Muddy Boots

    Last night work called me and asked, well begged, for me to come in and work today.  Yeah Right, Not a Chance! 
A day off coinciding with 60 degrees and sunny skies in March does not sound like a work day to me.  I needed some recreation time to free my mind and I got it!  I made the choice to do a hike at Squantz Pond State Park.  Squantz Pond is a Trophy Trout Lake and a Walleye Lake.  The Park has a bunch of activities including hiking.  The trails are for the most part well marked and range from nice gravel roads to watch your step and hang on. 

  I ended up taking the main access road to the yellow trail.  From the Yellow Trail i hit the Blue Trail and went right to the View point.  What a view it was.  Up until this point in the day the hike has been up hill.  It was great to sit back and kick it for a few minutes and take it all in.  The view i was treated to was of Candlewood Lake and Squantz Pond.  From Here i made my way north until I came to a little stream.  Here i followed the main path down Squantz Pond where i had lunch. 
  Lunch Consisted of a hot cup of coffee and a Coleman meal.  I fired up some water with my snow peak stove and i was eating in no time.  The Coleman Meal was the South West Chili.  I will tell you that for a back packing meal it was good.  As good as any Mountain House.  I guess with the nice weather i could have packed a sandwich and some grapes, but i wanted to give these Colemans a shot for longer adventures.  Coffee was Starbucks VIA.  VIA, is the ultimate in instant coffee and nothing else should ever be used for making coffee in the woods.     
    On the way back i walked up a little stream to refill my water bottle.  My wife got me a Katadyn Hiker water filter as a gift and i gave it a shot.  I make a living turning sewage clean so i am pretty confidant in my abilities to obtain clean drinking water.  I found a nice clear flowing stream and started pumping.  I was feeling good about the specs on the filter so i did not treat the water further with bleach, which i carry a small amount of.  So here i am 4 hours latter and i am not writing this on the toilet, so i guess it worked.  

VIA my official outdoor coffee

muddy boots!

where i got my water

I will investigate this further.

snow still on the norther slopes

  I really enjoyed my solo hike today.  I was able to check out some new woods, have lunch, and take in the great outdoors.  I will be back for more hiking, however, I plan on coming back to hunt at some point in the state forest and do a little fishing.  If you are thinking about hiking here remember that the gravel path is pretty good and easy, but the trails off of it are more challenging.