Lighthawk
Weekend warrior
We found ourselves with a non-scheduled weekend, a rare event between the two of us. Our jobs had been rather bruising last week and we really needed a break. I asked Susan where she wanted to go. "Loon Lake! Let's get back there and do some more kayaking.", she said. It was Thursday evening, we made plans to leave after work on Friday. I love my FWC. 
We decided to 'keep it simple', so most of the food came from our late summer garden, squash, lettuce, arugula, beans, tomatoes, potatoes,etc. We brought some pasta and grilled veggies the next night. Pretty much the same fare as at home during the warmer months.
Still answering emails from clients at 5pm, I loaded the 'yaks on the roof and packed a duffel of firewood. Would the hardship of the work week let go? Finally at 7pm we rolled out of town. It was Friday night going down Hwy 49 and traffic was tense. Some guy honked his horn at me driving down the American River canyon between Auburn and Cool, passing several cars on the double yellow. Yikes.
Once we got to Georgetown it began to settle down. The road was empty as we climbed switchback after switchback on Wentworth Springs Rd (built in 1964). It's about 4,000' of smooth climbing on a well-engineered set of curves. Motorcycle clubs favor the road on weekends.
Rolling into Loon Lake campground at 9pm we were surprised to see many of the sites filled in. After all it was after Labor Day and a Friday! We still found a great site with no one else nearby on the top of the loop, site 25 I believe. We wanted a lake side site, but there are only a few that have that amenity. We had site 18 last time with our own private beach, which was pretty special. No worries this time, we carried our boats down in the morning to launch, which was a short portage.
That first night we ate inside and watched a slide show on the laptop. We could hear a loud group of people partying below us until well past midnight. I mean lot's of yelling and noise, including a generator. Since we were mostly inside and fairly isolated, it wasn't a big deal for us. The next morning we walked past their site and it was dead quiet at 9am
I happened to notice several jet skis parked with their RV, but thought nothing of it.
The morning started fine. We put in with our two kayaks in the slightly warm waters. Winds were down and the lake was glassy.
As we paddled along the south shore we saw several fishing boats quietly trolling. I thought my eyes were playing tricks, until I saw it several times: there were trout hitting the surface feeding on a small hatch in the middle of the lake. I saw a brown trout come up four times. Suddenly our quiet paddle was disturbed by the sound of jet skis making snarling sounds. Oh yes! It was the noisy people from last night, now being the noisy people on the lake. I'm always amazed that types like this don't have a clue as to the degree they impact the people around them.
We started enjoying our paddle up Loon Lake to the Pleasant Lake arm. Apparently they were originally two lakes until SMUD raised the dam and joined them. Pleasant Lake is surrounded by granite domes and the shoreline is mostly bare rock.
We stopped for lunch along one of the inlets where the Pleasant campground is located. We saw the privy and some signage, but didn't actually hike up there. It was too nice at the lakeshore. It was a bit cool for a full immersion, but we did get in and splash which is better then nothing, when there's no showers.
I had been noting the rising winds during our paddle and lunch break. By the time we headed back it was after 3pm and the winds out of the west were blustering. I had watched T-heads boil up over Tahoe to the east, but they stayed at bay. From the west bands of clouds with trailing rain shadows marshalled their forces. It was time to paddle hard!
It is somewhat demoralizing to paddle with arms aching and watch the shoreline inch along. Such was our fate during the death-paddle-grind home. I took a break and photographed a sitting baldy.
He didn't fly, and I couldn't get any closer.
Susan paddling the chop.
The waves started breaching my gunnels, so I had to put my camera in a dry bag and stash my other photo gear in the 'water-proof' hatch We were quite happy to make landfall. My BCNavigator said we did 7.6 miles of paddling that day.
We enjoyed the oak firewood I had brought, sitting out with Sadie our senior labrador. She wears a jacket in the evenings and has a half sleeping bag to keep her warm on top of her bed by the fire. I bring her water close enough she doesn't have to haul her body up to drink. Her hips are shot and most of the time she enjoys her bed, but she still enjoys camp life and can be frisky at times. We're glad we have a camper to bring our old dog along!
The next day was easy. We moved out of our campsite ($22/night) and parked down at the boat ramp where we backed right up to a picnic table with a great view. We walked along the shoreline back to our kayaks which we left locked together on the beach. A quick paddle upwind to the boat ramp and we were on our way. A few other folks were heading out, but conditions were windy and temps were down compared to Saturday.
We considered a hike into the Desolation Wilderness from the Loon Lake trail head, but the windy, chilly weather just didn't invite us. We decided to tour the other side of the lake, following Ice House Rd. over the two dams. I'm guessing that the original dam is the source of all the square, hand-quarried granite blocks that line both dams and a campsite on the north shore. The granite was beautiful stuff, showing the drill marks where the Chinese laborers split the stone with wedges when they built the original dam in 1874. We did a quick visit to Loon Lake Chalet to see the place. The views are fantastic looking down canyon or across the lake.
We returned via Georgetown again, stopping at Worton's to get coffee and home-made blackberry pie We did a walk about the old mining town dating from the 1850's. Light rain slickened the road and I saw a guy break traction on a switchback below Cool. I downshifted and watched my speed, silently thanking my newish BFG's for their hold on the road. Soon enough we were back home. We had time to do another harvest of the garden and run the laundry. It was still early evening and yet we had a two-night outing and a full day of relaxation without moving the camper. Yay for Friday departures, 'cause they can really stretch a weekender.
