Chinn's Lake

So the boy and I decided on a camping trip on short notice. Figured we would make it a car camping trip and headed up to Chinn's. Road there wasn't to bad, but, wow, was it bumpy! The reports I had heard about the road were not wrong!

The road, while not too tough to negotiate, was all rock and really BUMPY!


Stopped on the way and explored some cool old mining stuff.

Found a cool spot to camp, firepit and all.

The boy was bent on swimming even being warned of the 50'ish degree water. He actually complete submerged at one point while spending about 10 minutes in the water...I was completely stupified!

Beautiful area!

Local fauna...

Checked out the old cabin on (read in) the water.

Then it started getting ominous...

We headed back to camp and tried to gather some extra firewood thinking would need more than we brought!

Turns out we would never have a chance to burn all the wood. After bashing a hatchet for a bit I took a break by the Jeep. While standing there I heard a lone 'plink' and thought, "what was that?" Looking skyward I found nothing but clouds. No wind or raindrops. About 15 seconds later there was another 'plink' then another...then I saw the hail. Nothing to bad, bigger than a pea, but, smaller than a marble. Then it got heavier...and heavier, still not a breath of wind or rain. After we took a little shelter under the trees for 10 - 15 minutes the hail subsided and we decided go fish for a bit. It started sprinkling at that point, but not enough to be uncomfortable. I cought two brookies and promptly bonked 'em to have for din. Justin had one on long enough to see but got into rock and was lost. It would have been the first fish on his own creation of a fly he tied by himself. Bummer, but at least he is more exited about fishing now!

Shortly after this pick we had just enough time to cook up the fish and a couple brat's before the rain strengthened enough to force us into the Jeep. We we able to keep the back hatch open while we ate, but, by 6:45 the rain was heavy enough we had to close up shop. An 11 year old with more energy to burn is a challenge to keep occupied in such a small space for that long. We played the harmica a bit (poorly!) and goofed around with the camera. He got so bored he started reading the little book from our first aid kit.

It rained solidly until 3am. With both of us in the Jeep I couldn't get an angle to streatch out so I was cramped all night. I think from 3am until the sun came up at about 6:15 I slept a total of about 30 minutes. I couldn't wait to get out and stretch! It was an amazing sunrise!

We had a some donuts for breakfast and headed down to try fishing for a bit. The wind made more of a challenge than it was worth and some dark clouds started rolling in so we decided to pack it up after a long night and explore a bit more on the drive out.

It was a good trip, and memerable. I wouldn't hesistate to go back, I just wish we had a little more time to explore and a bit less rain!