It’s become a bit of a summer tradition to spend a week at the cabin in Arnold, we kept it up this year with plenty of fishing, swimming mountain biking and generally making the most of the fresh mountain air. We had great weather with clear blue skies and warm temps every day, almost going through a whole bottle of sunscreen between the four of us over the span of seven days (one of our favorite barometers of time spent outdoors…). Max pulled more fish out of the lake at Lakemont Pines than either of us could count, and the two of us also enjoyed hooking some wild trout in the Stanislaus one evening after the sun was off the water. Good memories, and the German brown we took back to the house was very tasty in a cream cheese spread concoction I put together the next day.
It was great to host the McGarry family again, just like we did last year. All the kids (again) got on like a house on fire, and it was lots of fun catching up with Michele and Jim over the few days they joined us. So much action with them packed into a few days: (quite a few) beers on the lake, live music at The Lube Room, a trip to Natural Bridges and Murphys, as well as some fishing lessons from Jim for the boys. It went by too fast, but stoked they made the stop on their way to Lake Tahoe for Independence Day with Michele’s brother and his family.
I think my favorite adventure of the trip was our bike and swim day up at Lake Alpine towards the end of the week. It was a hot one at the cabin, so we escaped the heat at 7,300 feet with a fun loop to the top of Cape Horn trail followed by the afternoon relaxing on the warm granite boulders lining the lake. We only gained about 1,000 feet of elevation during the ride, but with the trailhead starting above 7,300 feet we could all feel the burn in our quads and lungs on the way up. Swimming in Lake Alpine just never gets old, it’s so picturesque up there. Was pretty cool to watch a mating pair of bald eagles circle the lake to catch fish as we swam.
A great week, can’t wait to do it again next summer!
Great photos and review have a wonderful vacation at the cabin. So happy that you had such a great time .
Gramps
WOW!!! Hiking/exploring, floating, and biking. What more can you ask for? Oh yea, the MUSIC entertainment/food must have been GREAT. Love you pictures and narrative.
Uncle AL
I had a mtn bike accident….fell on my side going uphill over some rocks. Bruised my ribs on right side. Very tender. Need to wait a couple weeks before more riding again..