Loon Lake First Campout of 2017

Due to the heavy snowfall this past winter, many of the campgrounds had delayed openings.  My normal May start to the season was therefore put off all the way to July this year.  That actually worked out fine because Ben had his knee surgery in May and would not have been able to do any of the normal physical demands in camping.  This trip was exactly two months since his surgery and he was able to do a bit of walking and of course swimming, which is good therapy for him.  We had a hell of time getting him into the RV though.  I bought a ramp but he was scared to climb on it, go figure.  Finally with Kate pulling and me pushing we were able to get him up the ramp and into bed for the night.

Due to Ben’s limited walking ability, Kate took Charlie for some hikes by herself while I stayed back at the camp with Ben.  Then on Sunday Kate left early in the morning with both dogs leaving me time alone till I left on Monday.  I was able to do a great six plus mile hike to the end of the lake with some terrific views along the way.   (I made a stop off at Biggs point to pay homage to our little guy who passed away a  year ago.) I could go fishing whenever I wanted to without the dogs bugging me.  Caught three trout and had numerous strikes.  Fishing was active probably due to the full moon during our trip.  I even tried fly fishing although that yielded nothing.  There also was an amazing lack of bugs this trip, which may have left the fish more hungry.  It was delightful  especially compared to last year when the wasps were insane.  I got a couple of mosquito bites but basically insects where no problem at all.

Weather was gorgeous with daytime highs around high 80s and night time 50s.  We have a new Coleman screen tent that we spent an hour trying to set up only to give up in disgust thinking we needed to send it back.  Then we I got home I looked more closely at the pictures and realized we were setting it up inside out or upside down.  When I got home I tried it in our front yard and it was a piece of cake.

After camping at Loon Lake so many times, finding new interesting photos or video is challenging.  Not much to brag about this time.  Here is the video, a short one like five minutes.  just click the arrow in the center of the picture below to run it.  Below the video are some photos.

Author: Geoff

Quick rundown: Grew up in Lombard, Illinois, went to Arizona State University, worked as a CPA with Arthur Andersen & Co, then Laventhal and Horwath, then Rolling Stones, then Heron International, then Goodby Berlin and Silverstein in San Francisco. Moved to the foothills in 1990 and traded futures and designed websites. Married to Kate Stewart, now living in Colfax, CA. We have six grandchildren. I enjoy camping in our RV, hiking, kayaking, fishing, droning and cross country skiing Also conga drumming, photography and dogs. View all posts by Geoff