HIGHLAND LAKES

June 11-13, 2021

I don't usually care for campgrounds and I find myself usually only going to them when I'm meeting friends, who have chosen to go to them, but when it's a campground like Highland Lakes, I'll easily make an exception.

Situated at 8,600 feet elevation, the lakes are a great destination when trying to escape the summer heat in the valleys below.  Both lakes are close to the campground and are super "kayakable."

From the campsites, you get a beautiful view of the smaller lake with the gorgeous background of Hiram Peak looming on the other side.  There's a trail to the summit, on which you'll have to commit to 1,187 feet of elevation gain and the trek is very exposed to the wind and sun.  The boundary of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness is near the base of the peak.

The road from Ebbetts Pass to the lakes is drivable, but it's narrow, steep and not in the best of condition and I believe this is the reason why it's not a super crowded destination.  The camp host, however, said that in the last few years (after Sunset Magazine did an article on the lakes) that he has seen it full to capacity for most of the summer.

On this particular trip, I went with friends and we were able to get, what I considered to be, the best sites in the campground.  We hiked, paddle boarded, relaxed and enjoyed some good food and great company around the evening campfires, which at the time of our visit, were still allowed.

Hiram Peak (9,795' elev.), our backdrop for the weekend.

Got the camp set up.

Tri-Tip on the grill...there's nothing like that smell.

Mark did a great job with dinner.

Some happy campers.

The next day, we all set off to do some hiking and exploring.  A couple of the girls headed out on a more ambitious hike towards Hiram Peak and the rest of us explored a milder trail to the west of the campground that we were told had fantastic views of the area.

The smaller of the two lakes, which is where our campsite was located.

The views definitely didn't disappoint.

It's hard to see from the photo, but you can see Spicer Reservoir way off in the distance.

This is what a tired "hound dog" looks like...

Dexter took every opportunity to cool off, whether it was rolling in the snow or soaking in the many snow melt run offs flowing down from the mountain.

Coming down off the mountain was a lot harder than it looked.

After hiking for a good chunk of the day, it was time to cool off in the lake.

The water was very cold, as the snow melt was still flowing into the lake

and there was a lot of wind that would pass through intermittently, so 

we had to take advantage of the calm phases.

Susan took her new inflatable paddle board on its maiden voyage.

The girls were much braver than the men, as they were the only ones who decided to take swim

in the icy lake.

This dog wouldn't leave Dexter alone, so he had to endure a little "Prison Love" on the trip...

After a full day of activities, it was cocktail time.  Everyone brought something nice to the table to share: from Japanese scotch to hummus to berries.

Susan made a wonderful Caprese salad...

We ate appetizers in the warm sunshine and still had room for a nice pot luck dinner that evening.  We had another nice campfire, laughed and told lies

until bedtime.  It had been a wonderful day.

Leaving a beautiful place is always kind of sad, but we'll be back to

enjoy this little gem.

New Truck for my SOON TO BE Camp Rig

 MY "NEW" TRUCK THAT WILL SOON BECOME MY ULTIMATE FLATBED CAMP RIG

As retirement looms less than a year away, I figured that it was time to start putting the plans for my ultimate camp rig into play.  I bought this 2004, Dodge Ram 2500, 5.9 ltr. diesel truck and it is in EXCELLENT condition.  

Over the course of the next year, I plan to start purchasing all of the materials I'll need to start building it out, so that I'll have everything ready by the time I retire.

I'm going to attempt to build the entire camper myself and it'll be a big undertaking, but hey, I'll have plenty of time to devote to it...right?

I plan to build a flatbed, hard-sided cabover camper with an all aluminum frame and aluminum skin.  Imagine a popped up FWC Flatbed that's hard-sided...   

Here's what I'm planning so far:

- Aluminess aluminum winch bumper with brush guard (on order);

- 12,000 lb. winch w/synthetic rope (probably Smittybilt)

- Hillsboro aluminum flatbed (on order);

- 1 1/2 inch square tubing aluminum frame with aluminum skin (attached with rivets and VHB tape and insulated with foam panels;

- Artic Tern-style European windows and door;

- Marine grade roof/escape hatch (will also allow roof access to clean and maintain solar panels);

- 450 watts of Renogy solar panels charging two Battle Born lithium batteries with inverter, charger, controller, etc;

- 60-70 liter two compartment DC compressor fridge/freezer combo (probably Iceco);

- Maxxair powered fan;

- Flush mounted sink and two burner propane stove;

- Queen-sized bed on the cabover with under the bed storage;

- Chinese diesel heater;

- Simple Porta-Potty stored in a lower cabinet;

