Big John's Flat Weekender

After a week of 110 degree heat, we were all feeling a little restless and pent up. When the weekend approached we packed up, left town and headed north, into the mountains. Since our LeBaron camping trip was only three weeks away we decided to try the other side of the mountain; Big John's Flat. It was every bit as pretty, free, uncrowded, and much less of a drive to get to. The Big John's Flat turnoff is on the way to Puffer Lake, below the ski resort, and off the north side of the highway about 5 miles up an easy dirt road. The last mile is a little rocky but we got the trailer up and over just fine. 

We chose a spot adjacent to Griffith Creek, down in some trees and next to several snow patches. As soon as we were all parked and unloaded, it was time for a little hike. Blue Lake Trail is 7.5 miles one way and we made it about .5 miles before turning around and headed back for lunch. 

A little snow patch jumping along the way. Felt wonderful to be in the cool air when we knew it was roasting hot back home.

It was mid-spring on Big John's; the lupine, delphinium and elderberry were just starting to bud but the bluebell and dandelion were all colors out.

She has such a longing for adventure... When she's old enough to go, its moments like this that make me wonder what she'll accomplish.

 "Lets hike up the mountain Mom"

 SO many trees here had lighting strike wounds. Even more than on LeBaron flat.

We were very close to the treeline; I would say our camp site was near 11,000 feet. We all had that first-day grogginess that comes along with elevation gain. Zzzzzzz....

I have a story to tell about this next picture and the cute little face in it...

About 30 seconds after this picture was taken, Jocelyn started pointing downstream and screaming in terror. I yelled "What?!" expecting to see a bear or something else dangerous. Instead I saw one of her boots, bobbing over the cascades, hopping boulders and somersaulting along. Since the banks were too steep to run along, I hopped into the stream, trying to keep my balance while catching up with the shoe. I heard another splash alongside of me and looked down to see that my phone had made its way out of my camera bag and hopped into the stream itself somewhere. I couldn't see it. It might have sunk or might have been carried downstream too. A quick decision and I kept chasing the shoe (it was her only pair!). Once I caught it and made my way back up the steep ravine, I began dredging the stream with my hands in the general area I lost my phone and was surprised to find it still alive when I pulled it out of the water. I quickly pulled it apart, separating the battery and all parts so that the water wouldn't fry the live circuit board. Dread for the next three days while I waited for it to completely dry (Kyle had to keep threatening phone destruction if I tested it too soon) and when I put it all back together, it WORKED!! I'm guessing it was in the stream for a good 2 minutes so that says something about the effects that ice cold water can have on survivability, human or electronic :)

They tried to wade but the water was just too darn cold.

Let me out! Since she isn't walking yet, her only safe spots are in the trailer on the bed or outside sitting on a vinyl tablecloth that we laid out for her to protect her soft chubby legs from pine needles.

I don't think Dad was really getting much of a nap...

They called this a "Millie Sandwich" with "Jocelyn and Ivy bread." There were a lot of new trails and roads to explore so it was fun squishing together and putting around together.

Two out of three being happy at any given time are good odds around here....

Beautiful views everywhere.

Tinfoil dinners yum!

Confined by pine needles.

She's standing fine alone, its just the taking steps that we need to learn. It was quite convenient on this trip though not having her mobile. I didn't have to worry about her and the fire.

While we were making s'mores the second night I noticed Millie looking curiously at the marshmallows and realized she didn't know they were food. I handed her one and she squished it in her hands for a minute and then in true baby-style, put it in her mouth to test.

Once she discovered it was a sweet treat, there was an approval.

Chubby bunny?

All gone!

Camp trailer baths by dad.

Hanging out on the tent bed for some pre-bed book time.

I love these three girls. What a great view too!

She felt like pretty big stuff sitting in Jocelyn's chair.

I found a new flower called a Leopard Lily while we were hiking around. I was pretty ecstatic and Kyle rolled his eyes a bit. Came back to camp with a couple of blooms to key them out and study them a bit.

Me and Ivy went on a date one night together and found a seat in a grove of trees.

 We also stopped to take a few pictures along the treeline. Ivy suffered from allergies pretty bad while we were up there but I think it was because she always had her nose in a dandelion. After she'd sniff a dandelion she'd go into crazy sneezing fits. I kept taking them away from her and tried explaining but she loves those flowers :)

She is the sweetest girl I know...

I needed to run while we were camping so I had my choice of either going uphill with a downhill on the way back OR a downhill with an uphill on the way back. Easy choice ;)  The uphill route left the tree line almost immediately and headed into the snow toward Delano Peak. Running at an elevation of 11,000-12,000 ft made it difficult to go very fast; it ended up being more of a fast hike interspaced with short gasping sprints :)  Me and Daisy pup left before the sun rose and it was still high 40's/low 50's, about perfect for a run. The road was closed for being muddy from snow melt about a mile from where we camped so I used the dirt road with no worries of atv's or vehicles.

Making good progress after just a couple of miles, our camp is just down in the trees.

The road wasn't really THAT muddy. There were only a couple of spots the water was running over it. Sometimes I took a flying leap and other times I tiptoed on the driest spots.

Its kind of a dark shot but it shows the valley and the curving road.

Me and Daisy scared a few elk away at "Mud Lake." The name made me laugh. It does look like a temporary snow melt puddle and I'm sure will be a big muddy mess later on this summer.

All the little alpine flowers were out in a colorful carpet. They looked so pretty among the lichen covered rocks.

Getting closer to the top. It got very steep..*huff puff*. which at least made the trip back easier.

Once the uphill ended we stopped. Daisy flopped in the snow while I caught my breath. The two peaks in the background are Mount Baldy and Mount Belknap. They are both just a smidgen lower than Delano Peak and can both be summited but only on hands and knees because of the loose slippery gravel. Nah thanks. Turning east we had an even better view!  Delano Peak is the second to last peak in the above photo. We jogged along the ridgeline until the trail became very faded and turned into loose gravel and then the moving became so slow we turned around.  


Our total distance ended up being 8 miles, 4 up and 4 back. I was shooting for 10 miles that day but my heart was tired from the over exertion of elevation so I called it enough for that day :)