Up the Lake on Wheels

Impossible, you say? Well, not really. But this is one adventure I didn't get to participate in except for launch and recovery. Wayne and John used our cedar log raft to tow their quads up to the head of Powell Lake for three nights of camping and two days of riding. But first, the raft needed a bit of modification to make it go faster.

The weather needed to be timed for no rain (makes tent camping easier) and calm water (makes towing easier). To be ready for such a window, Wayne and John decided to tow the quads up and preposition them at our cabin. For the next few days, looky-loos in Hole in the Wall had something new to catch their attention.

On Sunday morning, John arrived with his dog Bro ready to go. They weren't sure how long it would take, but estimated five hours. But first, John set up our Campion to push the raft. He thought it would be easier to handle and faster that way. So with lots of extra gas (for the quads and boat), tents, sleeping bags, tons of food, our trusty BBQ, and our tin boat, off they went.

At the head, they were able to tie up to the old logging dock and offload the bikes right there. Pretty slick. Just tie up once and you're done. Otherwise, they could have used the barge ramp. They set up camp right there since they wouldn't be in anyone's way. All logging has shut down for now and Plutonic Power has completed their transmission line installation.










There are extensive logging roads that start at the head of Powell Lake, but they can't be reached from anywhere else. John and Wayne rode for hours each day to dynamic viewpoints, the mill's old snow survey cabin, and cool mountain streams perfect for a cooling swim.

Wednesday was return trip time. This would be a longer trip, all the way back to the Shinglemill Marina in one day. The first leg down to our cabin took about five and a half hours. From the cabin, John, Mom and I went down the lake in his boat while Wayne slowly plugged along.

John and I hurried down so we could serve as Wayne's landing crew. We met up at Kinsman Beach (right where the adventure began) and John used his ramps to offload the bikes from the raft to the shore. Pretty slick! Swimmers out on a warm summer day thought so too.

In addition to John and I, Helen and Ed came down to serve as a welcoming committee and quad shuttle crew. Then off Wayne went, to take the raft up to John's cabin, another hour away. It was quite an adventure, the coming, the going and the riding. Maybe next time I'll be able to tag along. -- Margy