Eastern Sierra Boondoggle

Astrid stuffed in the back seat!

On the second half of my quarantined vacation, we went camping in the Eastern Sierras.  First stop, Rock Creek Canyon, which is south of Mammoth.

Ahi trying on my camping mask - which was filthy after the first day!

It is nice to camp with a picnic table!

We stayed in a campground the first nite.  We took a spot way at the end to further distance ourselves.

G went on a 16 mile mountain bike ride - mostly downhill.  While Jim and I hiked out of the Mosquito Flats trailhead.

The Eastern Sierra canyons never disappoint - it was stunning - but it was also at about 11000 feet so we felt winded and woozy!   Astrid enjoyed the hike although I struggled with her a bit.  I wonder if the altitude made her a little loopy like us!

After our hike, we went to the Rock Canyon Cafe and picked up 2 strawberry rhubarb crumbles and a mixed berry cobbler!

Then we did a quick stop at our campsite before going to get G.  Unfortunately as we tried to leave, there was a camper and truck in the roadway that was blocking our exit!   Jim quickly got out some tow ropes and pulled the rig and camper out of the way so everyone could get by.  The guy tried to slip Jim some cash, but like always when we help someone out, Jim said, "no thanks, just pay it forward when someone needs help".

That made us a little late to pick up G.  And while driving to try to find her (we only had GPS coordinates) we kept going farther and farther away from where she started.  It seemed WAY farther than 16 miles and it was super remote....and I was starting to freak out!   But we turned the corner and found her at this little gazebo - right where she was supposed to be.

The dogs are not used to camping in a campground and were surprised when they had to be tied up.  Below is Hops on the second day, in the morning.   We should have realized she was not feeling well as she was sound asleep in the dirt.  Later that day, she was super sluggish and we think she may have a bladder infection.

We packed up the second morning and headed up to Laurel Lakes.  It was a 5 mile drive up a rocky dirt road on the edge of the world.  It took 1 and a half hours to travel the 5 miles.   And I had to bail out a couple times because it was so frightening!  (When we got back from the trip, I read an article about a couple that slid off a road just like the one we were on!)

This was the tame part of the dirt road!

After a lot of fretting and swearing (by me, Jim and G were fine), we made it to Laurel Lake.  The beauty was unreal.

This was a rocky part of the road - I did not get any pictures of the scary part because I was concentrating
on not dying!

We set up our kitchen right outside the truck and our tent below our truck with a view of the beautiful lake.  We were at about 10000 feet elevation so we were all slugs!   It was so hard to move around.

Since Hops was not feeling well, we woke up early the next morning and headed down the mountain in search of a vet.   I road the first 3 miles with a pillow and blanket over my head and my audio book up on high volume!

Above is a pic at the bottom of the hill where we stopped to let the dogs out and feed them.  They also got to romp thru the brush, a meadow and a stream!  We headed into Mammoth and could not find a vet that was open.  Luckily Hops seemed to feel better so we put a hold on the vet.

Next we headed to Mono Lake where we saw a Granite site on the way!  I think Drew should transfer there!

G used the Mono trip to do some training for Astrid.  We met a couple that had 2 change of career CCI dogs and one retired Guide Dog for the Blind dog.  They were impressed with Astrid's disposition....good thing they didn't see her two days before when I was struggling with her on a hike!

After Mono, we headed back over the Sierras to the Yosemite side and headed home.   A great boondoggle with tremendous beauty and nice to get out safely during the quarantine.