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| Car Camping | 5.00 Miles |
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| | Car Camping | 5.00 Miles | 2 Days | | |
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| no partners | | First overnighter of the year - delayed by about a month due to Covid closures, and much-needed.
Campground and lake day-use were busier than I've ever seen on a weekday, as expected ... but not as bad as I feared. Campground was probably 3/4 full by nightfall, but everyone respected the group area closure and fire ban. There were two huge caliber gunshots about 15 minutes apart that rang out from somewhere beyond the lake and echoed through the campground right around dark - is it hunting season for something? Bear, maybe - or elephant, judging by the cannon this hunter was using?!  
Did five or six small hikes around lake and campground and beyond. I love that despite the heavy use of the area, I can walk for a few minutes in any direction and get to beautiful, quiet places and see no one.
It was reasonably quiet at bedtime - and so nice not to be inundated with campfire smoke, and I slept well! Heard Mexican Whip-poor-wills and Spotted Owls.
As per usual up here, the birds woke me as soon as the sky started to lighten at 4:30, and I was up for good at 5:30 ... enjoyed my coffee with one of the most enthusiastic and varied dawn bird choruses that I've heard anywhere.
First morning hike led me to a lovely encounter with my first Twin-spotted Rattlesnake! I was hiking along the ridgeline behind the campground, and paused for a moment to enjoy the sun when I heard the smallest, gentlest little "rattle" - more like a greeting than a warning ... the snake was about a foot long, and three feet away - I stood and watched it go about it's snakey business for a couple minutes until it went around a boulder. What a sweetie.
Second morning hike was up the drainage of the inlet creek. I wasn't planning on going too far - but got cut even shorter when I came across a black bear ... I heard movement a little ways uphill to my right, then the very clear sound of bear "huffing" - twice ... caught a glimpse of said bear over my shoulder as I vacated the area!
Very refreshing, relaxing quick getaway ... always grateful to have this place. |
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