Jim is gearing up for opening – accumulating supplies, ordering stock, packing his gear. Opening up the resort varies from year to year, snowfall to snowfall, project to project. This year we have our priorities – finishing the bathhouse, planning for hiker shuttles if the lake is low – but we always have certain chores. I revisited last year’s photo album and think that it’ll be a similar process this year.
Opening of 2010 was quite a different story – we had an big snowfall year and an entire crew went in to dig out the store, motel rooms, and yurt. Working in those conditions is a challenge because there’s no water except snowmelt until the crew can get to the lines, valves and tank. Roy, Jamie, and John were a big part of getting the resort dug out, keeping the fires burning and the food coming, and making it happen for 2010. 2011 was even more of a challenge as it kept snowing through the spring and it was only because the dam at Edison Lake needed some attention that Kaiser Pass Road opened as early as it did. Again the VVR crew rallied to wrestle the forces of nature in time to get the resort open by Memorial Day.
Well, we won’t see that this year. Instead of digging into buildings we’ll be able to focus on projects, improvements, and pretty things. Rooms will get a fresh coat of paint, the store may get a remodel, and perhaps I’ll get my boat planter completed before opening.
*Something along these lines anyway* as this is someone else’s work of art and I have a fishing boat to work with, not a canoe, but I use this photo as a source of inspiration. We’ll have to do native plants so my choices will be penstemon, columbine, and manzanita instead of lettuce and other veggies.
Last year we experienced the big Sierra ‘blow-down’, with hundreds to thousands of trees uprooted. Jim and I took our first hike in mid-May last year and had to clamber over more than a few large trees that blocked the Mono Creek trail early season, and more than one hiker told us tales of the trees down on the PCT and JMT. Trail crews had their hands full and the Backcountry Horsemen groups did an incredible job early in the summer getting the trees off the trails.
It is always wonderful to be out in the Sierra when the melt is happening and creeks are rushing. Mono Creek carries water from the high Sierra into Edison Lake and is beautiful any time of the year but especially in late spring and early summer when the water is high and fast.
We try to make a point of getting out before the resort opens and after it closes as it can be very difficult to walk away during the season. Only important events like grandbabies and other milestone family events pull us away when we’re open. And even when I do drag Jim out for a hike or a ride he’s got his phone glued to his hip and is often in this pose:
What can you do?
All signs point to early hikes this year. My advice is to get into the Sierra early and often. You’ll see wildlife you don’t see later in the season, have the mountains nearly all to yourself, and extend a season that is often fleeting. We can’t believe how quickly it goes by once it is here.
This summer promises to be a long one with an early start and we’re working on bringing in music on mid-summer weekends, setting up a volleyball court out on the lakebed sand, and perhaps even hosting open-mic and game nights. Bingo in the backcountry, anyone?
Behind the Scenes at VVR 