Family Of Four Travels: September 2020

Summary

Spent 3 days at Silver City Mountain Resort. Total out of pocket: $2216.91 (did not include outdoor kit stuff as some people may already have that).

Rented SUV (Ford Flex) through Enterprise via costcotravel. Unlimited miles. Declined all insurance and put it on Sapphire Preferred for their primary coverage.
Spent the night in Bakersfield on the drive up to make it easier.
The final ~20 mile drive on Mineral King road is no joke. It is similar to the road to Hana in Maui for those who have done that drive. There are steep drop-offs on the side and many switchbacks on a single lane road. We were glad to do it in the daytime and it took a lot of concentration. However, the scenery was enjoyable and we were completely as we took it very slow (took about 1 1/2 hours up and 1 hour down).

Used 2 free night certificates for 2 rooms on the stay (they were able to expire and Radisson would not extend them).
This allowed us to get more room for the family and gave us access to 2 mini-fridges.

This was overkill for our family of four but no other larger cabins were available at the time we looked. The chalet could have easily accommodated 2 families.
The cabin was fantastic. Full size refrigerator, stove, and satellite wi-fi (which was fast enough to allow both our children attend classes via Zoom each day).
They had propane lamps throughout the chalet that kept it warm and well lit at night. However, air upstairs became super dry.

We had a campfire every night and made s'mores. The smell and atmosphere of the place was perfect.
The hikes were excellent. Few people (everyone we did come across were super friendly), beautiful scenery.
We came across a family of grazing deer as we were leaving from our White Chief Canyon trail hike. It was surreal to have them so close!

There was no cell phone coverage once we embarked on Mineral King road, but our chalet came with satellite wi-fi.
The main store also has communal wi-fi and a pay phone out front.
There was no cell reception at all the entire time we were up there.

There was some laundry machines at the store and one of the hosts seemed to indicate it would be alright to use them if we had our own detergent. She seemed surprised at the request so it seems like that isn't a normal request.
We opted to hand wash and hang dry at the chalet.

We brought all our own food and water. From everything we researched the food at the restaurant is really good, but very expensive so we brought a lot of food.
The food total is a little bloated, we bought a cooler for ~$40 and some other household things during Costco trip.
The full size refrigerator and kitchen made it easy to cook.
Apparently the tap water is potable, but we brought 8 gallons drinking + bottled water so just used that.
We ended up with a surplus of food and water that we brought home.
There is a coffee press that is provided and free coffee grounds.
We bought 3 slices of pie (including the famed pecan) for ~$21. Preferred the pecan and chocolate over the apple/blueberry.

Hiking backpacks for the girls. These were awesome.
Paracord bracelets. Girls loved the whistle and we kept using them to indicate slow down when we'd get separated hiking.
Solar portable chargers. Didn't really need them but brought them in case our phone batteries ran low (for taking pictures/video).
Plasma lighter. This is a super cool trinket but using matches was easier due to the small arc.

Things that went well

Really glad we rented an SUV, the drive was pretty tough on the vehicle. Our cars would've had issues with the climb/decent.
We learned to make some really cool campfires! The girls had a ton of fun collecting tinder and kindling, and then toasting marshmallows.

Lessons for next time

We bought hiking poles but forgot to bring them. White Chief Canyon trail was a tough hike at 9000' and having the poles would've made it so much easier. We did not end up making it to the end to the mines.