Lake of the Woods – Aspen Point

This was a really beautiful campground that would be even nicer if it were a bit less cold and rainy. We came to this place a few years back and used the day use area to launch my kayak. I made a note to return and will make the same note now but try to time it for just a bit later.

Richard was originally thinking about biking from Emigrant to the campground, seeing as it is not too far away and all uphill. We took Dead Indian Memorial Road the whole way and it would have been a good climb for him. However, since the weather called for rain and the skies were overcast all day, he bailed. In fact, it did not really start raining until after we had gotten set up, but there were some drizzles that would have made him cranky. We chilled and he got some work done while I caught up on the blog. And we listened to music, and the rain on the roof, and ran the heater. We are both very happy to have dual propane tanks on Dory2.

The next day I woke up feeling unwell. I immediately noticed feeling parched in the morning and then realized we were at 5,000 feet almost exactly. I had not been paying attention and had not been consciously drinking water the day before. I had also enjoyed my usual wine at bedtime, so I was screwed. It is amazing how particularly my body responds to elevation, and it seems to be consistent at the 5k threshold. It took most of the day of rehydrating and taking it easy to bounce back. We did go on a super slow hike along a lovely meadow and even if I wasn’t at full capacity, I was still able to appreciate the beauty. That was a stupid mistake, and I am reminded (again) to pay closer attention to how high we are going.

The last day was the best in terms of weather for our three-night stay. Our site was pretty close to the boat launch. There was no rain predicted and it wasn’t very windy. It would be easy to set up my boat and roll it to the launch. But see, here’s the thing: when Richard posted to his bicycling forum about not wanting to ride up Dead Indian Memorial due to chilly drizzle, he was razzed by a member who dubbed him a “whiny little bitch” and said he should “go back to California.” Other members came to Richard’s defense and downvoted the guy. Richard upvoted him and doubled down on the title. So, I too am a whiny little bitch when it comes to weather. It was like 59º and that was too brisk for me to get on the water. Instead, I put on long underwear, my fleece, my down jacket, and we walked around the lake. Mr. and Mrs. Whiny Little Bitches enjoying a peaceful hike, remarking frequently on the chill factor every time there was a breeze. We are whine compatible and that’s what matters.

After dinner, we put our damp towels out to air out, while we walked over to the resort to get ice cream bars from the general store. They have a restaurant and a lodge to go with a big-rig hookup campground. There are also cabins you can reserve and lots of activities you can attend, like live music and movie nights. They have chairs set up all along the banks of the lake so you can relax and watch the Ospreys and Bald Eagles swoop down and score fishies. We saw several impressive catches.

During the whole of the stay, we got very little solar coming in. The whole campground is in thick pine shade, but our site was particularly dark. There were some sites that would probably have gotten some midday rays, but the most we got was .4 amps coming in. As I am only allowed to ask about the state of the batteries in terms of “happy face/sad face,” all I know is that they were “happy” the whole time. Richard was paying closer attention to the state of charge and the behavior of the espresso machine when it pulls its big amp draw in the mornings. The overall verdict is that we were “fine” for three days in the dark, running all the things, but would definitely have pulled out the generator if we were going to stay a fourth. Our next site has hookups and we noticed that it stayed in “bulk charging” mode for a good three hours after we plugged in. That is an indication that the batteries were low. The nice thing about lithium batteries is that you don’t have to worry quite so much about dropping into a lower state of charge because it won’t damage them.

We loved this place and would happily come again. It would be nice to boat on the lake, but it is also nice to look at the lake from the shore. Richard got in a little ride all around the circumference and the roads are in good condition. He says it was a perfect combination of nice small roads between the busier 140 and Dead Indian Memorial roads. Actually, all of the roads in Oregon put California roads to shame. Even the dirt ones. Come on California. You may be winning the weather game, but your roads suck.

Total miles (from Emigrant): 39.7, 14.4 mpg, 1 hour 37 min. No hookups, practically no solar. Max amps in was .4 when overcast in shady site. Nice boat launch. Good dump for $12. Potable water spigot comes before the dump. Great cell service for both of us.