- Dimmable LED pot lights throughout the interior;

- Gravity fed water from several Jerry Cans stored in a rack inside (I don't want to deal with plumbing, pumps, flushing and freezing issues);

- Rear dinette (can turn into a second bed) with under the seat storage;

- Lightweight, bin-style storage throughout;

- Two outer storage/tool boxes mounted under the flatbed;

- Stirrup-type stairs mounted to the flatbed rail;

- Two knockoff MaxTrax recovery tracks mounted on the rear;

- Receiver hitch & bike rack for two ebikes (with solar charging pigtail);

- Two Jerry Cans mounted on the rear of the camper;

- A low-mounted awning on the driver's side of the camper; 

- Some sort of wrap or large decal applied to the camper's exterior; 

- Etc...

Hopefully, there won't be more fuel, lumber, aluminum, materials and shipping shortages that have become all too common this last year.

I plan to start a build thread on this blog when I start putting it all together and I welcome any suggestions from the more experienced of you out there on the dirt roads...

GROVER HOT SPRINGS, May, 2021

GROVER HOT SPRINGS

May, 2021 

Our first camp trip of the year was a quick little jaunt to Grover Hot Springs State Park, near Markleeville, CA.  It was a quick, three day, two night trip, but it was much needed.

Because of "The Vid," you had to make reservations for your soak, but it was actually nice, because our whole group was able to soak at once.  We soaked Friday and Saturday.

Absolutely beautiful meadows around the springs.

Susan and Dex heading out to the waterfalls.

Made it to the falls just as it started to drizzle rain.

A lab is required by law to find water and JUMP IN!

Susan made some incredible little Keto BLTs for lunch.

Some "Yoga-ish" stuff happening at camp.

Best friends make every experience better.

Some live music at camp is always great.

Enjoying a campfire before fire season bans them all.

My girl in her happy place.

Last campfire of the trip.

Susan is quite the camp chef.  Tonight was carnita tacos with all of the trimmings.

Even though it was drizzly at times, the weather was just about prefect.  It was so nice to get outside after the 2020 mayhem that hit us all and to see things starting to get back to normal.  This was the weekend that the CDC lifted the mandatory mask mandate that kept us all subdued, sedated, divided, etc.

Many future trips were planned during this weekend and after not adding to this blog in a year or so, I hope to fill it up this year.

ANOTHER QUICK TRIP TO THE

BLACK ROCK PLAYA

09-26-2020

We squeezed in another short little camp trip to the Blackrock playa and this time it was to help celebrate the birthday of Susan's friend Maureen.  This weekend also happened to be National Public Lands Day, which was a bonus.

In addition to meeting more of Susan's friends, I had one of my closest friends, 

"Hansi" join us on the trip.

Even though the days were fairly hot, the evenings cooled down considerably 

and at night, it was downright chilly.

There's just something about that first beer you open on every trip

that makes you realize how truly wonderful life can be.

Home on the playa.

I first met "Hansi" in 1998.  We worked together in the same career and often found ourselves in the kind situations that give rise to a strong brotherhood.  He's been 

one of my closest and dearest friends ever since.  We now live eight hours apart

and that sometimes makes it difficult to see each other as often as we'd like, but 

with retirement right around the corner, we've vowed to change that!

 

The clean, crisp air of the desert and the wonderful sunsets always make

me feel at home and at peace.

Two perspectives of Old Razorback mountain with the moon.

Hansi always goes LITE, but we were all wondering if he could actually

fit in that little tent.  He did, but only barely.

For dinner, Susan and her friend who's also a Susan, made her tacos that

were such a hit on our last playa trip.  Chicken and beef asada tacos with all

of the fixins and as usual, there was plenty of beer and wine.

After dinner, I grabbed my black UV light and went scorpion hunting.  Out on

the playa, you probably won't see any scorpions, but if you go into the portion

of the playa that transitions to the sage, you'll see more than you can count.

Virtually every bush I went to had at least one scorpion and some had two or three.  They ranged in size from about 1 to 4 inches, so think about that next

time you decide to walk around with sandals...

This was Hansi's first time on the playa, but he loved it and is already

making plans to return with his wife.

There really is something special about this place and most deserts

in general.  I think they're every bit as beautiful as places like

Yosemite, it just that the desert makes you look for the beauty

a little more, but there's a certain joy in making that realization.

We packed up camp on Sunday and stopped by Planet X Pottery on the way home.  If you plan it right, you can get most of your Christmas shopping done

in one stop at Planet X.

We're already planning our next trip to the area and would like to check out

the Fly Geyser and the Soldier Meadows area.

Until next time...