Labor Day Weekend++

So Thursday night I went up with my coworker Eric to meet up with David and Nancy and Kiley and Zane up in the western Sierra to the Dinkey Lakes region for a backpacking trip. Slept at the pack station that night and then hiked into Cliff Lake the next morning. The pack company took in a lot of our food and camping gear, so I didn't have quite as much stuff on my back as I have taken in the past, thankfully. It was a pretty good hike and it was great getting out into the fresh air and sunshine. Our campsite was on the north end of cliff lake in the shade of the eponymous cliff of Cliff Lake. It was a little dark there (sunset was probably a couple hours earlier than the south end of the lake), but was otherwise pretty pleasant.

The next day we did a day hike to Rock Lake, although we had hoped to go Bullfrog Lake. It turns out that the trail to Bullfrog Lake is rather poorly marked, so we kept going on up the hill until it was clear we'd missed the turn. Rock Lake was similarly tranquil and we had a nice lunch there before heading back. Eric (also a photographer) and I broke off to go up the ridge line to get some better shots of the surrounding valleys. We bushwhacked our way back down the hill, following the washes down to our campsite. Found some beautiful black eyed susans growing in a little grove on the way down. Eric and I made dinner that night (stoup and couscous) which turned out rather well, I think. Brought too much food in, though, since we ended up taking food back out. Sigh.

Sunday was the last full day there. We (less Eric) determined that we would not be victims of cartography and headed back to Bullfrog Lake. We had better luck finding it this time, although the trail was pretty vague, mostly marked by cairns here and there. I got into a little bit of trouble on the way down because I stopped to take some pictures while the others went on ahead. Then I missed one of the turns and found myself in the woods. I thought I could follow the wash down to the lake, which might have been true if the lake weren't above me instead of below me. Then I tried heading south, because I was getting too far east. Finally I just bushwhacked my way back to the trail, which I eventually found and had better luck getting to the lake. Found David and Nancy who I am sure were wondering where I had been for the past half hour. When we got back to camp we all took a swim in the frigid waters of Cliff Lake. It was nice getting the grime off of my body.

The next day we broke camp and headed back to the trail head. Eric and I left the others part way on the trail because he had a flight to catch back to Seattle (where he lives these days). It was nice heading back to showers and comfy beds, until we got about 10-15 miles from the 152-156 intersection where the traffic backed up and was backed up past that intersection. Nearly got into an accident at the backup and it took us two hours to get from there to 101 in Gilroy. Eric didn't make his flight, but at least we got to sleep in warm beds that night.

Tuesday I was planning on taking care of some chores and getting things done at home, but midway through the day I got these heinous cramps which were followed by other symptoms of food poisoning that didn't abate until late last night. So, now I guess I get to go back to work. :-p I hope to get more photos soon.