We loaded up Thursday evening. I got out of work and headed home to pick my girl up, before heading to storage to pack up all our camping gear.
It was cause for concern; if we were going to be able to fit everything in “lil beater” (our 4 wheel drive 1987 Dodge Ram 50). High and tight, we managed to pack everything. And, with the sun low in the sky, we stopped at In-&-Out to grab a burger, fries, and a shake before making our way to the Stanislaus National Forest.
After like… 3 hours on the road, we reached our destination in darkness. To the great fortune of finding our hidden gem of a campground, empty. We swooped on the best site available. With no light besides our lantern, the stars, and the moon, we set up our tent and called it a night.
Waking up in the morning, under shade of the pines that only allow a select few golden rays of sunshine to hit our tent, we heard the mighty Tuolumne river flowing. We got up, got dressed, and went to check it out.
Yes, indeed. The best campsite at Lumsden Bridge campground is the only campsite with its own access to the river and a cute little beach.
We spent a few hours breathing in the fresh air, taking in the views and sounds of the river, and finding ALL THE BUTTERFLIES!!
We first encountered these little blue ones.
Friendly as all hell, Shannon got in close to get her perfect shot. And they started climbing on her.
Then, I felt a sudden chill as a shadow enveloped me. It was Mothra swooping in with a earth-shattering cry like AAAURRAHH, AAAURRAHH!!!
Stalking its prey, it knew nothing other than it was hungry, and could give a damn about the innocent souls it was about to slaughter and ingest.
Just kidding. It was a very interesting looking butterfly though. With its super-long proboscis unfurled, it sopped up water from the moist, sandy, ground.
And that’s how we spent most of our first whole day there. At dinner time, while I was busy cookin’, Shannon was making art out of our watermelon.
With the stars out and our bellies full, I put out the campfire and we marched off to bed. Only to be awaked a few hours later when some of our friends arrived. With it being their first time visiting this place, I was glad they were able to get there in the dark with no problem.
The next morning, after breakfast, we all went for a little walk to explore and see the river. Standing on the bridge the campground is named after, some more friends rolled up. Found the place without a hitch as well. So we headed back to the campground and had a few brewskies by the water.
And Panned for Gold
We only found fool’s gold though; to all our dismay.
And so went on another day. Sitting around the campfire that night, we all made s’mores and had a ton of beers. Talking into the wee hours of the night… one by one, people started making their way to their tents. And so ended our third night in the mountains.
Sunday, after breakfast, our friends decided it was time to get going. After all the goodbyes and goodbye beers, me and Shannon decided it was time for a little adventure.
For years, I’ve had a friend tell me about this lake named “cherry Lake” which can be accessed by this real tough dirt road that leads east from our campground. I’d tried to visit the lake before (once in my F-150, and once with my friend in his F-250). Both times, we were denied because the “piss blood” road was just too narrow and too tough to drive on without a four-wheel-drive. But this time, we had “lil beater”! With maps in hand, I slapped that thang into 4-high and we were on our way.
It was beautiful, and a little sad.
You see, a few years ago (2013), the Stanislaus National Forest was on fire. The Rim Fire; the third largest forest fire in California’s history. And, as you can see, scorched timbers still stand to this date, reminding us of the tragedy that happened here.
Seven miles took us a few hours, but we finally made it to the lake!
Unfortunately, other than the beautiful sky, the lake kinda sucked a little bit. I thought it was going to be a natural lake, but it turned out to be man-made. With broken concrete slabs shoring its shorelines, the water was kinda pestilent; brownish-green and slimy. Surrounded by these long shoots of plants with orange streamers that read “noxious weed”… we decided to get outta there, in a hurry.
Back on the seven mile-piss blood-road that took hours to traverse, we had a great time, same as we did heading up to the lake.
Playing rock n roll, we stopped whenever we wanted to take pictures of anything. Along a tranquil little stream that flowed all the way down to the Tuolumne, we stopped and I photographed probably the most majestic little butterfly I’ve ever been able to capture.
Pretty nice lookin’, huh? Nature sure is beautiful…
Back at base camp, at the bottom of the canyon, I decided I needed to wash off all the sweat and dirt of the day. So I jumped in the river.
It was cold.
But I’m a beast.
Shannon, well… 
Shannon’s a baby beast.
After bathing, it was dinner time. Followed by campfire sittin’ ‘til it was time for bed.
Our last morning, we woke up and I made us heart attack sandwiches.
That’s bacon, fried salami, linguica, fried eggs, and cheddar cheese… pretty delicious, pretty heart attachy.
We decided to take one last walk around before we packed up and left.
After our walk, I kinda didn’t really want to leave. I just sat there for a few hours. Drinking coffee, breathing the clean, mountain air…
But, unfortunately, our 4-day weekend was coming to a close, and we had to get back home to get to work the next day. So as I packed away the last little things, Shannon said goodbye to her new friends.
And we were off. To return soon, I hope.
I’d really like to thank my friends who risked getting lost in the middle of nowhere to come and hang out with us. My girl, for having an adventurous spirit, and dealing with the cold nights and spiders like a champ. And you, the reader, for taking time and reading about our trip. If you ever get the chance, head down and camp at Lumsden Bridge Campground. Located off of highway 120, a few miles down a mediocre dirt and gravel road… It’s free, there’s fire rings, tables, and outhouses.
Grizzly De Haro 