South Fork of Big Pine Creek
It was time to set off on our month long summer trip. We spent a few days getting things together and once we had the car completely packed, it was time to hit the road. We had a lot of stuff considering the adventures in store, but we made it work in the Fit and we were out the door by 10 a.m. The drive was not very exciting at first as we just made our way down to Vegas. Before we hit Vegas, it was time to start heading north through the Nevada desert. We took 95 and had a late lunch in the town of Indian Springs. It was a strange place with a military base that I am sure was used for testing all sorts of weapons and aircraft. We found a nice park and played some soccer, but I was already happy to start moving out of the desert given that the thermometer was just going to keep climbing each day.
We had one more stop along 95 in the town of Beatty where there was a great truck stop. We had some unplanned ice cream, but it was worth it. Then it was a series of lonely mountain roads going up and down until making it to the town of Big Pine, CA. There was one more mountain road to take, but this one ended at a campsite. This trip had been planned since Spring Break and part of that was reserving this campsite. It turned out to be an awesome spot with a view of the creek and the mountains. I was just happy that it was cool outside. Jacqueline was nervous about the cold and the bears, but I was not concerned. On this night, it was just setting up the tent, having some dinner, and taking a short walk around the campground to enjoy the scenery.
The next morning, though, it was time to take a hike in the mountains. I was so excited to get out there. The kids seemed ready, too. The trail started right from the end of the campground, which was sort of why I picked this spot. There were 14,000 foot tall mountains rising above us while a powerful stream flowed below. The trail was a wide, open path at first, but it was rather quiet given the early season. Before long at all, we came to a cascading waterfall and a decision. If we went up the switchbacks, we were heading toward the Seven Lakes Basin. If we stayed along the South Fork, we would be heading toward Willow Lake and Brainerd Lake. I figured that we may have trouble getting the kids to these higher lakes and we may encounter snow, so we decided to give the South Fork a try. It was not a mistake as the views were just awesome. This area was very open being high enough to be out of the trees. The temperature was comfortable also with being more out in the open.
The trail kept leading us right toward the mountains. The kids were doing very awesome, both taking turns leading the way. Zyla accidentally stepped on a snake at one point, but luckily it was not a rattler. After a few miles of hiking slowly uphill, we came to a creek that we needed to cross. Unfortunately on the second day of June, this creek was a bit too much for a 5 and 8 year old to cross. I tried to find a good spot, but it just wasn't happening. We stopped to have some lunch instead, then Zyla and I went exploring. I was happy that she was interested in checking things out. She especially liked the green tint to some of the exposed granite.
Well, there wasn't really anywhere else to go but back. We weren't crossing the creek, so it was back down the hill we went. It wasn't a big deal since we had got a fairly good hike in, but the only issue was that now we had a lot of down time at camp. It was good for us, though, as we had not had this much down time for a while. We ended up playing one of the longest games of Catan ever. The kids did awesome but were both heartbroken at the end when I pulled out the victory.
We had one more night of camping in our awesome campsite before making the trip the following day to a cozy hotel room in Mammoth Lakes. So we enjoyed the cool mountain air and the kids enjoyed getting a little dirty and staying in the tent. The trip had to continue, though, so we left the comfy campsite and were on our way in the morning.
The next morning, though, it was time to take a hike in the mountains. I was so excited to get out there. The kids seemed ready, too. The trail started right from the end of the campground, which was sort of why I picked this spot. There were 14,000 foot tall mountains rising above us while a powerful stream flowed below. The trail was a wide, open path at first, but it was rather quiet given the early season. Before long at all, we came to a cascading waterfall and a decision. If we went up the switchbacks, we were heading toward the Seven Lakes Basin. If we stayed along the South Fork, we would be heading toward Willow Lake and Brainerd Lake. I figured that we may have trouble getting the kids to these higher lakes and we may encounter snow, so we decided to give the South Fork a try. It was not a mistake as the views were just awesome. This area was very open being high enough to be out of the trees. The temperature was comfortable also with being more out in the open. 
The trail kept leading us right toward the mountains. The kids were doing very awesome, both taking turns leading the way. Zyla accidentally stepped on a snake at one point, but luckily it was not a rattler. After a few miles of hiking slowly uphill, we came to a creek that we needed to cross. Unfortunately on the second day of June, this creek was a bit too much for a 5 and 8 year old to cross. I tried to find a good spot, but it just wasn't happening. We stopped to have some lunch instead, then Zyla and I went exploring. I was happy that she was interested in checking things out. She especially liked the green tint to some of the exposed granite. 
Well, there wasn't really anywhere else to go but back. We weren't crossing the creek, so it was back down the hill we went. It wasn't a big deal since we had got a fairly good hike in, but the only issue was that now we had a lot of down time at camp. It was good for us, though, as we had not had this much down time for a while. We ended up playing one of the longest games of Catan ever. The kids did awesome but were both heartbroken at the end when I pulled out the victory. 
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