45.8 - 70

I got to spend the end of the trail with my favorit hiking partner - the woodsman.  The trail was mostly wet (either from rain or from wet ferns and mud created by the previous day's rain).  

We hiked in a half a mile from the parking lot to the Rt. 30 shelters and were blessed to have a shelter far away from everyone else with a beautiful view through the trees of the mountains beyond.  It was nice to reconnect and hear about what had been happening at home.  It was also nice to leave the fire building and water pumping to him.

I was awoken twice - once in the middle of the night when I thought I heard chewing, but then dismissed it as an over active imagination, and then a second time when I realized the light had changed.  I was delighted to see that I was able to see the sun rise from my sleeping bag in the shelter. We only had 11 miles to cover that day, and the morning was pleasant so we slept in and had a slow start to our morning.  When I pulled the food bag down I discovered that I had heard chewing - there was a hole in the bottom of the bag.  Grrr....

After a few small climbs, the majority of the day was a ridge walk through state forest and game lands.  The trail crews have had fun on this section of trail with several great benches, and even a tic tac toe game.  Ferns, and rocky out croppings abounded.

About half way through the day we started seeing giant bear tracks in the mud, but alas, no bear.

We also suprised a junco off of her nest when coming through one of the rock tunnels.  Poor bird - she probably flies off every time a hiker comes through.  What a poor choice for a nesting spot.

We got into camp shortly before it started to rain again, and settled in for another damp night.

I didn't sleep well.  I dreamed all night that the bear would come find our food bag.  I even had a dream about a carniverous deer.  Sleeping on the shelter floor was starting to get to me.

We awoke to rain on the final morning, and hiked the majority of the day in rain or drizzle.  There were a few beautiful sections of rhodedendron in the last few miles, but no views.  After a moderate descent, by about 3 PM, mile post 70 came into view.  I had done it - the end of the trail was here.  The sun came out and the fog cleared away as I neared the end.  It was good to spend the week on the trail, and good to finish my goal.  I was a little sad while cleaning up and putting the gear away when the Woodsman reminded me that the way to fix that sadness was to plan the next trip.  I'll keep you posted.  

18.8 - 46.5

Day three started out misty, and damp.  We hiked to the Rt. 653 parking lot so that I could trade hiking partners.  Dad joined me for the next 26 miles, but two 13 mile days with full packs was more than he wanted to do.  Mom crew to the rescue.  We traded full packs for day packs and headed out.

The section of trail between Rt. 653 and Rt. 31 starts with very typical sandstone rock formations covered with rocks, laurel, moss and rhododendron.  The trail elevation changes are more moderate in this section as well.  We crossed through the highest point on the LHHT in the Seven Springs ski resort area around lunch time.  By that point, the day had turned warm and humid.  Mom met us around 4:00 with hot supper, and we traded out our light day packs for our big packs.  We then headed off to the Rt. 31 shelter.

We were in shelter #5 - which is very far away from the other shelters.  We felt like we were by ourselves in the woods.  After a pleasant game of gin rummy (Dad beat me every hand), we went to sleep by the light of the fire and listening to the rain on the roof of the shelter.  We were up and out very early the next morning knowing that we had a lot of ground to cover before meeting The Woodsman in the evening.

This section of trail is pretty, but somewhat noisy.  When you start walking you can hear Rt. 31.  Then, the trail passes near a shooting range, then you begin to hear traffic noise from the PA turnpike.  Dad had been looking forward to crossing the turnpike bridge for some time and was very pleased to do so.

The trail was extremely wet.  In some places the water was up over our ankles with no way to reroute.  Welcome to day 4 of squishy feet.

We got rained on several times, but the sun was out on the prettiest section of trail near the Beams rocks area.  This section of the trail is by far my favorite.

 The last six miles were wet and long, but we made it through.  We met The Woodsman at the Rt. 30 parking lot, and I traded partners again.  It's always good to be in the woods with my Dad.  We talk, observe, and of course, I get quizzed on plant names and tree types.  Thankful for the time together and the time in the woods.

0 - 18.8

My favorite way to let go of a busy school year is to head out away from everything.  This year I decided to hike the entire Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (70 miles from start to finish).

I started the trip with a good friend from school.  We got rained on (a lot), but there's nothing like being out on the trail.

We started out at mile 0 at Ohiopyle State Park, and hiked the relatively steep section to the first shelter (6.5 miles) in a misty drizzle.  There was sun when we arrived, but we could hear thunder in the distance so we quickly did all of the in camp chores (filter water, gather wood, etc.) and then settled in for a relaxing evening of talk and enjoying the peacefulness of our surroundings.

We headed out early the next morning, knowing that we had 13 miles to cover, and that the first two were very steep (rise of 1200 feet).  We hiked through a mixture of drizzle and fog, intermixed with some sun, and several hard downpours.  So much for dry feet.

Despite the rain, the woods was magical.  The last mile and a half were pretty difficult.  I had gotten very chilled and all of my joints were aching.  Once we made it to the shelter, and I dried out and warmed up the evening was a pleasant one.  We were glad to be in the shelter instead of a tent as there were some very intense thunderstorms.  We stayed nice a cozy, and were glad that our fire building skills were such that we could start a fire with wood as wet as a sponge.

