On Superbowl weekend, we headed to Wildcat Campground at Eastman Lake to hike the entire Lakeview Trail up to Raymond Bridge.
Last time we hiked the Lakeview Trail was with Meeks. We went from the campground to the bench at the 1 mile marker on the trail and back to campground, total 4 miles. That was in May 2021 and Meeks was still able to hike that distance. Sadly, she passed away at the age of 17 at the end of January 2022.
Since we no longer had to worry about long distances, we decided to try completing the 8 mile roundtrip from the parking lot to Raymond Bridge and back. Last time we tried this hike in May 2017 the water level of the lake was so high that we could not complete the hike. This time on a very unseasonably hot day, 84 degrees, we made it!
The water level is extremely low! California needs rain or this year's snowmelt better be enough to fill the lake like it looked back in 2017. The Chowchilla River is so low that sandbars are visible.
Back at camp, we enjoyed our favorite quiet spot away from the crowds, which are located over the knoll in the other campground. There was one other camper during the day and another couple came in right before dusk. Although numerous times through the night we heard the coyotes howling, the howling didn't disturb us since we knew we were guest in the coyotes' habitat.
We woke after a very peaceful sleep to sunshine and warmth. We sat outside for our breakfast and enjoyed the view with sounds of the birds chattering.
Ming checked the screws on RV before heading down the trail by campground to the spillway area.
From the spillway area, we took a trail that turned into an animal trail down to the lake. This area is normally way under water. The dam is in the background of the photo above. California needs rain because I doubt the snowmelt will fill this area to how it was in 2017.
We passed many areas that had mooring balls resting on the ground beside rocks. So sad to see this, but at same time interesting to see how many mooring balls are positioned around this area of the lake.
A bit of Spring's sunshine to remind us that Winter is almost over.
