Last year over Memorial Day weekend, Ambrose and I tried to get to Black Lake. Unfortunately, that lake is over 7000 feet in elevation and in late May the road leading to it is still snow-covered. We ended up stopping several miles short of the lake and making do with a dispersed site for that weekend. I had thought about going out to the Sawtooths and trying to hike Newman Peak, but I decided that I’d rather have a relaxing weekend closer to home. Black Lake seemed like the right fit.
I left on Saturday morning, around 9 am. That gave me time to go for a short run and a cool-down walk, as well as get some exercises done. I had packed up the night before, so all that was left to do was get the few things that I needed to pack morning of, like my toiletries and computer. And then I headed to Council, after a stop for gas and coffee in town.
The first part of the route, I remembered. There was a paved section, and then a wide gravel road that wound through some houses. Some areas were 15 mph and had signs warning to watch for children. One of the signs read: Private Sign, Do No Read, so I guess I shouldn’t have read it.
Then there was a turn off away from Huckleberry Campground, and I was back on the narrow dirt road. Ambrose and I had just missed running into a truck on a part of it too narrow to pull off when we drove up. At least this time I knew to ignore the mapping software that wanted me to take a jeep road instead of the main road.
I made it to Black Lake Road without any issues, and then I made it past the point where we had camped, and then past the point where snow had turned us back. Now I was in uncharted territory, and on high alert.
The road continued to be narrow and bumpy, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I had to go slow to make sure that I drove over the high rocks correctly, not letting my car bounce onto anything hard. And then, after driving through forested areas, the view opened up and I could see the road winding its way ahead, and a fire lookout topping a nearby mountain. It was beautiful, like a fairytale castle was up there instead of a fire lookout.
And that castle may as well have been guarded by a dragon. The road got worse the closer I got to the lookout until I was faced with a series of rocks that almost turned me back. The only thing that kept me going forward was the knowledge that there was no way to turn around and I was in NO WAY going to back down what I’d just come up. I picked my route with care, going far to the left side of the road, and then inching my way up with the help of the X-Mode option on my car. I was terrified that I was going to bottom out or otherwise injure my vehicle, but somehow I made it up.
I ate a hard candy to try and balance out the flood of adrenaline coursing through my system and kept on driving, praying that this was the worst of it. And that I wouldn’t encounter anyone coming the other way.
It did turn out that that was the worst part of the road. I had a little bit of an issue at one point when a wheel spun out on gravel, but I solved that by backing up a bit and taking a slightly different track. I did encounter head on traffic, but only one was a full sized vehicle, and the truck was able to get by me when I squeezed onto the shoulder. I eased my way along the road, very slowly, but also safely and wishing I could be in the passenger seat because the glimpses I saw of the scenery I drove through was incredibly beautiful.
About 2 miles from Black Lake, I took a big turn and heard another vehicle coming, so I swung wide to let them by. It was an ATV, and as we waved, we recognized each other. It was my neighbor, Rich! And his dog Anya in the back. We stopped and I got out and we chatted and I gave Anya some pets and as we parted I got a hug from Rich. He indicated that I should be able to find camping, so I was heartened by that. I’d hate to have driven all that way only to have to turn back. And I really didn’t want to go down that scary rocky part on that day.
It put a smile on my face to see Rich. What a coincidence!
I eased and bumped my way along and made it to the Black Lake Campground. I stopped at the vault toilet and surveyed the area. It was full up right by the lake, at the official sites with their picnic tables and fire rings, so I drove back a ways to a side road that followed the lake. It, too, was crowded, but only on the lake side. I found a spot that didn’t have any view of the lake at all and claimed it for my own. Why not? I was here for solitude, and there was enough distance and land between me and the lakeside campers that I barely heard anything from them.
I did lunch first, reheating pizza on my camp stove. Then I put my tent up and set up my chairs. I probably need to buy new camp chairs. Mine are getting old and worn from being left outside all the time. I did oil them before I left though, so they weren’t as sticky as they were over Memorial Day weekend. My period started, and I was glad that I had brought supplies for that. I read most of the afternoon, and did a little typing on my computer.
I measured the distance to the vault toilet. It was only a quarter of a mile away, which made the site pretty darn ideal for me. Isolated, but toilet-accessible. Beautiful views. Clear air. And pleasant temperatures, even as the sun fell below the ridgeline and darkness began to fall.
The next morning, I slept until I was ready to get up. No alarms. After breakfast and a walk to the toilet, it was clear that my period was being more painful than usual. Seems like it’s always more painful than usual these days. I had brought one dose of tramadol in case of need, and I decided that I had met that need. I retreated to my tent and took it. Then I did some breathing exercises while I waited for it to kick in. I found I got a bit of a heating pad effect if I let the sun shine on my abdomen, and I took advantage of that for a while.
Then I went outside and situated myself on a chair, with water to drink and a book to read. The medication has started to kick in, and I was no longer preoccupied with what felt like sizzling acid from my groin to my sternum. I spent a lot of time just sitting in the chair and looking at nature around me. The squirrels and chipmunks racing about. The birds passing through in small flocks. I’m pretty sure I identified some Stellar’s Jays from their calls. It was a mellow day, and just what I needed.
I’m still healing from Ambrose’s death. It’s a wound that is slow to close, and that will leave a scar. I thought about how proud he’d be of me for getting myself safely out to the campsite. How much he’d love the area. I wished we could have gone together, but I’m glad I went alone since we couldn’t.
In the evening, I went to the vault toilet again and found that many people had packed up and left. At least four parties had departed, maybe more, which gave me a chance to explore those campsites and their lakeside views. I also followed the road around the lake a bit farther, just across the outlet. It kept going, but I decided I wasn’t outfitted to go any farther. Not when it was getting dark and I had no headlamp on me.
I got up several times to pee in the night and looked at the stars overhead. I had the rainfly up on my tent, which kept it nice and cozy, but I kind of wished I’d taken it off for the better view of the night sky.
In the morning, my alarm went off. I had turned off the regular bed time alarm and the regular wake up alarm, but I’d forgotten to turn off the Monday through Friday get ready for work alarm. I was close enough to waking that I didn’t mind it though. It was time to get up and get moving.
I made breakfast and coffee and tea and after I ate I got ready to leave. Packing things up is so much easier when there’s two people. I would put the things inside the tent in bags, and Ambrose would cart them over to the car and pack them up. Then, while I was still handling the inside stuff, he’d start to take down the rainfly. But I do know how to do it all myself. And I did. It just took a little longer.
I did a little journaling on the computer before I put my final items, the chairs, in the car. I drove it almost to the road and then got out to use the vault toilet one more time. There were a couple of motorcycles that had just come in and I chatted with them a bit. Everyone else had cleared out already. I told the motorcycle guys that I’d be sure to let them pass when they caught me.
And then it was time to make the drive out. I took my time. I made sure not to bounce the car. A bit before the hardest part, I stopped to take a picture and the motorcycles went past me. Good thing I’d stopped at a wide spot for the photo op.
The scary section didn’t look as scary from the top as it did from the bottom, but I did have to backtrack and choose another track when the initial one had a rock too tall to easily roll over. But I did it. I figured out how to get it done and I did it. After that, the drive was pretty easy. I still had to go slow and take care, but the worst was over. I didn’t encounter any additional oncoming traffic until the road was nice and wide again.
I think I’d go out there again, though maybe not on a holiday weekend. It might be nice to camp on the lakeside if there weren’t a bunch of people around. And there were several trailheads, not just at the lake but on the way. Plus there’s the fire lookout, I do love hiking up to those. All in all, it was a very good weekend.
