Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Melina's First Real Camping Trip

We went to Olallie Lake last weekend for Melina's first real camping trip. We've been going to Olallie Lake for several years now. The second time we went, a forest fire was sparked by lightning and we had to evacuate. Now the burned forest is starting to recover, mostly with grasses and small huckleberry bushes. Olallie means berry, and it really is huckleberry heaven. There are probably 10 different varieties of huckleberries, all with slightly different flavors.

Anyway, it was very hot during the daytime and very cold at night. Surprisingly cold. The first night I spent most of the night hovering over Melina to make sure she didn't freeze to death. She was wearing a terrycloth sleeper, two layers of fleece sleep sacks, and a cotton/wool hat. I pulled her into the sleeping bag with me, but then I was worried about suffocating her and it was impossible to change position or turn over, so I didn't sleep at all. Melina slept like a log.

The second night was a little warmer. We swaddled M. and then put her in a fleece sleepsack. She slept like a log again, and this time I got a little sleep too.

We went hiking on Saturday. Olallie Lake has some wonderful hiking. Lots of small alpine lakes with easy trails lined by huckleberry bushes. Definitely a good place to hike with a kid.

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