For the last few years I had been having a camping trip on my birthday weekend. These were quite fun, but we did not do much hiking. This past year I realized I had to take advantage of my ability to backpack in, or portage my canoe to backcountry sites while I am still able to. Not that Colvin Brook lean-to is very far into the backcountry, but it does require about six miles and wading across a river.
Kalie joined me on the trip. I always have big plans to explore more of the area in the vicintiy of the lean-to, but never get around to it. Maybe this would be the trip. Kalie was a few minutes ahead of me arriving at the trailhead. The weather was perfect. The leaves on the trail obscured rocks and such which was annoying and the rustling of the leaves underfoot made communication while hiking difficult. So we mostly hiked in without talking much. We stopped at the Carry lean-to for a break on the way.
Once at the Cedar River we put on water shoes and waded across the very cold water. My feet were red and numb from the cold by the time I reached the other side.
I set-up in the lean-to and Kalie put up her tent.Firewood was collected and broken up. I decided to take a bit of a stroll down the trail towards the beaver flooded area. After some poking around I found a good way to get across a bit more downstream. I made my way back upstream to reconnect with the trail. It has been quite a few years since I came this way. I headed back and lost my original path across the flooded area. I realized I went to far downstream. I made my way back up and found the easier crossing.
On my way back to the lean-to, I checked out the "island" and then headed back. A fire was built and dinner was made. The sky had been clear all day, so we were hoping for a clear night to possible see some meteors from the Orionids. Interestingly, when I left home Saturday morning I saw a bright one as I drove down our dark street at 5am. It did not take long for the lean-to to get dark in the waning daylight. I put up my white christmas lights which really does a good job of illuminating the inside of the lean-to.
As darkness finally set in, Kalie stood on a rock in the river to look for meteors. It reminded me of the August many years ago when Ben and I stood in the river watching the Perseids. Kalie took a nice time lapse photo of the sky. I think she just changed the shutter speed to a few seconds. Came out nice though. She also spotted a few meteors but did not capture any on film.
Soon it was time for bed. Kalie decided to move into the lean-to for the night. I expected it to get cold, possibly below freezing. It stayed warmer than I thought possibly due to the river. I slept well. It was much needed. I had a nice large cup of coffee in the early morning. Knowing Kalie likes to sleep in, I stayed as quiet as I could.
Eventually we packed up and headed back across the river. Again the water was frigid. It would take at least a mile of hiking before my feet would really warm up afterwards. By then I realized I forgot to take pictures of the shelter log book for the "Colvin Brook Lean-to blog". Not that big of a deal, there were only two entries since my last visit with Lance this past spring. Probably will not be any new ones next spring.
I cut the two blowdows near the trail junction, and filled up my water bottle from the spring. The leaves were not as loud walking through them. Seems that the morning moisture has softened them a little. As we neared the Cedar Flow it appeared some other blowdowns had been cut; possibly a chainsaw. I wondered if it was Jon with the DEC crew. He had told me they would be coming through at some point. (After I returned home I learned it was not). Back at the cars, we checked out of the register. Not a super adventure, and not a sedentary campout either. A good hike in with a good friend, a relaxing campfire by the rushing river with a good nights sleep. Not a bad way to spend my birthday weekend.
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