This year, the last weekend of summer featured a camping trip with the Satterfield’s and friends in the beautiful Wright Lake Camp Grounds. The Wright Lake area is a perfect place for a weekend get-away, being only an hour and a half from Davis up highway 50. The grounds are centered around Wright Lake and have facilities for standard tent camping, motor homes, and cabins as well as a boat dock for the eager fisherman. Since the state of California stopped stocking the lakes with fish, its slim pickings catching fish now. But the trail around the lake makes for a delightful morning or afternoon stroll. There are plenty of trails to choose from heading into the mountains from Wright Lake for the more serious hiker. Hiking up to the upper lake is certainly worth while but it is not for the faint of heart. Only the first quarter or half mile is a nice cake walk through the forest. Then the trail heads sharply upward, crossing over the granite flows and scaling long jungle gyms and make-shift staircases. Toe-stubbers, ankle-twisters, knee-knockers, jungle gyms, water diverters, stepping stones and bolder step-threws were all in abundance. Dale learned the lingo well by the time we picked our way up to the first plateau. Not to end prematurely, Mom and I left the group under a nice tree to traverse the last couple hundred yards to the lake shore. There, the friendly ducks greeted us and posed for a picture. They were more interested in a snack. One could have mistaken them for pets rather than “wild” birds. Just like on the assent, the return took three hours. Thankfully, I had Dad’s hiking poles and the two ladies clearing the trail of rubble and loose stones ahead. Only when I reached the trail head did I learn what had been going on around me outside my concentration zone. Apparently, many of the other hikers and picnic-goers saw me and decided they better go all the way up the tricky trail too. Ranger John was so impressed that he asked for a photo together. This was a first. We all made it back to camp 7 hours later to find the chefs busy at work, just in time for dinner. And here I thought we were going for a leisurely walk =).
To top off the beauty of Wright Lake, a great hike and good company, the gourmet head chefs put on a spread unlike any camping trip I had ever gone on before. Every meal was top notch and we all ate well. The Saturday dinner was out of the park with 3 appetizers, 3 salads, 3 main dishes and 3 desserts! Anari sushi makes for a great camping morsel. I still haven’t gotten used to the idea of homemade Crème Brûlée (Creme Brulee) in the wilderness.