Late Friday afternoon I gave Jan a call at work and suggested a quick trip to higher elevations and the sound of whispering pines. Frazier Mountain at 8013 feet seemed like a convenient destination.
We started driving up the mountain just after sunset.
Around 6500 feet we saw the first snow, drove on to the summit, headed west for about a mile and set up camp.
While cooking supper I remarked to Jan that we would still be putting up our tent and arranging gear in the pre-FWC days. Instead we were sitting comfortably inside listening to a football game on Sirius Satellite Radio.
The next morning we spotted these bobcat tracks.
This campfire ring reminded us how nice it was to have a camper and furnace instead of having to start a fire in the morning.
It was 25ยบ outside but 32 degrees warmer inside.
Four Wheel Camper framed.
Hungry Valley to the south covered with fog.
Ice makes a crusty cover at a water crossing.
Many cool formations in the ice.
Deer tracks spotted in the thawing ground.
We arrive back at the summit.
Survey marker next to the lookout.
Parked next to the old fire lookout. The summit is now festooned with many towers and antennas.
Years ago a visitor to this location could climb the stairs and visit with the person manning the lookout. Now the once proud lookout has been vandalized.
Sad that idiots have to destroy such unique places.
One last look to the south.
Lockwood Valley Road is six miles away.
There were several steep icy sections on the drive down the mountain.
Lockwood Valley in the foreground, Cuddy Valley and the San Andreas Fault running diagonally in upper half of photo.
A familiar landmark on the Frazier Mountain Road.
After taking this photo we continued down the mountain to pavement, turned right, drove on to the interstate and headed for home.
No comments:
Post a Comment