I tend toward the elegant and unexpected "camping" fare... - Page 3

RockyMtnRay · 09-17-2003, 11:19 AM

Whilst camping at State Forest State Park in a very remote area of northern Colorado on my last adventure (nearest town (and closest dump station) was 25 miles away, closest source of water in the campground was 2 miles away, no cell phone service and closest pay phone was 7 miles away, only light at night came from the moon & stars, etc.) I decided to whip up the Smoked Salmon & Roast Asparagus recipe mentioned previously in this thread. Came out so yummy (and visually inviting) that I had to take a pic of it! I had done an 11 mile hike that day (with 1600 feet of climbing) so was both hungry and in a major calorie deficit for the day! Incidentally, I always do the semi-formal thing for my evenng meal whilst camping in the TM...wine glass, napkin, place settings, etc.

**Bill** · 09-17-2003, 01:19 PM

Oh, Lord, Ray, I'm just helplessly salivating! We are headed for the Green Mountains of northern Vermont this weekend (hurricane permitting), so I'l show this pic to my wife and see what she will whip up. (I'm the sous-chef, by the way - I cut things up, and then wash the dishes.) BTW, I'm glad to see that you at least use napkins-on-a-roll, rather than white linen.

If I can ask, what State Forest Park were you in? By the time we get out there, it will probably be too late in the season, but maybe it will be accessible early next summer. I doubt that I'll actually complete a 14er, but it sure would be nice to explore the area and get a few miles of relatively level hiking.

Bill

RockyMtnRay · 09-17-2003, 03:23 PM

Quote:

BTW, I'm glad to see that you at least use napkins-on-a-roll, rather than white linen.

heehee

Yeah, they're sooooo much handier and less hassle when camping.

But hey now, gimme a break...at least I'm using a pseudo-napkin and not my sleeve.

Quote:

If I can ask, what State Forest Park were you in? By the time we get out there, it will probably be too late in the season, but maybe it will be accessible early next summer. I doubt that I'll actually complete a 14er, but it sure would be nice to explore the area and get a few miles of relatively level hiking.

The official name is "State Forest State Park"; it's one of the Colorado State Parks. The Colorado State Forest is a 71,000 acre area that stretches from the northern boundary of Rocky Mtn NP almost to Wyoming along the Never Summer and Medicine Bow mountains. It contains several lakes, a bunch of 4WD roads, ATV trails, mountain bike trails, and strictly hiking trails (no motorized vehicles allowed.)

Very, very remote (80 miles from Ft Collins, 28 from the dinky town of Walden in North Park). Has 3 campgrounds...Crags (narrow, steep, poor gravel entrance road, not recommended for trailers); Ranger Lakes (small, no boating lake, very nicely forested), and N. Michigan (along a pleasant reservoir that is open for boating). I had reservations for Ranger Lakes for the week after Labor Day but when I arrived I found the campground under construction for the installation of electrical hookups at each site (this campground is the only one of the three that has a dump station, BTW). Because of the construction, I was moved over to the N. Michigan campground....which was basically empty (I think there were about 4 other people camping there...closest was about 300 feet away

).

There are at least 3 good hiking trails; I did two of them...to Lake Agnes (480 feet of elevation gain, .7 mile each way...basically just a nice stroll); and to American Lakes/Thunder Pass which took me to the back side of the very remarkable Nokhu Crags (picture below). This hike was around 5.5 miles each way with about a 1600 ft elevation gain. You would have no problems whatsoever with any of these.

As for visiting in the spring, I should note that the park is on the north (snowy) side of the very aptly named Mountains of Never Summer. If we have a good winter, I seriously doubt the trails will be snow free before early to mid July of next summer. Definitely NOT an early season destination.

For a photo gallery of State Forest State Park, go here: http://www.parks.state.co.us/photo_g...ate_forest.asp Links on that page will take you to other pages about this remarkable (and huge) state park.