Weekend Getaway in the Sierras

To see the FULL post, in a slightly easier to read format- please feel free to visit my website. :)

This was a four day trip to Lake Bowman, CA and an adventure throughout the forest to the Northwest of Lake Tahoe.**

We Began our trip by departing in the suburbs of San Francisco, at a late 7:00pm.
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Three and a half hours later, we arrive at our last town before the campsite, Grass Valley.This was still nearly an hour away from our final camping destination. After the new friends and follow adventurers met, we decided to gas up and drive into the dark forest.Right as we departed, two local girls in a 3rd Generation Toyota 4Runner drove by yelling at us "Where the white b*tches at?!"- Little did they know, they created a new saying for the rest of the expedition.
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Luckily, we had a prerunning session 2 weekends prior (click here for the video), so we knew the route we were traveling. However, driving next to 70ft cliffs on one lane-washed out roads, is still a treacherous feat,especially at 1:30am. So- we took our time acknowledging that safety was a priority to some extent.
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At 1:45, we finally arrive at the campsite. My Rigid Industry Dually flood lights served their purpose. Illuminating the entire area at 2:00am, setup begin swiftly.
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The reason for this swiftness you may ask? Well- once we setup it began to rain with sounds of thunder quickly approaching. We quickly celebrate the home base that we established, and then retire to our respective sleeping quarters. The next day, I arose and looked out my tent window to see a gorgeous meadow- what a pleasant surprise
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Soon after, others also woke up and shared their liking of our camp site. To top it off, expressions of nearby campers were nothing short of hilarious. They had gone to bed, and when they woke up- there were two trucks, two awnings, two makeshift kitchens, and a double room tent with cots inside.Its as if we had sprung up with the weeds
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We then began with a delicious kickoff meal- eggs Benedict over bagels. (Yes I know- reaching glamping status, but come'on, who DOESN'T like Eggs Benedict!)
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Once the caffeine from the coffee I brewed kicked in, we begin to play Bocce ball. Now, this wasn't any normal bocce, We were throwing the balls about 40-60 feet away, over rovers and water washed up streams- you can't knock it till you've tried it!
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With our newfound energy, we began to drink copious amounts of Beer and wine. Thus inventing the bocce drinking game! This resulted in a clean break of a bocce ball after a 40ft arching toss, by no other than Chris (aka dangerzone).Then once the drinks kicked in, a few of us idiots decided to hop into the water- Luckily, the later in the day the warmer it was, and at 4pm it was a refreshing swim from the 85+degree temperatures we were camping in.
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We then grubbed on some delicious pasta, courtesy of chef FrankOnce that was done, we relaxed by the fire and talked till our stomachs were full and energy levels empty.
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The next morning, we all started to gain nick names- because thats what happens on a camping trip.
Frank begins his struggle to try and gain contact with women in the area; hence getting the name (White B- thanks again Grass Valley ladies).Spoiler alert- he fails.
Phillip, aka 5 star, aka City Boy, begins to reveal his side of camping. Which consists of hiking all day, and then being pampered at a spa and 5 star restaurant by night. Hence his new nick name- five star.
Chris, aka "dangerzone"(for later obvious reasons) was very satisfied with his costco chocolate muffins, which we all agreed appeared to pay out dividends throughout the weekend.
I somehow was named (******** face), which was pleasant.
Scott, was sleeping beauty, this was because he slept for a good 16 hours the night before- How? we don't know.
 
While diving into the water the night before, the mountain peak nearby called our names (See side left of the photo below.) It may seem small, but as we all learned it was more of a trek than expected.
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So, as the day began, Dangerzone and Frank stayed behind to... well, relax.So with our stomachs full and our hopes high, and our Nationalism levels even higher, we set out in the general direction of the mountain peak.
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5 Star brought along a frisbee, this ended up being a great icebreaker with other hikers-as long as they were accurate.
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Also, in order to break the ice with Hikers, there needed to be hikers. In our case, we only encountered 2 groups during the entire duration of the hike. But, I guess that is what we get for not using trails.5 Star also proved to be a damn good navigator,with a desire to climb. Maybe he thought there would be an A/C'd Room at the top, with Caviar, Blonde Women with Accents, and a Butler named Chives.
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Scott and Greg also helped Navigate, all while I attempted to film the process steadily while hiking and climbing with one arm. This was definitely a learning experience.About mid way on our trek to the Peak, we heard the sounds of rushing water. Adrenaline hit the group, and we all ran towards the sound. Sure enough, we have stumbled upon an awe-inspiring series of swimming holes and waterfalls that overlooked Lake Bowman.
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There was also a friendly local group there (by local I imply he lives 40 minutes away), with a member who was Cliff diving into the swimming hole at the base of the falls, which was pretty ************, we thanked him for his entertainment and proceeded on our trek beyond the tree line.
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*
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We then continued our trek until the peak, snacked and drank plenty of water, and all posed for a series of "I made it" photos.
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As we returned, we thought it was a good time and location to practice our 2nd amendment rights- because 'Murica.Thanks to Greg, aka the compensator- we were able to shoot his 9mm AR at some pinecones who were threatening our lives.
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As we walked back, we decided to follow the river leading to the falls back- This was a double edged sword. It luckily led to our discovery of even more swimming holes at the top of the falls.
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These created shoots that were like natural water-slides, and the cool pools were more than refreshing for The Compensator and I to jump in for the second swim of the trip so far. However, we all trekked through the river in our shoes, and once we got to the falls, we had to climb and re-gain altitude in order to continue heading towards our home base.
 
