Friday, June 1, 2012

Eklutna Camping Day 2 -- The Best Laid Plans...

 
 Agenda for day two: Bike 3+ miles to Bold Ridge trail and explore the area or bike to the end of the trail to Serenity Falls.

Well, I've learned that no matter how much one prepares, sometimes, there are other things in store for us. We had a great morning...the skies were a cloudless blue, the lake surface was so calm it mirrored the surrounding mountains, we were all settled into camp life. We finally got up and out of the comfort of our sleeping bags around 0900. Ate breakfast, chatted, and then prepared to head down the trail...

Then Dylan discovered his front tire deflated overnight...bummer.  The air pump we had broke, the tire patch kit was missing the adhesive. So Alternate Plan B was suddenly in effect...We had no choice but to head to the trailhead where they had a bike rental place in hopes they would have repair supplies for us.  So instead, we headed the opposite direction of our intended destination. Dylan and I traded off pushing his bike and riding mine.

The lady at Lifetime Adventures was SO gracious, bringing out all the supplies she had available. After messing with the inner tube and unsuccessfully patching it up, she brought out a brand new tube and simply charged us 5 bucks for it.

We locked the bikes up next to her hut and hopped in the car, drove two miles away, to treat ourselves with ice cream after all of our hard work.



There is a general store there offering camping supplies. The ice cream shoppe had a variety of flavors (try the Birch Walnut!) in cones or sundaes, and even burgers and fries.

On the way back. we saw a momma moose and her brand new baby.

The girls having fun before we headed back to the cabin.

At this point, the headache I was nursing all morning blossomed into a full-blown migraine.  I requested we go back to the cabin to rest, have dinner, and attempt the Bold Ridge excursion afterwards instead of trying it right then and there.  My fam knows how bad these migraines can get so they were absolutely fine with Alternate Plan C.

We rode our sixth mile that day and got to our campsite.  I curled up on my sleeping bag and tried to sleep it off for an hour.  I awoke, slightly better, but determined to tough it out.  Dylan had built his first fire all by himself. The girls were enjoying collecting sticks and pinecones. It was almost time for dinner.

Then Liv came into the cabin, rubbing her eyes, "Something's in my eyes!" We rinsed out the dirt, but she kept complaining that there was still something there.  In fear that she may have scratched her cornea or burned it (she says it was ash from the fire that blew into her eyes), we called it and packed up to go home, which was all the better because my migraine took over my night. 

Shout out to my girl, Sophia, who rode her bike a total of 9 miles that day. Such a little trooper.  Another goes out to my boy who built his first full campfire. 

Oh, and we can't forget to thank our wonderful Wright family for taking in our chihuahua during this time.

No comments:

Post a Comment