I figured this morning would be a great time to type out our Sheep Lake camping post while my sleep cycle is still being effected by our trip.
Out here, there is no structured time. A made up universally accepted number that tells us what we should do when. When Clynn and I go out to no where we don’t carry our phones and we don’t wear watches. We just watch the sun. When we live in Base Reality, I’m an early riser. Much earlier than when we live domestically.
We don’t camp like most.
Clynn’s an Eagle Scout and I’m prior military/a veteran. I don’t know how much that has to do with the way we feel out there, but a piece of us lives in the mountains.
We’re big hikers. If you’ve ever been out to Sheep Lake, look around you. You’re in a giant bowl. We summit that bowl and it’s the most amazing thing. Most people have never been that high. The energy is different. It’s POWERFUL. There are places out there that are sacred to us (and many hikers). You only know these places if you find them yourself and the camaraderie on the trail is a completely different culture.
It’s on mine and Clynn’s bucket list to hike the Pacific Crest Trail when the boys turn 15 or 16. It will be a 5-6 month long hike from Canada to Mexico.
I turned Clynn from some of the cushy camping he did in scouts to lightweight camping I did rucking in the Army. We bring the essentials (or at least our version of “the essentials”). I like to be able to set up and break down camp in less than five minutes. I’d like to get it down to three.
We have 2-3 luxuries we indulge in while camping. One of them, our cast iron tea pot for coffee and cooking. There are MUCH lighter ways of boiling water on the trail, but we love this little tea pots energy. We hand grind coffee beans with a mortar and pestle and steep them in the pot. We can make both cold brew (overnight in the river) or hot coffee this way. It’s my biggest comfort and a ritual of sorts on the trail. ♥
Clynn’s luxury? His hammock. We hang a lightweight hiking hammock at our site. It adds an extra..sort of stimulation and takes up about as much space as a standard camping pillow.
I knocked off a bucket list item on this trip!
When I was pretty young (about 8 or so) my big sister went on a hike and told me about how the birds would eat out of their hands. She showed me some pictures and as a typical animal loving 8ish year old I was soooo jealous.
I was in the hammock while Clynn was eating some nuts by the fire. I noticed a bird in a tree near our camp watching him intently. “Hey Clynn! You’ve got an admirer.” I pointed to the tree and he jokingly held his hand out in the birds direction. Without hesitation the bird flew, perched on his hand, grabbed a couple peanuts, and flew away.
We grabbed the camera and spent the next 30 minutes or so making some friends.
There was a chipmunk who hung around our tent. Pretty pudgy little guy. The hikers are taking care of him, I’m sure. He acted as if he was all ready to climb up in my lap for a snack but I wasn’t about to have any of that. Birds pecking scare me less than a chipmunk missing with incisors. We named him Jean and shared a few peanuts his way, too.
This weekend, we’ll hike a few miles further. From summit, we identified a couple lakes over to explore.
We also plan to pack warmer clothes so we can take blue hour photos at the summit. As soon as the sun considers setting, it gets very windy and the temperature drops quickly up there.
From our campsite, we directed a dozen or so hikers to sourdough gap. This was my first trip where I almost felt like a tour guide, having the area down pretty well. I think it’s about time we expand our horizons to new trails.
Hopefully, we’ll have some night photos for you next week!
Are you a hiker? Where should we venture to next?
This was on my bucket list since I was about 8 
This guy was a little mangy 
We named this guy Jean. 
See the Mountain Goat? 
Oh my goodness! Jean, the birds & facial expressions really made this blog post worth reading all the way to the last word! What a neat spot & truly a remarkable view. I love the way you & Clynn don’t settle for anything less than what you want & take the time for just you two!! I can’t wait to see more of your adventure posts.
Ps. Favorite photo of all time is in this post! I can’t get over the background!
Jean was the best. We’ll definitely stop by this weekend and see if he remembers us. Which photo is your favorite?! Those views are amazing. I’d do minis out at sheep lake if I could convince enough people to do the 2 or so mile hike before photos. hahaha