As I write this we are relaxing in our tent, camped a few feet from the shore of a beautiful, secluded lake. Our dinner entertainment consisted of watching a pair of loons on the lake fish for their supper while bald eagles circled overhead. Not a bad day at all.
The day started with a 7 am alarm, bagels from Big Apple Bagels and doughnuts from Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. John's, which had just opened for the season. Traffic was light and we made it to the trailhead east of Vanderbilt by noon.
Our plan was to tackle the Shingle Mill Pathway, a ten mile loop hike through the wooded hills of the Pigeon River State Forest. Normally, the hike is done in a counter-clockwise direction, allowing hikers to camp near Grass Lake about 6 miles in. On a previous trip we discovered an "unofficial" campsite right on a pretty lake, about 7 miles around the loop. We had our sights set on finding this campsite again.
When we reached the trailhead the parking lot was almost full, which was not surprising considering the beautiful spring weather. We figured other hikers were likely to take our campsite if they got there first, so we elected for a clockwise hike instead. This would put us at the site in a mere 3 miles, leaving us 7 for Sunday.
The hike was incredibly pleasant, with mostly sunny skies overhead and temperatures in the mid-seventies. The mostly level trail followed the fast-flowing, crystal clear waters of the Pigeon River for a while. After a mile or so it left the river, passing through a mixture of mature pine and hardwood forests and the occasional field of saplings sprouting up out of previously logged areas. A variety of birds darted across the trail as we hiked. We saw a number of flickers, and a hairy woodpecker. A pileated woodpecker was hammering away at a decaying old tree as we passed.
We reached the campsite in the early afternoon, finding it unoccupied. We set up our tent right on the shore and spent the rest of the afternoon watching the resident wildlife go about its business on the lake. A large beaver lodge sat a few feet from our campsite, and the lake had a pair of loons fishing on it throughout the day. There are few things more enchanting than the haunting call of the loon.
As the sun dropped out of sight in the woods behind us it cast a golden haze on the trees and water of the opposite shore. We enjoyed our Mac and cheese with a couple travel-sized plastic bottles of wine (high class backcountry fare!) while watching the daylight fade. Several parties of disappointed hikers passed by in the evening, validating our decision.
I'm hoping we'll be treated to some evening music by the owl population tonight. The campsite has plenty of evidence of owl activity. All in all, it was a magical day to be outdoors.