With the total trip time lasting around 4 hours, we returned to Dangerzone and White B....doing the same thing as before. However, to their credit, they did cleanup the site and prep for our day driving expedition to Summit City.
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The expedition would last 2 hours, and would cover 3 miles. We quickly refueled ourselves with water, and got the pedal to the metal.Dangerzone was in his family's 3/4 Ton Dodge, so he took a degree of caution to insure he did not damage it.
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I however, felt the desire to drop back, and then quickly catchup at any given opportunity, romping through rivers and floating through washouts. My issue, was because Dangerzone was navigator, I had to drive behind the silt that his vehicle left behind, it was literally blinding when combined with the sun. (see below)
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My Toyota is SEVERELY underpowered, as anyone with a 3.0 could tell you. With this, Chris would pull ahead on the steep climbs, and he was head navigator. Due to his vehicle limitations, I would go ahead of his crew and scout out possible passes to Fordyce Creek, but unfortunately none were passible without possible damage to the Dodge.
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Lastly, we were able to find the last indication of the Historic Site's existence.
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While our eyes glazed with the idea of 80 saloons popping up next to our current location, we regressed towards the home base.This time around, I let Compensator drive the 4runner for a bit while I gathered photo and video footage- its hard driving and directing at the same time! All the while, we discussed firearms, car brands, and ideal expedition vehicles- typical girl talk of course ;).
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Right before returning, The Compensator once again saved the day by letting Dangerzone and Sleeping Beauty shoot the AR
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We returned to the homebase more hungry than an army, 5 Star, Compensator and myself quickly consumed Chili-cheese dogs, then I continued to eat cheesy rice and burgers with the rest of the crew. The feast was delicious.
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After our consumption of booze and food was up to par, we enjoyed a quick walk to Lake Bowman. Upon arrival, we threw more rocks into the water for our enjoymentThe sun quickly fell from the sky and our last night of burning wood was upon us. White B thought it was a great idea to throw Ketel One Vodka in the fire.
He was right.
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The night then faded as we talked about women, food, cars, and other typical alcohol fire chat topics.
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The next morning, we all took the liberty to sleep in. Once we finally arose, food and bocce recommenced.In the final hours of our trip,*we all headed down to the lake for one last dunk. There are only two bad aspects of Lake Bowman.
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The first, is the temperature. If you dive into this High Sierra man made lake anytime before 1pm, you can feel your chest compress from the chilly waters.
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The second, the the fact that it is man made, this means there is no comfortable sandy beach to stand on, rather sharp pointed rocks scattered around, which make it impossible to be "somewhat" in the water.
For next time, or anyone planning to visit, I highly suggest some nice watershoes.We then packed up head out via the south entrance, this meant driving along the cliff we had came in on in the dark on Thursday evening. This was the first time that 5 star and Sleeping beauty had seen the entirety of the 3 mile long lake, or the sketchy cliff we drove on the edge of.
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Sure enough with 5 star in my car, we pulled over and grabbed some photos of the insanity we took part in, and the beauty that surrounded it.To end things with a bang, we went to In-n-out in Auburn,CA. As we sat there, we joked about finally finding the white women, how we all looked & smelled like we had just came from 4 days of camping (we had of course), and the good memories we now shared.For next time, we plan to go more North towards Reno, and hopefully reach the desert.
Till next time,
Adam
 
Guns, great food, good friends, and pictures. Solid report my friend!
Thank you, I updated the report with clearer grammar and a map on my website.

Also, I saw a Sierra Expeditions FJ Cruiser while I was in Washinton,CA around the time of the trip as well. -Small world!
 
This is the way life was meant to be lived.

Now, "Where the white beaches at?"

haha Thank you , I agree- and white beaches? I Wish!!!
I hope everyone is reading the newly EDITED article on my site btw. Not trying to pull traffic away from expediiton portal. Its just way easier to improve my post on my website.
Grammar fixed, map added. The story now has more flow.

And thanks again guys, really appreciate all the comments-good to know all my time typing wasnt wasted :)
 

Xterabl

Adventurer
Great trip, better report!
Thanks for taking the time to share it all.
BTW, WTHeck is jiggle billy? (sorry I am an old Gen X fella)
 

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