Woke up at 7:00, got packed up and out by 8:30. Crossed country through a bit more interesting terrain on our way to Mountain View, where we stopped at the Forest HQ and got a trail map and a tank of water. Got gas, stopped at a local pharmacy and grocery store for a few things, made a few essential phone calls, then headed south to China Meadows. Though we had to travel from 6800' to 9400', it was so gradual that it was no problem at all. The last 20 miles or so was on a dirt and gravel road with a few rough spots, but not bad compared to many that we have been on before. Along the way, the sky went from sunny to stormy, and we ran into some rain. Further along, I noticed patches of white on the ground, and upon closer inspection, realized that it was hail that must have fallen just before we got there. It was definitely cooler by about 20 degrees. Can't help but think of what a change it will be when we move to Salt Lake City on Monday, where temps are in the low 90's! Apparently this had once been a really pretty campground, but many of trees had been cut down, and very little cleanup had been done, so it's pretty ugly at the moment. The corrals are an original design, a large circle cut into triangular sections, like a pie, with each section being big enough for two or three horses (so of course the first thing the big guys did was roll in the soft dirt!). The big problem here is that, despite reassurances from the Forest Service people that water for the horses was "nearby", that turned out to be a huge exaggeration. The nearest water is a creek that's a good 100+ yards from the campground, down a steep incline with no vehicle access. In other words, we had no nearby water except if we were trail riding. We finally solved the problem by driving to an easier access point along the creek, about a half mile away, and using our little drill pump (with a new high powered electric drill we had picked, plus the generator) to fill the tubs up, much like we had to do in Wyoming. I still used the portable bucket to speed things up, so it didn't take long. The only trouble is that at this altitude, it's really hard on Hubby, who has some breathing problems anyway, so he really has to take his time doing anything, and gets short of breath almost instantly. We're hoping we'll both acclimate after a day or two, and will be happy if we get at least one ride in. No trouble getting a satellite signal here, so we settled down for the evening, taking everything nice and slow. Looks like a cold night, so I'm wearing my wool cap to bed!
