Back a day early

I spent one night at Silver Fork C.G. in the El Dorado National Forest, instead of the two I anticipated.  It is a beautiful place, and I had the most scenic of all the campsites.   Unfortunately most of the sites are not level but I toughed it out for one night.  

I wanted to do some hiking to break in my new boots but never did find the trail head, and instead got sidetracked by the creek.  After sleeping in the sloping tent for one night, I am in a lot of pain in my right shoulder blade.  I did a search of that kind of pain when I got home, and the article says it's almost always related to neck pain.  I usually camp with a small pillow but didn't take it this time.  I sometimes use a pillow at home but more than not I push it out of the way.  I probably don't have problems because my mattress is so good.

Realizing I could never go through another night of the same, and possibly have worse pain tomorrow, I regretfully packed up and came home.   I'm hoping after a hot shower I'll feel better, and it will be tempting to use some Ben Gay although everything I touch will then smell like Ben Gay (with vanishing scent-yeah right!).

I took a lot of photos and may post them over a couple of days since I'm getting so wordy before I even insert a picture.   When I arrived the camp host and another camper told me all about the rain they'd had the day before.  One inch of rain in 24 hours - it must have really been something!   That left all the firewood damp so I couldn't build a fire.  I must remember to get some firestarters before my next trip.  I usually do ok with dry wood, but this stuff was still damp even though I set it in the sun all afternoon.

I loved hearing the constant sound of water rushing over, in, and around boulders.  At first the water was pretty muddy and there wasn't that much of it.  This morning it has cleared up considerably and there was significantly more volume.  What I can never get enough of is looking at all the huge and small boulders.   I believe the Sierra are granite and I guess whatever soil has clung to the rock is what's holding the trees and shrubs in place.

Click to enlarge.

My tent before I added the fly:

Looking up the gorge:

I set out to find a hiking trail but got distracted by the sound of water.  This is an area before the water gets to my site.

Where did this rock come from, and how was it formed?   It reminds me of a finial with the pointy end down.  I can't figure out what it must have broken off of.

And how did these three rocks land in this position?

 

I scrambled up and down the rocks trying to get closer to the water.  Some are huge boulders and easier to walk across, but all could easily trip me up.  I was thinking of Judy Bell with every step I took, balancing myself with the wonderful hiking stick she made.

I am very happy with what I was able to see and a little regretful that I couldn't stay an extra day.   But the way I'm hurting right now I don't think I could have had much joy hanging around.  I was able to get home by 5 pm which meant the traffic was starting to get pretty heavy towards the last few miles, but I'm home, safe and sound, and have emptied about half my gear from the car.  I may do the rest tomorrow.

After telling you in the beginning that I would do this post over two days I went ahead and did not whole thing at once.  Sorry for the length.