We decided to 'keep it simple', so most of the food came from our late summer garden, squash, lettuce, arugula, beans, tomatoes, potatoes,etc. We brought some pasta and grilled veggies the next night. Pretty much the same fare as at home during the warmer months.
Still answering emails from clients at 5pm, I loaded the 'yaks on the roof and packed a duffel of firewood. Would the hardship of the work week let go? Finally at 7pm we rolled out of town. It was Friday night going down Hwy 49 and traffic was tense. Some guy honked his horn at me driving down the American River canyon between Auburn and Cool, passing several cars on the double yellow. Yikes.
Once we got to Georgetown it began to settle down. The road was empty as we climbed switchback after switchback on Wentworth Springs Rd (built in 1964). It's about 4,000' of smooth climbing on a well-engineered set of curves. Motorcycle clubs favor the road on weekends.
Rolling into Loon Lake campground at 9pm we were surprised to see many of the sites filled in. After all it was after Labor Day and a Friday! We still found a great site with no one else nearby on the top of the loop, site 25 I believe. We wanted a lake side site, but there are only a few that have that amenity. We had site 18 last time with our own private beach, which was pretty special. No worries this time, we carried our boats down in the morning to launch, which was a short portage.
That first night we ate inside and watched a slide show on the laptop. We could hear a loud group of people partying below us until well past midnight. I mean lot's of yelling and noise, including a generator. Since we were mostly inside and fairly isolated, it wasn't a big deal for us. The next morning we walked past their site and it was dead quiet at 9am
I happened to notice several jet skis parked with their RV, but thought nothing of it.
The morning started fine. We put in with our two kayaks in the slightly warm waters. Winds were down and the lake was glassy.
As we paddled along the south shore we saw several fishing boats quietly trolling. I thought my eyes were playing tricks, until I saw it several times: there were trout hitting the surface feeding on a small hatch in the middle of the lake. I saw a brown trout come up four times. Suddenly our quiet paddle was disturbed by the sound of jet skis making snarling sounds. Oh yes! It was the noisy people from last night, now being the noisy people on the lake. I'm always amazed that types like this don't have a clue as to the degree they impact the people around them.
We started enjoying our paddle up Loon Lake to the Pleasant Lake arm. Apparently they were originally two lakes until SMUD raised the dam and joined them. Pleasant Lake is surrounded by granite domes and the shoreline is mostly bare rock.
We stopped for lunch along one of the inlets where the Pleasant campground is located. We saw the privy and some signage, but didn't actually hike up there. It was too nice at the lakeshore. It was a bit cool for a full immersion, but we did get in and splash which is better then nothing, when there's no showers.
I had been noting the rising winds during our paddle and lunch break. By the time we headed back it was after 3pm and the winds out of the west were blustering. I had watched T-heads boil up over Tahoe to the east, but they stayed at bay. From the west bands of clouds with trailing rain shadows marshalled their forces. It was time to paddle hard!
It is somewhat demoralizing to paddle with arms aching and watch the shoreline inch along. Such was our fate during the death-paddle-grind home. I took a break and photographed a sitting baldy.
He didn't fly, and I couldn't get any closer.
Susan paddling the chop.
The waves started breaching my gunnels, so I had to put my camera in a dry bag and stash my other photo gear in the 'water-proof' hatch
We were quite happy to make landfall. My BCNavigator said we did 7.6 miles of paddling that day.We enjoyed the oak firewood I had brought, sitting out with Sadie our senior labrador. She wears a jacket in the evenings and has a half sleeping bag to keep her warm on top of her bed by the fire. I bring her water close enough she doesn't have to haul her body up to drink. Her hips are shot and most of the time she enjoys her bed, but she still enjoys camp life and can be frisky at times. We're glad we have a camper to bring our old dog along!
The next day was easy. We moved out of our campsite ($22/night) and parked down at the boat ramp where we backed right up to a picnic table with a great view. We walked along the shoreline back to our kayaks which we left locked together on the beach. A quick paddle upwind to the boat ramp and we were on our way. A few other folks were heading out, but conditions were windy and temps were down compared to Saturday.
We considered a hike into the Desolation Wilderness from the Loon Lake trail head, but the windy, chilly weather just didn't invite us. We decided to tour the other side of the lake, following Ice House Rd. over the two dams. I'm guessing that the original dam is the source of all the square, hand-quarried granite blocks that line both dams and a campsite on the north shore. The granite was beautiful stuff, showing the drill marks where the Chinese laborers split the stone with wedges when they built the original dam in 1874. We did a quick visit to Loon Lake Chalet to see the place. The views are fantastic looking down canyon or across the lake.
We returned via Georgetown again, stopping at Worton's to get coffee and home-made blackberry pie
We did a walk about the old mining town dating from the 1850's. Light rain slickened the road and I saw a guy break traction on a switchback below Cool. I downshifted and watched my speed, silently thanking my newish BFG's for their hold on the road. Soon enough we were back home. We had time to do another harvest of the garden and run the laundry. It was still early evening and yet we had a two-night outing and a full day of relaxation without moving the camper. Yay for Friday departures, 'cause they can really stretch a weekender.
