Sierra Summer Kick-Off Memorial Day Weekend 2012

[wayoflife]

If you can believe it, this was the 3rd year in a row that our traditional Summer Kick-off up in the Sierra's ended up being more of a Winter Final. In fact, I'm starting to think we'll have to change it's name for next year with the hopes of getting an opposite effect. Still, in spite of the snow and freezing temperatures the first couple of nights, I think everyone enjoyed getting out of the desert and back into the mountains again and, at least for me, I can say that I had a hell of a good time! Here are some pics from our first adventures back in the Sierra Nevada Mountians this year.

Thursday - Heading Out
Getting an early start, Cindy and I met up with Moochie over at one of our favorite roadside restaurants...


As a favor to our friend Tom, we stopped over at the famous, Gus' Really Fresh Jerky stand in Olancha to pick up some supplies...




Before heading out, we stopped and said hello to this gal. As you can see, she was really into heavy metal...




Checking out some of the other crazy sculptures...








Before leaving, we pondered the question asked by this monument - to give and then take or to take without giving?


If you take without giving, the mirror will make you face yourself, and the eyes will follow you forever and ever... or so the sign says...




Checking in for the night over at the historical Dow Villa...


Cooling off with a pitcher of Mojave Gold over at the Pizza Factory - "They toss them - they're awesome"...


After meeting up with our good friends Doug and Mirek, we headed up the street to Jake's Saloon for a round...


Yum!! This Mammoth Amber was tasty...


Of course, a great night with friends is never complete without a little Honey - CHEERS...


Friday - Time to Kick Off the Summer
Goodmorning Lone Pine!!


Waiting for the rest of our Friday crew to join us at Spainhower Park...


Up in Bishop picking up some last minunte supplies...


On the road again - next stop, camp!!


And here we are!! Time to get setup...










Shot looking across Dynamo Pond...


After getting camp setup, we decided to do a quick hike up to Green Lake...




Hey, ummm... there's like white stuff all over me...


Sure enough, the snow really started to come down and was beginning to stick...












Pushing ahead, we stumbled upon this interesting track - hopefully we won't find anymore...


Looking back down the valley where we started our hike...


Crossing into the Hoover Wilderness...


At last, Green Lake....


Tessa asking, "should we leave him behind?"


On the way back to camp, we saw these guys cross the road...


Okay, it really is cold - Tessa's water bowl frozen over...


Time to get the fire going and dinner cooking...


Warming up in the glow of our wonderful fire as the darkness descends upon us...




HONEY TIME!!




CHEERS!!


More Pics Below...

[wayoflife]

Saturday - Trek to Belfort
Shot from my sleeping bag well before the crack of dawn - man, it's cold...


Well, it wasn't anything major but, we did get a good dusting the night before...


With the sun coming up, the white stuff was already beginning to fade...


Shot of what little remains of the Dynamo Pond dam and powerplant....


Time to get a fire going...


After breakfast, we headed out to explore the old ghost town of Belfort. Here we are airing down at the trailhead...


Hmmm, starting to look stormy again...


Heading up the mountain...


Did I mention that it was a narrow shelf road...


Oh joy, snow drifts...


And, now the snow is really starting to come down...


Near the top, the snow drift started to get big enough to be a problem and enough so to cause our rear end to drift over the edge. With no way to turn around, we decided to start digging...


Tony pitching in with the shoveling...


With blue starting to break through the clouds, we were on the move again...




Of course, once we got to the old ghost town of Belfort over 10,250 feet up, the storm started to hit hard again...


Freezing, we tried to make the best of it and explore some of the old log cabins...








Seeking shelter from the blowing snow in one of the old cabins...




Okay, with things starting to get worse, we decided to carefully slide our way back down the mountain...


Ahhh, back down at the old Star City site and a lower elevation where the weather was much nicer...




Back at camp and lounging around in the warm sun...


Doug breaking out the bar...


Setting it up properly is a science...


HONEY TIME!!


To a great day - CHEERS!!


Lumberjack Mike breaking out the chainsaw to help restore our wood supply...


Yes, it's silly but, as a tradition, we try and float a log down the creek and make every effort we can to get it down into Dynamo Pond. Here, Moochie is helping to pick out the perfect ceremonial log...


With the log on it's way, it's time to chase it down and make sure it keeps on sailing down...


Caught up in some brush, Moochie tosses rocks to help free it up...


Mike climbed out on a limb to help it past this point...


Even Tessa jumped in to help out...


After a lot of laughs and the log safely in the Pond, we take a moment to reflect on the day...




Time to get the fire going...




Enjoying the sound of the creek rushing by at dusk...


Ah, good times!!


More pics below...

[wayoflife]

Sunday - Backway to Bodie
Sunday morning was gorgeous and really, what you would have expected the whole weekend should have been like...






After breakfast, we headed out to explore Dunderburg Meadows and the surrounding area...


Truly a perfect day to be out...








Making a stop to check out the old Dunderburg Mill site...




Heading up to Kavanaugh Ridge - with any luck, there won't be any snow drifts blocking our way this year...


Well, so much for that...




Chris' crush posing next to Rubicat....


Some "overlanders" that we met who were kind enough to tell us what they know...


After heading back down the mountain, we stopped in Bridgeport for some lunch and then headed back out for another run...




Heading up the backway to Bodie, our first stop was at the old ghost town of Chemug...












Found an old can of Orange Crush in the trash heap...


Heading down into Bodie...




Bodie is by far one of the finest examples of a true western ghost town you can find anywhere...




So much is still there including this old bank safe...


Everyone taking a peek inside the old school house...




Neat stuff everywhere...




Back at camp an just enjoying the awesome scenery...






Ending an awesome trip with good friends by a warm campfire...


I hope you've enjoyed following us on our 2012 Summer Kick-Off up in the Sierra's. If you would like to see all the pics we took on this trip, simply click on the link below:

Sierra Summer Kick-Off Memorial Day Weekend 2012 Photo Gallery

[BlackDiamondBound]

looks like a great trip, awesome pictures! gotta love the sierras sun or snow

[JKRay]

Wow what a great trip that looked like!! Beautiful scenery too! Thanks for sharing!!

[MTG]

These pictures are so good I feel like I was there!

As always a fantastic job capturing the moment Cindy!

[JeepFan]

These pictures are so good I feel like I was there!

As always a fantastic job capturing the moment Cindy!

That's weird, so do I!

Really great picture Cindy! Thanks for everything you do to capture these great moments!

[TeamFaust]

Looks like you had a great trip!!!

[Drumr90]

Real great pics man. I love camping trips like this even though the ground agravates my back i still love them.

[BONDSY]

Great Pictures Cindy, a trip I'll never forget.