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Lake Pettit in the Sawtooth National Forest
As I left Sun Valley in my rear view Mirror, I had my GPS pointing me towards McCall, Idaho. I wanted to go over the mountain pass outside of Sun Valley. Sometimes the GPS would show me this route, and other times my only options were to go back through Sun Valley and through Boise, Idaho. I finally got it to point me to the mountain pass and off I went.It was quite a beautiful drive over the mountains and on the other side were these beautiful rocky peaks, some still had snow. It was an even more beautiful place to me, then Sun Valley, and much less crowded.
This place had a great feeling. I saw a dirt road off to the left with a sign that said Pettit Lake. I made a spontaneous turn and headed the two miles of dirty, dusty road to one of the most beautiful places. I got the last available campsite.Borrowed from the Sawtooth National Forest USDA Website:
Pettit Lake Campground is located approximately two miles west of Hwy 75 on FS Rd 208. It is in a secluded area next to Pettit Lake nestled at the base of rolling hills and majestic peaks. Swimming, fishing, kayaking and canoeing are wonderful activities for Pettit lake. There are 9 single-sites and 3 double-sites which are all first-come, first-serve. Tin Cup trailhead leading into the beautiful Sawtooth Wilderness is located at the north end of the campground. There is a day use picnic area adjacent to the campground. Personal watercraft are not allowed on Pettit lake.
When I stopped at my campsite, I got out of the van and immediately hiked down a nearby trail to check out the views on the side of the lake. They were incredible. I loved this place. When I came back to the van the camp host Rachel, was waiting for me. “I was wondering where you were,” she said. She asked me if I would be staying and I noticed my van was in the direct sun and it was still quite hot out. She said “well, we have some cloud cover, and there are some thunder storms coming in.” I said “okay, I am staying and gave her the $16.00 fee for the night.
Rachel was a young woman, most likely a free spirit like myself, who decided to leave her former life behind and try out camp hosting. She lived in a Class B Motor-home at the park. After we talked for a while she told me she liked me and found me really interesting. I said “thank you, I like you too.”That evening Rachel swung by my camp and we chatted some more. She expressed an interest in music, so I showed her my new instrument, the strum stick, and played my new song for her. Before long we were both singing my theme song.
I took two hikes along the lake trail. One that evening and further down the trail in the morning. It was truly an incredible place. No cell phone service. Just peace and quiet.After a beautiful morning hike along the lake, I packed up the van to move to my next destination. I was truly happy to have stumbled upon Lake Pettit. This was the kind of place that made my spirit soar.
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The Mount Baker Experience
As the weekend crowds poured into Birch Bay State Park, I drove up to the Mount Baker area to see if I could find a camp spot. I wasn’t worried because I could just pick up a permit at the Ranger’s station and park anywhere, but finding a camp spot where I can set up camp is much nicer. I drove into a campground a few miles out of the small mountain town of Glacier and found a great spot up on the higher level looking over the rest of the campground. I decided to stay a few days and set up my camp, including my Canopy, which is difficult for me to set up by myself.
That evening the camp host came along and told me that I had to be out of the spot tomorrow as it was reserved for the weekend. I was so bummed. I was all settled in for the weekend (It was a Thursday evening) and seriously bummed I had to not only move, but find out if I could even get another camp spot. The host said after she makes her rounds she would come back and tell me what would be opening up the next day. It took her quite a long time but she came back, as she said she would, and told me there were three sites that she knew of opening up and she gave me the numbers. She said that there was a nice one right on the river opening up but it was a first come, first serve site and she didn’t know when they were leaving.
The next morning, when I woke up, I made coffee and decided to take a walk to check out the three sites. The one on the river was already vacated at 8am, so I took my shawl out and threw it over the picnic table and put my coffee cup on it. I then ran back to my campsite and grabbed my camp chair and actual table cloth and took it to my new camp site.Life upgraded me to a beautiful space right on the rushing river. It was inconvenient to have to move, yes, but well worth it.
My journey up to Mount Baker was beautiful. I hiked the Chain Lakes trail to the summit and hit the snow so decided to go back down the way I came rather than try to navigate all the snow banks ahead. The views from the summit were incredible and it was just as beautiful hiking back down the Mountain as going up. It was a tough, up hill hike, but well worth the journey.
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Most Beautiful Place
I sit here, perched above the rushing river, at sunset, my feet soaking in a tub of hot water. I heated river water on my Coleman stove. I just hiked with my friend Doc up to 13,000 ft elevation where we met with the Continental Divide Trail. We took Doc’s 4wd miles up a pretty rugged road leading us up the side of the mountain, until it opened up into a heavenly expanse of mountains and meadows, filled with wild flowers, including the state flower, the Columbine.I was in complete awe of the beauty. We were in such a remote area. We climbed the trail taking us straight up the side of the mountain. There were beautiful fairy glens, where streams were coming down the mountains and wild flowers of deep, rich colors were growing in abundance.
