Posts about camping.
When you spend time backpacking, you get close to nature. We’ve shown you some of the wonderful things we’ve seen out in the woods in other posts. Here’s a look at the variety of critters and plants we saw over a few days this spring.
Early spring brings new green growth with the trees leafing out. These pictures were taken from the top of Frank Grubb Ridge in Deam Wilderness in southern Indiana. It was a grey, misty morning, but you can see the green just starting to show.
I’ve discussed cooking in camp in several different posts (you can see them by searching with the camp cooking tag). When it comes to packing food for a backpacking trip, you have to balance the weight, bulk, and calories to suit your needs.
When you are on the trail, food is important. You want to have energy for the hiking, but you don’t want the food to be too heavy (you have to carry it after all!) or elaborate to prepare. I’m a slow starter in the morning anyway, so one of my favorite trail breakfasts is Logan bread with coffee and a bacon bar. It can be eaten cold and munched while packing up the camp.
Despite rumors to the contrary, we don’t spend all of our time outdoors backpacking. We also go fishing!
I love the spring, with new leaves and plants peeping up from the ground. As you wander in the woods, you see an amazing array of colors as the flowers start to bloom. Here are a few of my favorite pictures taken over many years in southern Indiana.
When you are out exploring in the woods, you see all kinds of amazing things. Don’t forget to look at the earth itself. It has stories to tell!
Here is a small cave in southern Indiana. These pictures are many years old – now they do not want people to enter these caves as it is damaging habitats and spreading disease among bats.
Just outside the cave, you can see the hillside and down to the shore of Lake Monroe.
If you head on down to the lakeshore, you can see a variety of colors in the rocks along the water. The different types of rocks wear away and you get amazing patterns. Occasionally, you will also find fossils.
Every season has something to offer when you are out in the woods. We haven’t done a ton of winter camping, but we enjoy getting out whenever we can.
When you are out backpacking, waking up in the morning and seeing the sunrise is a beautiful thing. Some mornings are foggy and provide a soft view of new beginnings.
Sometimes you are looking out over a lake.
Our dog Jaxon loves to hike with us. I needed a leash that would work while hiking, sometimes with a large pack on my back. Since I use two trekking poles when I am on the trail, my hands needed to free.
I’m a sucker for a dramatic sunset. I love to simply sit quietly, watching the sunset progress, soaking it in. Watching until the end. Dayhikers can’t do that. They have to get back before dark. Back to the car, back home. But the backpacker is already home. They can afford to sit quietly. They can soak it in.
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