In the spring, we accepted an assignment to go on the pioneer trek with the youth. I wasn't really excited about the prospect of hiking 30 miles up steep dirt trails in long skirts and bonnets or sleeping on the ground. As I prepared to go on the trek, though, I was able to psyche myself up for it. After all, this was only going to be a three day trek (with chemical toilets, tents, sleeping pads, prepared meals, clean water, athletic shoes and moleskin) compared to the 3 month trek in much more difficult conditions that the pioneers experienced. I could do this! The weekend before the trek was to take place, we realized that we had not received any information as to what our responsibilities were to be. We contacted those in charge and discovered that they had no knowledge of our assignment. All the positions were filled. We were not needed. I accepted this news with quite a bit of relief and some guilt. Had someone heard my complaints? Anyway, Jim had signed up for vacation time for those three days and we decided to vacation. We packed up the camper and traveled to McCall to camp by the Upper Payette Lake. When we arrived the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. We immediately climbed on our bikes and began exploring.
We rode to the trailhead on the other side of the lake, parked our bikes and started hiking. The view was spectacular. There were wildflowers everywhere and not a soul in sight. From our vantage point, we felt like we had the whole lake to ourselves.
The next day, we drove to Ponderosa State Park near McCall and rode our bicycles around the park. We found the perfect bike trail with very little traffic and lots of vegetation....
...and the best picnic spot ever on Payette Lake.
After lunch, we attempted to kayak on the river connecting the Upper Payette Lake with the Payette Lake. However, the first one third of our trip ended up being a river walk. The second portion required constant paddling as there was very little current. I was pretty worn out by the time we finally reached our destination about three hours later but we had seen some fabulous sights and had encountered few tourists. That evening, we took a walk and photographed our campsite and the lake. The sights were incredible.
We heard that the pioneer trek was a life changing experience. Our little camping trip was a life invigorating experience.
1 comment:
Wow! It sounds like a great trip! so fun---I was a bit envious and would love to do so many fun things...
And I am a bit jealous that you are an empty nester----ohhh, how I fantasize about that.
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