Charleston Lake Hiking
My boys have listened to my romanticized version of tales from the trail and have been hounding me to take them on an overnight trip. What about the mud? The bad food? The uncomfortable sleeps? They were relentless and so that's how on the last weekend in May we found ourselves headed out to Charleston Lake with backpacks loaded down.
John had meticulously packed and and made sure he didn't have too many things. Robert had thrown some clothes in a trash bag at the last minute but insisted on bringing his fishing rod. My Dad who leapt at the chance was bringing an oven and planned to bake a brownie after we talked him out of a pineapple upside down cake. I had to forego luxury items to make room for Juno's supplies and plenty of dog treats.
Day 1 - It rained all morning the skies cleared for our start. Spirits were high and packs were heavy. We hiked through some boardwalks and a well marked trail in the trees to our first site. We had 2 tent pads on the shores of Charleston. We set up tents and the boys were possibly more excited than me to see my new ultralight tent be set up. The Durston only uses trekking poles and packs up as small as a water bottle. The material is so thin it is rumored to be made of a helium/spider silk weave. It worked beautifully.
Nestled on the shores of Charleston, we settled in and Dad made his epic spaghetti and dehydrated meat sauce.
Day 2 - I awoke achy and early. The instant coffee did not help. We were lounging around camp, slowly breaking down a tent when Robert started shouting:
Fish On! Fish On!
Robert loves to fish but is scared to touch them. He had brought some fish handling gloves for SOMEONE ELSE to wear. Luckily Dad took one for the team and managed to get that great beast off the hook and set it free. Robert was positively beaming.
The sun came out and our hike to the next site was uneventful and pleasant. Another 3 km with the final stretch from the trail to the site being some up and down elevation that nobody appreciated. We found another great site with 3 tent pads and a couple of picnic tables.
While we relaxed, Dad recruited John to help him bake a brownie on the camp stove. Baking a brownie in the outback is a nerve racking process my Dad has never perfected over the years. He spends the time nervously second guessing the stove's cooking temperatures, ultimately leaving it alone the entire time. The end result is always slightly crispy, often burnt outer crust with a warm and chewy center. We enjoyed it later that evening after sampling some new dehydrated- just add water meals that I had made at home as an experiment for future trips. My couscous was a hit and there was not beef or mashed potatoes leftovers either.
Day 3 - Another achy sleep and breaking down camp. There was some rain coming and I really don't like packing up wet tents. It's the worst. Juno ate someone's bagel at breakfast and then we managed to get a good start, everyone was looking forward to indoor plumbing again. It was a cool morning and the rain held off until the final stretch. The return trip was definitely muddier than we had dealt with up until then.
We walked through some canyon areas and damp spots. Some wild turkeys were wandering in a small clearing and Robert believes he saw a bear off in the woods. (I didn't wait around to find out) And all too soon we were back at the truck. A little damp and tired but relieved to have persevered. And so ended another adventure into the unknown.
