Summit Lake Boondock Becomes Daydock

When we drove along Summit Lake yesterday, we fell in love with the ice-scape, and decided to move to one of the lakeside turnouts to boondock there for a night. We even picked a spot we liked, though I suspected that it might be a boat launch. We would figure it out today.

We were in no hurry to leave our Isabel Pipeline Camp boondock this morning, so we took our time. I even managed to sit out in the sun for my morning tea since there was no wind blowing. Then, around 10:00a, we left for Summit Lake ... just a few short miles south on the Richardson.

What a shock! Where was all the ice? It had disappeared overnight. In its stead, we found pond-calm conditions and amazing reflections. As we checked out the various turnouts again, I took the opportunity to take photos. A decision that proved smart!

When we got to the site that I suspected was a boat launch, we found all the ice in that corner of the lake, brought there by the currents and prevailing winds. We also found two RVs already at the site ... preparing to put boats in the water. Suspicions confirmed, I took a few photos and we turned around to one of the other turnouts.

We settled in quickly ... pulled out our camp chairs ... and decided to have our wine and snacks for lunch since we suspected that the temps would make it too cold to sit out at dinner time. Hah! By then we were long gone from the site.

Yup, jiggled our plans again. Why? It wasn’t the traffic on the Richardson. That was nil ... mostly campers going back home for the work week. No, the distant clouds that were dumping rain had begun gathering above us. The wind was whipping up, too ... though there were moments of calm. Not quite the conditions we had anticipated for our stay.

So, after having enjoyed the boondock site for about five hours, we decided to head back north up the Richardson. No real plans ... we’d stop where we felt like doing so.Read more