights Lake, making the impractical turns that dot the lower section of this road. Eventually we hit SR40 and make that left. Off road we go!

After a mile or so I start to doubt this choice. We have definitely been down here before, but I don’t recall the camp area being so far off the main road. The dirt road is becoming rockier and more crowded by shrubs. We reach a fork in the road. SR40A and the other appears unmarked. John and I discuss and decide to venture forward.

The road really becomes crowded and I hear the bushes scraping against the side of my car. Frank has a brand new truck so I’m hoping the spot is worth it! Eventually the road dead ends and we know this is not it. It must have been the other turn.

We backtrack and go down the other dirt road for another mile or so and now I’m certain this isn’t right either. A couple dirt bikers pass us and we envy them their gear and equipment. It would be great fun to camp and explore with a dirt bike! Perhaps someday.

Well, again, the road comes to an end and we have to turn around. Once we bounce our way back to the main road, the fire for finding the old camp spot leaves John and he’s ready to get off down the mountain. We pull up next to Frank and say our farewells mid-road and I look at his truck. Hopefully most of that is just dirt. Another weekend spent with good company!

Although they served us well, the Comfort Cots will be going back to REI. The cost did not outweigh the benefits. If you’re an REI shopper, be aware they changed their policy as of June 2013, to a one year return time, which is still a great deal!



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This blog will be published frequently and on an irregular schedule. Below is the link to my jewelry website featuring one-of-a-kind designs as well as tons of free photography downloads from other adventures!
www.chellesjewelry.org

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Comments

[Auntie]

You are a very talented writer I enjoy sharing your adventures with you. Auntie

[Outdoor Addict]

Thanks!
Thanks Auntie, love you!