One Nighter In Stanislaus National Forest
Anyone remember this trip? The one where we made the mistake of eating McDonalds for breakfast, got our car stuck in a ditch, and had to hitchhike to the stable station to get our car out?
I sure do. Silver lining: we discovered Bear Lake. A chill, under 5 mile trail that ends at a big, pretty lake.
3 years later, this would be the exact same trail I take my newbie backpacker friends on for their first trip — a one nighter.
My friends have been wanting to try backpacking but didn’t know where to go, what trail to take, or how to tackle the whole logistics of it all with food, packing, and permits.
I had all the same questions and concerns before my first trip! To ease their discomforts, I created a packing list for them on google sheets, and marked all the gear that would count as shared and specified who would be bringing what. Then, we got together a list of things they didn’t have so we can provide them with any extras we had, and rent the rest! A food list was essential for the trip and I had them choose what dinner they wanted from a handful of different flavors I had. They wanted to bring instant noodles, to which I said, sure thing! However, we only brought 1 bear can, so we couldn’t get too carried away with food.
We called ahead to the Ranger Station for our backpackers permit (this was Labor Day weekend, we just wanted to play it safe)
Got up bright and early to drive to the trailhead at 6:30am, and made it to the ranger station and picked up the permit at 10am. He warned us that going to Bear Lake would be like “going to the mall” due to the holiday crowds. I was just hoping that since we are doing our one night on Sunday night, most backpackers would be on their way out and back home to rest up on Monday before the work week. (Spoiler alert: I was right)
Set off from Crabtree trailhead at 11am. We got lucky and found a parking spot right in front!
Off we go:
The trail wasn’t too packed, and most of the other travelers we passed were actually on their way out. My friends, despite this being their first trip, kept up a very steady pace during the hike in, and we made it at 1:30pm! It’s the first time I’ve ever made it to our intended campground so early in the day. We set up camp pretty quickly (same spot from last time I was here!), and then had lunch by the lake. And oh — I brought backpacking chairs this time around.
Lunch with a view:
Brian took a little dip in the water:
My thoughts about bringing chairs: Worth it, since it was a summer trip and only 5 miles in. No more sitting on ill-placed, weirdly shaped logs. My lower back thanked me.
Also played a bit of frisbee and then ptfo in our tent for a mid afternoon nap. The heat inside of the tent was welcomed for the first 10 minutes, and 20 minutes later I could feel the sweat drip down my face but was too tired to to move. This is what we get for setting up our tent in the sun.
Our campground, complete with hot cheeto fries — they are a must have:
Dinnertime was around 6pm. Our appetizer was cup noodles (my clumsy ass knocked over the cup right before we poured in the water. All the soup flavoring spilled out onto the ground…Needless to say, our broth was very bland)
Our friends also brought in a can of kimchi, which was a game changer! Though, I’d probably take it out of a can and double-ziploc it instead for the next trip:
Got our fire going around dinnertime:
I had been so excited to eat I forgot to take pictures of what we ate. Our friends had the Thai Curry, and we had the Chicken Gumbo from Good To Go. Thai Curry was the clear winner here, the chicken gumbo was a tad bit too spicy for all of us.
After a couple hours or nighttime campfire talk, I went to go brush my teeth before bed and realized that we were camping right underneath the milky way. Cue delaying bedtime by spending another hour trying to get shots! The last time I was underneath the milky way while backpacking was back in 2016, when I had decided not to bring my camera and borrow my friend’s mirrorless camera. Unfortunately, I have NO pictures from that weekend because I had accidentally left the power on during entire car ride there. I was pretty bummed.
Some post-dinner shots. The sunsets at Alpine lakes are always such a sight to see, especially for newbie backpackers.
The next morning, getting some water at the lake:
A backpacking trip isn’t complete without group photos after fueling up on breakfast (again, forgot to take pictures of breakfast):
The hike out was chill. Got back to the trailhead in about an hour and a half, and then promptly set off to get — you know it — root beer. Another one for the books!
And congrats to my friends DK and Daye for successfully completing their first trip! Another blog entry is already in the works, where I asked them about their experience of going backpacking for the first time. Stay tuned.
