Swamp Lake

We had hoped to do Swamp Lake but it was not open yet due to the above average snow fall.
So we choose Red Lake instead. John and the Tholke family Tina,Nick,William and Alex left on Wed. to find us a camp spot. Ric myself and my 2 kids Sarah and Jake, and Robb came up on Thursday. They found the best spot for camp. Friday we went over to Strawberry Lake to do a bit of fishing. We didn't leave until after lunch. With me leading the group (slowly) it took us nearly 3 hours to get there. So we didn't have much time to fish before we needed to head back to camp. The wheeling is pretty mild. There are a few rock gardens but nothing to serious.

We were woke up at 6AM by a very loud big block motor and a couple of unhappy guy's who thought if they could get in early they would have our spots. So we had our pancake cook for the crew. Bacon was cooked and we broke some into pieces and added pancake batter over the top and fried them in bacon grease. We also had some mixed berries that we added to some. It was awesome! Ric replaced a heim joint on his front swaybar. Then John, Ric and Robb went to Coyote lake to do some fishing. The rest of us stayed around camp and fished and got driving lessons. (Sarah and Jake). Meanwhile steady groups of Jeepers came though. A few going to Coyote but most looking for camp sites. I walked to the Coyote trailhead (about 200 yards from camp) to watch a few go though the gatekeeper. Just as they made it though John,Ric, and Robb were coming back. While trying one of the harder lines Ric snapped the driver front stub shaft. Knocked both the ears off. So he put it in 2WD and we winched him a bit and he drove to camp. Luckily Robb had a inside and outside shaft set already put together. Just as we finished putting the tools away the rain started. Then some hail came with some thunder for good measure. It did this for about an hour and a half. Luckily it stopped before our tents and gear got soaked. Well my tarp was a bit small for the top of the Jeep and my seat was soaked. Oh well. About 7 PM a couple fullsized buggies (Blazers-K5) came roaring into the area. They turned around and started to go back, then they suddenly stopped and set up camp right between 2 other camps. They were about 75 yards away. They blasted their music and laughed and talked loudly until 3AM. Next morning we all started packing to head home. The camp next to the loud camp fired up a chainsaw about 7:30 to give the noisy neighbors a good morning hello. They sun was out as we left camp. As we were making our way to pavement John popped a bead so we stopped to reseat it. It then started to sprinkle. It was a steady rain until we reached pavement. We aired up and headed down the hill. The rain stopped before we got to Shaver Lake. We gassed up in Prather where it was near 100*. John and Robb headed out while Ric, the Tholke's and my family finished our lunch. Once underway Kris heard that Ric had a problem so we turned around to see what was up. Turns out the driver front wheel had worked it's self loose and was near falling off! Luckily it didn't. But it broke one stud and stripped the other 4 badly. Ruined the wheel and rotor too. (rotor we were able to use again) So Kris made a few phone calls trying to locate parts. He got a hold of someone he knew that lives in Clovis or Fresno...anyway they were able to fetch us a unitbearing. We put on his spare tire. We got to Clovis around 5 PM and were enjoying a hamburger when Kris's phone rang. It was John, he was climbing the Grapevine when his transmittion locked up! He could not get it out of gear. So he called AAA to get a lift home. We made it home around 9PM ready to hit the showers!
We all had a great time. The skeeters were pretty fierce! It was nice to explore the area a bit. Pretty mild wheeling, lots of lakes with campsites throughout. Good times, good times!