We had to take it slow and take plenty of breaks because the altitude was so high. At the top we reached temperatures of 42 degrees. I was grateful I brought my heavy windbreaker as the wind was very strong.
After a beautiful day of hiking we came back to my amazing new camp right on the river. Across the river was a very tall waterfall falling from the mountains above. I still had cell service, my hotspot worked great and I could work from this beautiful spot in nature.In so many ways this is the experience I had been seeking; getting away from the commercial campgrounds and out in nature with no disturbances other than the Off Road Vehicle traffic that seemed to like the side gravel road running by my camp.
Being only a couple miles from town, I could easily drive to the coffee shop every morning, charge up my electronics and visit with the locals.It is nearing the end of June now and I must say time seems to have slowed down. It is hard to believe it has been only a month on the road. Sometimes it feels I’ve been out here so much longer. The first day of summer was last week and I still have the whole summer ahead of me.
A friend asked me about the concept of “time going slow” and asked “doesn’t this mean you aren’t having fun?” This is because it is said “time flies when you are having fun.” I asked him “wouldn’t you rather time slowed down when you were having fun so you can savor every moment?”Time is a gift right now and I am embracing the slow paced van life I am living. I don’t know when I will move on. Right now, I am loving where I am at and won’t “move on” until I feel the call. After all, isn’t this what my trip is all about? Following the call of spirit? I say YES!
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The Mystical Van Kitchen Tour
Since I am a healthy eater, adhering to a plant based vegan diet, it is important to me to have a functional kitchen. I put a lot of thought into putting this mini-van kitchen together in a way that didn’t require a lot of stuff, but still got the job done. For example I have one large sauce pan with a steamer basket and lid, and one frying pan. That’s it for pans. I have two forks, knives and spoons, and one set of bamboo utensils including spoons and spatulas. I have two bowls, two plates and a couple storage containers with lids. I’ve got two dish towels and a couple dish cloths. Trader Joes also carries these amazing inflatable sponges that take up very little room. All of the above fit into my Walmart crate that 
fits on the bottom rack of my two rack shelf unit. The Coleman two burner cook-stove fits perfectly on the top rack.I love my igloo 12 volt fridge/cooler. You can set it upright or use it like a regular cooler. I choose to set it upright to create more space for my two small drawers that house my food and spices.
I am giving you a tour today as I create a delicious Tempeh Stir-fry. A very quick and easy recipe that can be made in fifteen minutes. I just saute’ red onion and peppers, add a block of cubed tempeh (a fermented soy product) and add spices, like cumin, turmeric, chipoltle chilli seasoning, and Tamari. I brown the tempeh first and then throw in the onions and peppers, but you could do it the other way around. I just like my veggies lightly cooked.For a quick “van tour” my friend Hinton took a video that you can watch here.
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The Narcissistic Neighbor
While traveling in my mini van I am dependent upon campgrounds and National Forest Lands to park at night. When in a campground, one doesn’t get to choose her neighbors. Well, do we ever?My neighbors in the Rio Grande Canyon were a group of party animals, but there was one such animal, in the group, although I never saw his face, I most certainly heard his voice. He had one of those really loud, obnoxious voices and he never stopped talking. Never!
The campground had quiet hours from 10pm to 8am so I thought maybe the party might die down after 10pm, but no such luck. I don’t know what it is with certain people, under the influence of alcohol, who feel they have to talk, like there is heavy machinery in use.
I wanted to jump out of my van and march over there, all wild haired and wide eyed and say “Hey, indoor voices,” even though we were technically outdoors. But with my experience with narcissists, I knew it wouldn’t end well for me. It never does. Instead I opted to accept this obnoxious invasion into my peace and tranquility as part of the journey. After all, every journey has it’s darkness and its light.
Most people respect the rules of the camp, but narcissists never believe the rules apply to them. This group kept talking until about 4am, and I was awake for most of it. Since his voice was dominating the conversation, I imagined the rest of his group started yawning and dropping like flies. If I could have been so lucky. It was likely after the last person in the group dropped that he finally stopped talking and I finally got some sleep.
The next morning the women in the neighboring group made a beeline for my shade spot equipped with their lawn chairs and tarps and this was before breakfast. It felt like they wanted to lay claim to the aspen tree before anyone else could, even though they weren’t planning on being there right away. I knew this was my cue to pack up and move on down the road. Life always provides cues, if we pay attention. And so the journey continues….