Sylvan Lake

The Sylvan Lake campgrounds are five miles up a dirt road from the visitor center. The road was hard-packed but full of potholes, so the going was a bit rough. But we’re veterans of the dirt roads of Alaska, so we did fine.

We’re in site 22 in the Elk Run Campground. We’re dry camping here for four nights. For those not familiar with the terminology, dry camping means that we have no utility hook-ups … no water, no electricity, no sewer. No worries, though. We are self-sufficient. Solar panels float our house batteries … supplemented by our generator when necessary. We have a tankful of fresh water … and our grey and black tanks (for sink/shower and toilet water, respectively) are empty.

There is no cell signal … no wifi. We are unplugged from the world … except that we’ve got a clear view of the southern sky … which means that our satellite TV is working. So, we have entertainment for when we are not outdoors.

The campground is situated at 8,500 feet … give or take 100 feet, depending on where your site is located. It is in a scenic high valley surrounded by mountains clad with trees. There are lots of aspen stands amongst the pine trees. I bet this place is gorgeous in the fall when the aspens turn golden yellow.

Since lunch was early, we had dinner early … eating indoors at the dinette because the windchill made it a bit too crisp to sit outside. Fingers crossed well have better luck in the days ahead.

The sun is now out and inviting us to take a quick walk down to the lake. Time to live in the moment!Read more