What to bring to the Lair of the Golden Bear

Updated from a 2009 blog entry based on feedback and review.

We've camped at Lair of the Golden Bear in week 2 for many years now.  Week 2 has occasionally started with snow on the ground and ended with 80 degree days, so the weather planning is key.  This list of things to bring is based on the official source, Bad Mom's blog, and my previous blog entry on the topic.

Cleaning 
Newbies note: Your cabin should come equipped with a broom.  Sweep out the spiders and debris before moving in.


Bedding and linens
A warm sleeping bag, pillows, and pillowcases
Electric blanket (This turns out to be a good idea as of 2010)
Heating pad (good to warm inside of sleeping bag)
A twin sized sheet and/or pad to cover the mattress under your sleeping bag. This prevents your sleeping bag from slipping off the mattress quite so easily.
Towels: beach towels, shower towels, and washcloths

Costumes
Disco Bingo or a skit might require appropriate clothing or costumes beyond your Lair clothes.  For Disco Bingo many people wear 70s era disco clothing - the wilder the better.  You are the best judge if you need this or clothing for any skit you want to perform at the Golden Review (camper talent show).

Clothing
Bring casual old clothing to stand up to the Lair's dusty environment. Be prepared for warm days and cool nights. There are washing machines at the Lair. They are free as is the detergent, but I'd hate to be surprised.
shortsbathing suits (consider 2 pair for kids because this is the 24/7 uniform for certain ages and they get worn playing in the creek)
long pants - mostly for warmth in the evening
sweaters / fleece wear
jacket - it can rain, so a shell with a zip-in liner would be a good move here
hats: knit for cold nights and brimmed for day time sun protection
rain gear
sweatpants that can double as pajamas
long underwear (also for PJs)
Shoes - hiking boots or trail running shoes
In-camp shoes
flip flops
Aqua socks - for creek crawling. Better than an old pair of tennies.

Recreational and Activity items
reading materials, board games, playing cards
white t-shirts for tie-dye or t-shirt painting
camera
books
journal
fishing pole and tackle. 8-12 year olds have group fishing activities.
(die hard Lair campers will want to remember their softball mitts too)
swim goggles - chlorine in the pool is kept high
your own supply of bisqueware (they have only basic shapes).
your own garments for tie die (The General Store will have suitable items too).


For your cabin
Cabins have electrical outlets and a single switched light bulb.
Largish plastic bins for organization
alarm clock
ice chest (with a secure lid because squirrels and raccoons are hungry)
secure plastic tub for snacks
folding camp chairs
folding camp table
clamp on lights and extension cords
extension cords
Exterior lights of some sort - Distinctive lights help you find your way back to the cabin after dark. Some people had novelty Christmas lights, or even the standard twinkly sort.
plastic bags for trash (or recycle ice bags)
hammer and nails (bring the hammer at least so that you can drive in a nail that surfaced over the winter)
screw hooks (if you aren't satisfied with using a nail)

Miscellaneous vacation needs
flashlights: at least one for each family member
sunglasses: UV is more intense at altitude
laundry soap (in case there's none provided)
quarters (for laundry if it's gone back to a paid system)
clothesline and clothespins
markers for identifying your stuff or marking schedules, etc.
backpacks for everyone (makes carrying towels, etc. a lot easier)
pocket knife
cheese knife (if the pocket knife won't do)
church key (redundant if the pocket knife has one)
corkscrew
wine glasses (plastic)
sparkling  wine stopper (provided you plan to have or save any)
moleskin for blisters (the first aid tent is liberal with giving this out, but you might as well be prepared)


Toiletries
Your usual plus:
A+D ointment. It's dry and this is great for chapped skin.
sunscreen
insect repellent
anti-itch medicine such as hydrocortisone - mosquitos are the worst.
chapstick with sunscreen
band aids
neosporin


Food
Cooler for chilling your drinks
Snacks - Just bring enough for the car and a famished kid emergency, though juice or soft drinks might suit you better. Food is so plentiful at meal times in camp that it's really overkill to bring more. That said, there's a lot of overkill going on.  Cheese, dips, and crackers are useful to share at cocktail hour.  The water tastes delicious there, so I tend to enjoy a lot of that.

Adult libations - Wine to share at the lodge, after the kids have gone to bed or for cocktail hour get-togethers. Beer tastes better than usual at the Lair and it's handy to share.

Flora of Lair of the Bear 6-16-13

I took these pictures last summer during a family vacation near Pinecrest.  Pinecrest Lake is shown below.

