Weekend getaway
Last Friday the family unit & I headed to the eastern Sierras for a few days of camping with Dean and his brood. We camped due west of Independence, a few miles below Onion Valley.
I love the eastern Sierras at this time of year - the days are cool and crisp, the leaves are changing… I can’t really explain what I enjoy so much about it. I just feel like new life is being breathed into me. We arrived on Friday afternoon, set up camp and lounged around a campfire. It was a touch on the breezy side and when we turned in early (around 9:00 or so) I knew it was going to be a cold night. But I didn’t know it was going to be that cold. The next morning the thermometer in my truck read 38 degrees. And that was at 8:30 when the truck had been sitting in the sun for awhile. BRRRR!!! We had a traditional camp breakfast and then I was ready for a nap.
But the kids weren’t having any part of it so we went geocaching instead. Here’s a photo from the place our second cache was found.
On the drive back to camp we came across a small herd of muley does. They started to haul it out of there when they saw us watching them but I recalled having a deer call in my console so I took it out and gave it a few squeaks. They turned on a dime, stopped, and stared directly at us. A few more squeaks and they took a few steps toward us.
We watched them for awhile and then headed back to camp where we loaded up our fishing gear for an afternoon of drowning worms. We decided to hit Sabrina. I’ve never been there before and the beauty of that place is breathtaking.
We spread out along the shore and tossed in some lines.
As is often the case with kids, Jack and Joe started to get a bit bored after an hour or so of no action. They got to wandering around when Jack got a bite. I grabbed his rod and set the hook, all the while hollering at him to “get over here and reel this thing in!” It was his first fish and he was ecstatic.
It was just a little guy and I proposed throwing him back but Jack didn’t want to hear any of that nonsense. Rather than ruin the moment I helped Jack put him on the stringer and high-fived him on a job well done. With a fish under his belt there wasn’t a snowball’s chance that he would get far from his rod any time soon. And it was a good thing because not 45 minutes later he had one tugging on his line. “Get ‘im, Jack!!” I shouted. And “get ‘im” he did. This one was no dink but a very respectable fish that was a good pound and a half. Celebrations ensued.
With the tall peaks all around us the sun disappeared early and it got downright cold so we loaded up and headed back to camp. On the way back we came across a herd of Tule elk. I’ve been trying for nearly 20 years to pull a tag to hunt these beasts with no luck. If I ever do, I think I’d like to whack this guy.
Back at camp we fed our tapeworms bratwurst sandwiches, baked beans, and an assortment of treats. I fell into bed at 9:00 and didn’t move a muscle till the next morning. It was heavenly. While we broke camp the boys hammed it up for the occasional photo.
We even got a little bb gun target practice in, with Isabelle showing the boys how it’s done.
The drive home was uneventful (just the way I like it) and the boys were good helpers when it came time to unload. All in all a good trip, one I’m already looking forward to next year.
I love the eastern Sierras at this time of year - the days are cool and crisp, the leaves are changing… I can’t really explain what I enjoy so much about it. I just feel like new life is being breathed into me. We arrived on Friday afternoon, set up camp and lounged around a campfire. It was a touch on the breezy side and when we turned in early (around 9:00 or so) I knew it was going to be a cold night. But I didn’t know it was going to be that cold. The next morning the thermometer in my truck read 38 degrees. And that was at 8:30 when the truck had been sitting in the sun for awhile. BRRRR!!! We had a traditional camp breakfast and then I was ready for a nap.
But the kids weren’t having any part of it so we went geocaching instead. Here’s a photo from the place our second cache was found.
On the drive back to camp we came across a small herd of muley does. They started to haul it out of there when they saw us watching them but I recalled having a deer call in my console so I took it out and gave it a few squeaks. They turned on a dime, stopped, and stared directly at us. A few more squeaks and they took a few steps toward us.
We watched them for awhile and then headed back to camp where we loaded up our fishing gear for an afternoon of drowning worms. We decided to hit Sabrina. I’ve never been there before and the beauty of that place is breathtaking.
We spread out along the shore and tossed in some lines.
As is often the case with kids, Jack and Joe started to get a bit bored after an hour or so of no action. They got to wandering around when Jack got a bite. I grabbed his rod and set the hook, all the while hollering at him to “get over here and reel this thing in!” It was his first fish and he was ecstatic.
It was just a little guy and I proposed throwing him back but Jack didn’t want to hear any of that nonsense. Rather than ruin the moment I helped Jack put him on the stringer and high-fived him on a job well done. With a fish under his belt there wasn’t a snowball’s chance that he would get far from his rod any time soon. And it was a good thing because not 45 minutes later he had one tugging on his line. “Get ‘im, Jack!!” I shouted. And “get ‘im” he did. This one was no dink but a very respectable fish that was a good pound and a half. Celebrations ensued.
With the tall peaks all around us the sun disappeared early and it got downright cold so we loaded up and headed back to camp. On the way back we came across a herd of Tule elk. I’ve been trying for nearly 20 years to pull a tag to hunt these beasts with no luck. If I ever do, I think I’d like to whack this guy.
Back at camp we fed our tapeworms bratwurst sandwiches, baked beans, and an assortment of treats. I fell into bed at 9:00 and didn’t move a muscle till the next morning. It was heavenly. While we broke camp the boys hammed it up for the occasional photo.
We even got a little bb gun target practice in, with Isabelle showing the boys how it’s done.
The drive home was uneventful (just the way I like it) and the boys were good helpers when it came time to unload. All in all a good trip, one I’m already looking forward to next year.
posted by willhuntforfood at 10:48 PM
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