Lake Shasta 2012: With Family, Sister, Niece, Nephew

We had a very nice Shasta trip this year with my Sister, niece, and nephew joining the fun.  It was hot and the lake was considerably down from last August and definitely since May, but it didn’t diminish the joy we had in swimming, fishing, having great pancake, bacon, and hash brown breakfasts, and seeing some awesome wildlife.

 

After work, last Thursday we headed up to the lake with enough time to set up camp with some daylight.  We got the same campground from two years ago which was big enough to have two large tents.  It was a beautiful night full of stars and no moon.

The next morning, I got up with the girls and climbed down the bluff behind our campground to the lake to fish.  Back in May, it was a short five minute easy climb; however, this time it took about thirty minutes climbing over boulders.  That was ok though because we got to experience a wonderful sunrise.

We got back to camp, had breakfast and then headed out for a swim before my sister and her kids showed up.  While it was in the 100’s, the lake was like bath water.

Now I haven’t seen my niece and nephew in two years so it was very nice to see them.  The kids were great and Emma, Sophie, and Myles had a wonderful time playing with them, taking hikes and fishing.  On Saturday, we were able to get to our favorite fishing and swimming hole.  For the last couple of years, this has meant that we could actually jump from the bridge that protected the cove from boaters.  This year the bridge was 30 feet up!  It didn’t stop some of the more adventuresome water-skiers from climbing half way up, but we weren’t having any of it.

 

Emma was the only one to catch a fish; however, the kids had great time fishing, learning to cast, and just patiently waiting.  This is the first year we have ever caught a fish from the bank in the summertime and I really felt bad that the rest of the kids didn’t catch anything.  Sophie did so well four summers ago up at Toccannon, catching over 20 trout that it is hard for her to understand that there is a fishing season in California, especially when she sees her sister catch one.

 

At night we would roast hot dogs and eat S’mores.  The kids and I took a hike to see the Osprey nest as well as fishing down by the boat dock.

All in all it was a very special camping trip I am sure our kids and my niece and nephew will remember for years.