Craters of the Moon

This time of year I want to pack up and head out.  The destination isn't really all that important - I just get the drive to drive.  I find myself feeling very jealous when I see RVs heading down the highway.  They're off to new and interesting adventures, and I'm on the meal making, lesson teaching, kid activity running cycle.

When I walked past the camper this evening, and gave a small sigh,  I realized that although we're not going anywhere this summer, I still haven't shared all of last summer's adventures.  Maybe this summer I'll travel back through my memory.

When we left Golden Spike we headed to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  We thought this would be an interesting stop over on our way to the West coast.  But, it turned out to be one of those places we wished we had more time to explore.

Craters of the Moon had a wonderful visitor's center where the kids really got a first hand look at how volcanic activity happens.  Then, we headed out on a driving tour with short hikes where we learned about the formation of different kinds of lava (ah-ah, pahoehoe, lava bombs) and different kinds of volcanoes (cinder cones, shield volcanoes, etc.).  We also learned that there were lava tubes we could explore.  We made plans to return in the morning when we were better prepared with headlamps and flashlights.  We also made plans to join a ranger hike where we could learn even more about this unique place.

We fully enjoyed our visit to Craters of the Moon.  The campground was tidy, and had great natural places in the lava formations for the kids to hide and play.  The staff was outstanding and friendly; we learned so much in our short visit.  We were very sorry to leave, and stayed much longer than anticipated.  We'll be headed back there the next time we venture west.

Trying to look like they're about to get blown off the cinder cone.

Lava tube entrance

Hiking up the cinder cone

Pahoehoe (rope like) lava

Ah-Ah lava (sharp and brittle)

In the lava tube

See the lava drips?  Lava tubes are formed when some of the lava cools and the rest runs through it like a river. 

Chicks and Eggs

Lots of great little moments happening around here lately... oh - and also the spring CSA, some gifts from the woods and the first offerings from the garden are making for some lovely eating.

Salad In Jars

Do you know about these?  Why, oh why, is this the first year I'm making them.  They're so simple.  Put dressing and a protein (beans, eggs, cheese, chicken, tuna etc.) in on the bottom of the jar.  They put in heavy vegetables, top with greens.  Keep a bowl and fork at work.  Then, when it's time to eat simply dump the salad out into your bowl.  These keep great.  Now that we have lots of greens I make several at a time when I'm alreay making salad for dinner.  In the picture below: spinach with strawberries, eggs and balsalmic dressing; and taco salad.

Yakisoba

Still have a winter cabbage hanging out in your fridge?  Perfect!  Slice up half of the cabbage, chop up some carrots and some green onion.  Stir fry them in the skillet.  Add some cooked baby shrimp.  Add the seasoning mix and soy sauce to taste and heat through.  Cook three packs of Oriental Ramen Noodles for 3 min. (without the seasoning packet).  Mix Noodles and vegis together - serve in bowls with more green onion if desired.   This has become a new family favorite, and it's perfect for a laid back movie night meal - one bowl means easy couch eating and easy clean up later.

Huevos Rancheros

I hope you're drowning in eggs like we are - it's glorious!  During the summer I make Huevos Rancheros from scratch with fresh tomatoes and peppers.   However, at the moment this already simple dish is even easier.  I just open a large can of tomatoes canned with peppers and onions, and dump it in the skillet (crack open a beer at the same time for added enjoyment).  I then crack four eggs into the skillet, turn the heat to low and put on the lid.  While the eggs are cooking (6-8 min.), I heat four corn tortillas on the griddle.  When the eggs are done I put a tortilla on each plate, then an egg, then the tomato sauce, and top with cheese and green onion.  This is a perfect weeknight meal - it's also great for brunch.

Eggs Benedict

Blender Hollandaise is just way too easy to make folks - I might be addicted.  I made this for breakfast on a week day- before 6:30 in the morning- and it's now in my breakfast rotation.  Before making the sauce (because it takes all of about 30 seconds and that includes plugging in the blender), toast an English Muffin, pan fry a slice of Canadian Bacon and poach your egg.  While blending the sauce, assemble - then pour hollandaise on with abandon and dive in.  Swoon!

We were blessed with a gallon bag of morels, so I made spinach crepes filled with goat cheese and chives and topped with mushroom sauce.   The first of the asparagus went in with the mushrooms too.  

Finally, I made a delightful strawberry/rhubarb crumble with the last of the freezer strawberries and the first rhubarb.  It feels like spring for sure.  Tonight I put 2 cups of frozen strawberries, about 2 cups of chopped fresh rhubarb, a few good shakes of cinnamon and a  1/2 c. of sugar to a sauce pan and heated until the rhubarb began to break down and the mixture became thicker (about 8 min.).  While that was simmering I put 2 c. of oats, 1/2 stick of softened butter and 1/2 c. of brown sugar in a bowl and mixed it together with my fingers.  Then, I put the rhubarb into an 8x8 pan, put the oatmeal mixture on top and put it in a 350 oven for about 20 min.  Delish!

And in other news....

Peeps - 6 Gold Stars

Tractor fun while tearing down the sugar camp for the year.

He is risen indeed - Alleluia!