A Long Long Frustrating Day on the Road

Mike played with the dogs early in the morning and snapped more amazing shots of the lake.  I think I'm rubbing off on him.  After breakfast, camp was packed and we bid adieu to our camp pals.  At this juncture, Mike and I headed west towards Big Sur and they went east, making their way home.

And a not-so-quick video:

We aired up at the staging location and said our goodbyes.  Little did we know that this would be a day where minimal planning and research would bite us in the butt.  We hit Highway 1 and made our way south along the coast.  Clouds lingered over head and the sun sank quickly.  We found no easy National Forest access.  Every campground was full or did not allow trailers.  Hotels/motels did not allow dogs, were booked up or did not provide space to park our trailer.

They say pictures are worth 1,000 words.  The shot I took of Elly 1/2 way through the day perfectly summarizes how we felt.

 

It got dark.  It got late.  At 10:00PM we stopped in a wide spot, snacked on cheese and crackers and fed the dogs.  We were aiming for the next town south.  We would not make it.  Highway 1 was closed to through traffic for construction over night.  We camped on a wide spot right on the road, along with countless other travelers stuck in the same position.  Irritated, we turned in for a restless night after midnight.

Today started full of promise and ended on a sour note.

Day on the Trail - Ellis Point

Onwards!

Quite a bit of traffic, both Jeep and ATV passed camp.  But everyone else seemed to immediately head to the east Rubicon trail entrance.  We had other plans - Ellis Point. We went up!

We had three different maps in the Jeep.  None of them agreed with one another.  We got turned around, backtracked but finally passed a single Jeep who assured us we were on our way to Ellis Point.

The air was crisp and rich with pine scent, and we finally had bright blue skies.  Today was perfect.  The last bit of road to the point was narrow and complex.  We took GoPro video but I haven't edited it yet.  This view was incredible.  Mountains on one side, and massive Lake Tahoe on the other.

My little hiking/bouldering partner kept up the steep incline to the peak. (8700ft)

We enjoyed a snack at the Jeep then headed back down to camp.  In Arizona you can easily time yourself via the sun, not in California.  The sun stays up much later.  It was nearing dinner, and without a proper lunch in our bellies, we descended back towards Miller Lake.

Mandy whipped up another awesome camp dinner, we played Chinese Checkers, ate smores and battled mosquitoes before turning in. 

These are the days....

Lazy Lake Day

After a morning wee break, Mike snapped some amazing shots of the still lake.  By the time I woke, the breeze kicked in a rippled the surface.  Miller Lake would be a perfect canoe lake, too bad my canoe was left hanging in the shop at home.  But at least today we were blessed with the knowledge that we didn't have to pack up after breakfast. 

My solar powered dog recharged her batteries then we poked around the lake and the kids played among the fallen trees. 

And a few snaps of our camp.  It took some serious manuvering, but we fit.

Mike and I unhooked the Jeep from the trailer and hit the trails while the family stayed behind to relax. I couldn't decide which pictures I liked the best about our trail day, so this day turned into 30+ final shots...so two posts it is...

Up next, Ellis Point.

Lake Tahoe Ho!

Since whatever plan we had went out the window days ago, we headed northwest towards Lake Tahoe.  We popped into the main town for lunch (Jalisco, Mexican joint), laundry, and groceries.  We killed a few hours and were blown away by the hoards that flock to this oasis on the California/Nevada border.  I get the draw, but it draws too many people, thus killing the outdoor experience we love.

 We wound our way around the lake, past Emerald Cove and made our way westbound towards the Rubicon trail.  We knew we didn't want the actual Rubicon trail because we didn't want to kill ourselves or our rigs, but the trusty (cough, sarcasm, cough) trail book assured us a moderate trail could be found, offering off site camping.  I'd like to find out what their idea of moderate it, because how they defined moderate trails in Colorado are completely different than how they made them in California. 

After a bit, we found a tight spot next to Miller Lake.  It was chilly, wrought with mosquitos, but perfect all at the same time.  We would happily call this campsite home for two nights.