I took a simplistic approach to identifying them with the help of CalFlora.org and my own intuition, so the IDs could be wrong.

View from tent 35

Down by the creek.



- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Looking forward to the Lair

I'm packing today - the house and for our Lair of the Bear vacation.  The blog may go into brief hiatus depending upon how much fun I'm having doing other things.

See also Cannonical list of things to bring to the Lair

Ubiquitous tiny yellow meadow flower

Perhaps it's too small to be found in most popular references. This is all over the Sierra right now.






Hypericum doesn't seem right.



I wonder what it is.

- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Seen around camp

My best guess is Arctostaphylos patula (Greenleaf manzanita).


Iris hartwegii (Hartweg's Iris):


This is smaller than the more widespread variety, Iris missouriensis, and is found in dry pine forests. Colors range around camp, with some paler yellow and white.

Lupinus breweri has a matted, clumping, growth habit.


The flowers look like this:


And this:


- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Seen on the way to Reservoir Lake

Cool log cabin. There's a number of more modern structures and an extensive packing / camping operation out of here. This is just under 7000 feet.


Kennedy Meadow:


Wyethia mollis (Wooly Mules Ears), just coming into bloom:


Looking back the way we've just come:







Old hardrock mine. It looks collapsed just inside.



Reservoir Lake. It's owned by PG&E, presumably to provide water for hydropower further downstream.



- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Seen on a hike to Cleo's baths

Lupinus stiversii (Harlequin lupine):




Meadowlands, with a bazillion ladybugs.


Dudleya calcicola (Limestone Dudleya), I think, on a granite outcropping.




Unknown:


Manzanita leaves with parasitic insect action: none, new, and old:


Hiker:


Calochortus venustus (Butterfly Maroppsa Lily), I think. I found only two of these and the other was not yet in bloom. This has three-fold symmetry. I wonder how common that is? Maybe only lillies have it?



Castilleja lemmonii (Meadow Paintbrush) buy it could also be C. applegatei or some other.



Calyptridium umbellatum (Pussypaws): not shown.



The baths:


I went in, but it was so cold that it got painful very rapidly. This was snow melt only an hour or so ago.

- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Sierra meadow, ~5700 ft

I'm at Lair of the Bear with family. Few wildflowers are to be found due to the recent end of winter. This meadow had one blooming plant that I think is Dodecatheon hendersonii aka Sailor Caps or Mosquito Cap, though I would have called them Shooting Stars.













This is right in the middle of camp. In a few weeks there ought to be some wildflowers.

- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

Snow plant, Sarcodes sanguinea

Snow plants seem one of the first to bloom in the Sierra. They derive energy from soil mycorrhizae, which in turn get their energy from roots and soil decomposition processes. I read some time ago that they are edible, like asparagus, however they are protected and I've never tasted them.

Last year we saw fewer of these and more flowers of other types, indicating a later stage in the bloom cycle. With many trail heads still snowed in this year, peak bloom seems a ways off. Maybe we'll get lucky and see it start to come in.

Here's some babies, I think, about 3" tall at the peak.

A comment from Dylan Eichenberg drew my attention to my misidentification of the picture below.  He rightly points out that it is Pine Drops (Pterospora andromedea).




- Posted at great expense from my iPhone

The great Lair mushroom hunt

When I was at Lair of the Bear, I went mushrooming with Amy BeberVanzo. Here's a nice photo of her posing by road marker 5N67 - the farthest afield that we roamed (near 8000' elevation).




A year or two ago she found Porcini mushrooms just off a nearby access road. We didn't have luck finding any Porcini, or delectable mushrooms of any kind. The best we found was "edible but inconsequential" (Orange Peel mushroom) and "thought to be edible" (puffballs). We did have a great time walking and exploring and I came back with these amazing pictures. Thanks, Amy!











This is a marmot. We were somewhere around 7500' elevation.






















There were a couple of this golden hued mushroom that glowed like a leprechaun's pot of gold.













































I found a few of these slime molds too. They have a very short life span. VERY slimy!



















Orange Peel mushroom.



































Termites were swarming a fallen log and a dead tree
































Puffballs!


































The insides of the puffballs go from looking like a soft, ripe cheese to looking like this as they get progressively riper.



















































































Do you know what this is?



















Here it is again. Now do you know?






































Yes, I know it's not a mushroom. Later I'll have to post about all the flowers that I couldn't identify without help.