Lighthawk
Weekend warrior
We did a quick one-nighter, visiting Truckee, then heading north to loop 89 / 49 and back to Nevada City. Our objectives were to visit Perazzo Meadows, old Henness Pass went through here, the original Marysville to Reno wagon road. We completed the loop by continuing north to Gold Lakes Basin, then Sierra City/Downieville and back home.
This trip was a shakedown for the new dog, Callie. She's a four month old border collie mix, full of energy, but smart as a whip. Truth is, I took her out last week for a quickie fishing trip (but that's another story).
To bring our new pup with us, I made a platform for the back of the Tundra AC, so she could ride in the cab. I used scavenged materials in my garage, consisting of a 1/4" birch plywood 22x30 platform supported with a plywood panel to the floor and two 1x2 legs. I ran 1x4 KD DF around three sides. It's not fancy, but I glued and screwed it, and the legs are bolted with some scavenged nylocks I had laying around. It worked great. (pics if anyone cares?) She sits there with her chin on the back of our seats and naps even on rougher dirt roads.
Susan declared it a success, which all I really need to hear.
Our first stop was Truckee. I had a few photos I wanted for an assignment.
The Truckee River
We also hit up Diegos, by the rail tracks to get a batch of hot sauce. (where's the emoticon with devil's horns??) I scored a nice OR softshell ski jacket I intend to take skiing in the Selkirks for half price.
Next up was 89 north, where the campgrounds were all empty and the traffic was light. The Little Truckee river crosses the two lane highway, with popular mtn bike trailheads at Hobart Mills.
We stopped for some guacamole and chips. The Little Truckee was looking drought-stricken, and was much worse higher up.
Onwards north to Jackson Meadows turnoff (Henness Pass). I read recently that there has been an aspen remediation treatment (read clear-cut of everything else) of 480 acres in this area. Local residents were protesting the dropping of trees in the 40" class. I thought the logging was concentrated on the road to Independence Lake, but it was also along Perazzo Meadows. It was strange to see such extensive clear cuts, leaving only the aspens. I didn't take many photos, but think it might make some good ski touring terrain with all the newly opened space. It will probably heal up in a few years, but the tree stumps were by the hundreds.
We took a break near the trailhead for Mt Lola, enjoying the afternoon sun.
Naptime with the dog
We found a great little FS camp spot for the night, just above the creek. No crowds on the shoulder season! There were two sites with rough plywood tables built onto trees. It got down to 26F outside, but we ran the Wave 3 with the vent left open several inches (!) all night. It got down to 55F inside, but everyone, including Callie slept well. It looked like a hunter's camp. It was clean, except for a couple dozen brass shells of a large, short bore. We saw anther site further up the L. Truckee, below Webber Falls but bags of trash were strew about and we didn't have the heart or the time to do the cleanup. [I'll be better prepared with some industrial trash bags next time.]
The colors were sparse but nice.
to be continued . . .
This trip was a shakedown for the new dog, Callie. She's a four month old border collie mix, full of energy, but smart as a whip. Truth is, I took her out last week for a quickie fishing trip (but that's another story).
To bring our new pup with us, I made a platform for the back of the Tundra AC, so she could ride in the cab. I used scavenged materials in my garage, consisting of a 1/4" birch plywood 22x30 platform supported with a plywood panel to the floor and two 1x2 legs. I ran 1x4 KD DF around three sides. It's not fancy, but I glued and screwed it, and the legs are bolted with some scavenged nylocks I had laying around. It worked great. (pics if anyone cares?) She sits there with her chin on the back of our seats and naps even on rougher dirt roads.
Susan declared it a success, which all I really need to hear. Our first stop was Truckee. I had a few photos I wanted for an assignment.
The Truckee River
We also hit up Diegos, by the rail tracks to get a batch of hot sauce. (where's the emoticon with devil's horns??) I scored a nice OR softshell ski jacket I intend to take skiing in the Selkirks for half price.
Next up was 89 north, where the campgrounds were all empty and the traffic was light. The Little Truckee river crosses the two lane highway, with popular mtn bike trailheads at Hobart Mills.
We stopped for some guacamole and chips. The Little Truckee was looking drought-stricken, and was much worse higher up.
Onwards north to Jackson Meadows turnoff (Henness Pass). I read recently that there has been an aspen remediation treatment (read clear-cut of everything else) of 480 acres in this area. Local residents were protesting the dropping of trees in the 40" class. I thought the logging was concentrated on the road to Independence Lake, but it was also along Perazzo Meadows. It was strange to see such extensive clear cuts, leaving only the aspens. I didn't take many photos, but think it might make some good ski touring terrain with all the newly opened space. It will probably heal up in a few years, but the tree stumps were by the hundreds.
We took a break near the trailhead for Mt Lola, enjoying the afternoon sun.
Naptime with the dog
We found a great little FS camp spot for the night, just above the creek. No crowds on the shoulder season! There were two sites with rough plywood tables built onto trees. It got down to 26F outside, but we ran the Wave 3 with the vent left open several inches (!) all night. It got down to 55F inside, but everyone, including Callie slept well. It looked like a hunter's camp. It was clean, except for a couple dozen brass shells of a large, short bore. We saw anther site further up the L. Truckee, below Webber Falls but bags of trash were strew about and we didn't have the heart or the time to do the cleanup. [I'll be better prepared with some industrial trash bags next time.]
The colors were sparse but nice.
to be continued . . .
