Yet another summer camping trip has been completed. At the behest of some of our friends that didn’t make it to previous camping trips, Kortnee booked a group site in the Tahoe National Forrest, to which I immediately said, “No way, that’s too cold!” and she subsequently told me to stop acting like a baby and grow a pair. I never grew a pair, but I did manage to procure some snow gear from a Tahoe-local friend of mine. With parka and snow pants in hand, we drove 5,000 feet up to one of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever camped, Big Bend Group off the Yuba River.
We played dice games and chess games (I didn’t lose to Ted). We ate steak and campfire balls (Kortnee’s camping specialty). We drank beer and whiskey. Our friend, Jeff O brought all of his own freeze dried food to test out his backpacking gear. His Jet Boil was an amazing contraption. I want one for myself. We spent an afternoon at Donner Lake and an evening stargazing (my favorite part of the trip). The Ol’ Man and I failed at setting up our new 20-man tent cabin (in our defense, there were no instructions, or even a picture of what it should look like). There was much napping and good times had.
Pros: Far away from any main family camp area so there was no threat of harassment from rangers for being too loud.
The site was literally right next to the Yuba River. With just the slightest bit of effort, one could find a good spot to swim.
Weather was extraordinarily beautiful. It did not seem like we were in the mountains. The nights were even reasonable. I didn’t need the snow pants, but the parka was a life saver.
It was only five or so miles from Donner Lake. Kortnee & Ted even rented a Kayak for an hour.
No serious animal invasion situation. We saw some mangy squirrels, but that was about it. There were bear warnings, but the ranger assured us that it was very rare for them to wander into that area.
Cons: Right next to the 80 freeway, so the sound of cars rushing by was hard to ignore at three in the morning.
Vaulted toilets smelled horrible in the morning, and was so strong, the stench wafted into our campsite, making breakfast smell like a dead dog that had been decomposing in someone’s ass (sorry for the description, but it was REALLY stinky).
That being said, it was still an amazing and beautiful camping trip, filled with friends, food and booze. That makes three camping trips down and one to go.
Good night camping, love Lory & Kortnee.
amen.
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