Yet Another Camping Trip

We just came back from another camp out but this one was less eventful thank goodness. This weekend, my daughter's tribe with the YMCA Adventure Guides had their annual Family Camp. This means instead of just me and my daughter Emma, we were also allowed to bring the entire family if we wanted. We went up Friday late afternoon and stayed through this morning. We went to Casitas Lake. It was clear and beautiful and not too hot. The Lake was amazing. Saturday, our small group of friends left the campsite and went over to the local Casitas Water Adventure Park and played in the tube river and water play areas. The girls had such a great time, hopefully I can find some pictures and add them to this post. I unfortunately forgot to reapply sunscreen on me so I have a bright red nose, shoulders, and tops of my feet!

Camping at Shaver Lake (or The Wettest Camp-Out Ever)

Okay, our camp out has been a bit of a bust. We have experienced severe non-stop rain, cold temperatures in the 20s and 30s. it even hailed one evening and snowed during our visit to some giant redwoods. The redwood grove was amazing in spite of the cold and snow. Our tent is leaking and it seems we spend most of day huddled by the campfire in the rain. The bathrooms are a big hike down a hill. The Lake itself is beautiful and most mornings have hiked down to the shore to explore. If it would just stop raining, I am sure we would be having much more fun. However, the rain does make the views sort of eerie and beautiful. This morning all of my friends have told us they are leaving a day early (today)!. Once they leave, we lose our shade canopies and will no longer have a covered cooking or eating area!. We can’t really leave ourselves as my brother and sister-in-law only arrived yesterday from Oakland and we have hardly even visited with them.

The good news is that my industrious sister-in-law has called around to local bed and breakfast’s and as soon as we pack up our gear (and wash a few loads of clothing, we are checking into a B&B!!! I am so excited…warmth, showers, fireplaces in the bedrooms! Civilization!

Leaving for Shaver...

Well we leave for Shaver lake tomorrow for our annual memorial day camp-out. I am sad we did not get sites at Yosemite but still excited about the trip. Unfortunately, the weather is to be cold and wet so I hope I am packing the right gear.

Me and Mount Whitney???

I am having a bit of an anxiety crisis. During my recent weekend at Big Bear, one of the other moms asked me if I wanted to join a group hiking Mount Whitney in August. I thought, hey pretty cool. The other women going are all pretty cool and I have always wanted to do more cool outdoorsy things so I said sure, why not. Anyway, it is not until August so i have plenty of time to prepare.

However, once I started reserching Mount Whitney and hiking it, I started to realize this is a huge monumental hike!!!!! Oh my gosh! I have since discovered that this is an 11-mile hike most of it at high altitudes. Altitude sickness is mentioned in most of the websites I visited and I even read about a number of deaths on Mount Whitney (now I need more details on this major fact). Basically, you can't just decide to hike Mount Whitney and do it, there is tons of preparation and gear involved. Camping out under the stars, eating dehydrated food, pooping in the woods and saving it to bring back to civilization...am I crazy?

I would say that when I was younger I think I would avoid many tasks that i did not think I would succeed at ahead of time. I think now that I probably passed on some exciting opportunities. So, as of today, I am still committed to the hike. However, I see a lot of work ahead getting my body in shape for this 3 to 4 day hike!

So far, I have been reading up on the internet about Mount Whitney and hiking/camping. I already spent some money at Amazon.com on a few books as well on Mount Whitney. I have to start locating my gear, but luckily do have some more experienced friends who have promised to help. I think the toughest part will be convincing myself to work out more to prep my body! I can not believe I signed on for this.

Our Trip to the Snow...

Well, Emma and I are back from our winter camp experience. It was not exactly camping as we stayed in cabins. The camp location was great (http://www.alpinemeadowsretreats.com/). There was snow everywhere and lots of great places to go sledding. The cabins were nice with heating and indoor bathrooms. The staff was nice and provided all the meals so all we had to focus on was having fun.

The drive was easier than I anticipated, but I was still glad we found a ride there and back. Chains were needed, but really only in the camp which had many small slopes and one lane roads covered in ice and snow. We rode up with another Adventure Guide's husband and their 3-year-old daughter so Emma had a great time talking with her and watching her videos on their IPOD. I must say I learned the true funcitonality of an IPOD this weekend. Wow, their IPOD had plenty of space for many movies and TV shows, the girls were never bored and it was a long ride up and back!

We had so much fun! We sledded and played in the snow. We all made snow angels. Our tribe made a princess out of snow outside of our cabin. The girls talked all night and made up stories in the cabin. We checked out everyone else's snow creations.

Sunday, we caravaned back home with some of our friends. Now, we are so psyched up for our Mammoth trip in February.

No Reservations!!

Well, was up early this morning trying to get campsite reservations for Memorial Day Weekend at Yosemite. Man, I got nothing!!! I was first delayed by my lack of foresight and planning in forgetting how to sign in to the reservation system. Then I was just too slow i guess and all the campsites were snapped up. My only saving grace is that we have a large group going, so I hope a bunch of other people in our group got enough sites for us all. Now i just have to wait and see.