Just a camping guy

Well the start of another great weekend. I came back up to Beardsley to check it out some more this weekend. The drive over here was hot. When I pulled off to ice up and stuff at the 7-11 in Livermore there was a big wreck on the off ramp. I will have to look at the picture more when I get home to even see what kind of SUV it was. Yes, it knocked the front tire off.

I got the same spot I had last weekend but it looks like this place is already filling up. There is even a bit of wood here but it is basically kindling. I did find a couple of sources on the way up here and may check them out on my return trip.

The trucks have been rolling since about 5am. It isn't that there are many of them but they have to come down into the valley and then go back up so you hear them the whole way. I went out fishing earlier. I got some nibbles and even watched one trout chase my line but none in the pan. Maybe later today. I found a trail over by the dam that I am going to explore in a bit. It goes down by the afterbay.

The trail was great. It went down to a day use area and was a nice hike. I decided to take the road back up and it was basically straight uphill. I went out fishing a few more times. One of these times I will put something in the pan. I am going to try again early in the morning.

The night was great. Met a couple of guys from Modesto last night that were pretty cool and they were a motley crew. I went out fishing for awhile this morning. Still nothing in the pan though. I will keep trying. I should have brought my float tube.

The weather has been great. I think next weekend I will try to go higher. Met a group of families camping together and they wanted me to be their test bed for their citrus bloody marys. They were pretty good.

Made it back home and can hardly wait for next weekend. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Thanks again for stopping by.

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Labels: 4x4, camping, mountains, outdoors

I thought I was going to get an early start this weekend but ran into some snags. I have been having some problems with my starter solenoid. It gets hot and draws too much juice to start. It started last weekend. I would let it cool down for 20 minutes or so and it would start right up. Well today after I stopped in Livermore to gas up it wouldn't start after about an hour and in the process I run the battery down. Well that little all in one I have just doesn't cut it for my truck. I then started kicking myself because when I stopped in Pep Boys earlier I was going to get some jumper cables so I could use my full size spare battery in case something like this happened.

The guys at the 7-11 in Livermore rock. I asked them where the nearest auto store was and said I was going to hike there and one of the guys said he was going to make a bank drop and give me a ride there. When we were getting ready to leave he asked me what I needed and I said jumper cables. He said they have 2 sets in the store. I asked if I could borrow them and he said I would have to buy them. Who would have known that 7-11 sells jumper cables? 10 bucks and they aren't too bad. I jumped the truck with my spare battery and drove home. I replaced the starter and was on my around 3:30. Of course I started hitting rush hour traffic. Well I made it here. It isn't the spot that I was aiming for but it is great.

I was thinking of surprising my friend and showing up at her campsite off of Hwy 4 but was sort of afraid of being surprised myself so I chickened out.

My original target was Donnell Lake. I saw this road and it didn't have the full name that was on the map so I went about 10 miles further and then decided that this was the road and turned around. I should have went a few more miles. I ended up at a place called Beardsley. It is pretty nice and I will have to check that other place out another time. This road appears to be a short cut or something between 108 and 4 as there have been a few 18 wheelers passing through. Hopefully they will have the weekend off.

A friend of mine has a thing for campground outhouses and this one was different in that it had a ledge behind the seat. Enjoy, you know who you are.

My trip almost got cut short. On the way down here my precious container tipped over and I lost some ice. It should be okay or I can always toss the ice from the food container in there and not eat. I did get some good things to eat this weekend though. Fruit, shrimp stir fry, cheese, and other things. I am thinking about doing my shopping for next weekend at Berkeley Bowl. That place is great.

I went walking earlier and the place is pretty interesting. The water level is real low so hopefully we will get a bunch of snow this year so they can fill the lakes up again. I am amazed at how trees can grow out of rocks. I was also reading this plaque at the dam and was thinking how great it must have been to be exploring this stuff before they built it up with roads and stuff.

I may try my hand at fishing again if I can find an easy way down to the lake. So far all I have seen are steep sandy hills and rocks. I have seen all kinds of wildlife. Now for them to stop long enough for me to get a picture. I even saw a hummingbird. I will have to look harder for the flowers it must be feeding on.

They are also doing a prescribed burn. It just looks so odd to see stuff burning. I understand the reasons behind it but it is still odd.

This old hippy dude just rolled in on an old BSA. I may have to go take some pictures of it. Well I caught up with Jeff the old hippy dude. He was on a 69 Victor 441. He is a pretty cool guy. He told me that my original place was blocked by a big boulder and another way to get there. Maybe someone up above was looking out for me.

Time to check out the topo program some more and start exploring some of these back forest roads. There are some good spots to be had if I could just find them. The bad thing about the topo is that you don't know if the roads are passable. Having to back up and trying to turn around in the burb is a major PITA

Bacon and eggs this morning. Tasty but next weekend I think I will do beer brats again. I was talking to the guy camping next to me and I guess it is free fishing day. He said that was the only reason he was up here. His diet for the weekend? A big box of Wheaties and a tub of popcorn. This is a big guy also about close to 300. When I was putting cheese of my eggs I noticed it was quality chekd. It didn't kill me.

The place is filling up quick. There is also a boy scout campground up the road. So far it has been pretty quiet at night or I am sleeping through it. I think I am sleeping better in the back of the burb. I tune out the noises and as long as someone doesn't touch one of the door handles I will sleep through the night.

I saw the Highway Patrol drive through also. That was an odd site. They intermesh so much up there that it makes sense.

I made it home and am ready to go again. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Thanks again for stopping by.

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Labels: 4x4, camping, mountains, outdoors