Although we only had about 1/2 of the crew able to make it, we we couldn't have asked for a better weekend up at Camp Nelson. The weather was perfect for camping, the days were in the 60's and the nights were cool, in the mid 40's. Unfortunately they had fire restrictions in place below 5,000 ft and where we were was right around 4,980 ft (even though my GPS was saying 5,018), so they didn't want to bend the rules, even though the Fire Marshall came through and said it was Ok to have camp fires

. But fortunately we brought a propane fire pit and we were allowed to burn that, to have a little ambiance and warmth in the evenings.
They had just stocked the river with Rainbows a couple days before we got there so there was fishing galore. So even before camp was set up the poles were in the river pulling out some nice trout. Friday afternoon we just hung out around camp, took a short hike, fished some more and of course had to make a nice warm Chicken and Shrimp Udon Stir fry.
Saturday Morning we woke up and poles were back in the river, where the trout were a little hungrier than they were the previous afternoon. So needless to say we just pushed repeat and hung out around camp all day, but who can blame us when you have 2 honey holes and you can see the fish in the river from the camp site! So obviously after fishing all day we filleted up the dozen or so trout we caught and had a fish fry for dinner, complete with homemade potato chips, zucchini wedges and fried onions!
On Sunday we discussed driving to the top of the mountain to try and take some trails around the West side of the mountain, but after talking to the rangers they said there was still snow on some of the higher elevation trails and were impassible, like last year. So we opted to just hang out in camp again, where we spend the day fishing, hiking up the river and playing a couple games of Bocce Ball around the, at times, challenging terrain of the campsite. All in all it wasn't a bad plan B from wheeling and I must admit, was a much needed relaxing weekend hanging out with good people, beautiful views and great food.
I think everyone who brought their kids, got to let them make some new memories and let their adventurous imaginations run wild, from hunting bears with handmade carved spears, to learning how to start a fire using good ole flint strikers.
All in all good times, even if we didn't get any wheeling in, I still wouldn't trade it.