Sweet Love and Ginger

Camping/Hiking

A Mushroom Hike

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Last
weekend I went camping (shocker) with my parents. During the trip my mom wanted
to hike into this lake to this one rock where we took a family picture 10 years
ago, so obviously we had to oblige.

 

It
must have been all the rainy weather that we had up till now that sparked all
their growth, because I have never seen so many mushrooms in one short .7 mile
jaunt into the woods. It was startling!

These ones were only about the size of my finger nail.

Nature is amazing!

Camping

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Camping is like the best thing you could ever do, and doing
it with friends is even better; even especially when it rains.

There was lots of fishing, puppies getting in trouble
playing and beers. Not to mention all the amazingly delicious food cooked over
the open fire, a great new wine that Joann brought us; and though Patrick’s
Fish may have been smaller than Chucks, his was much more delicious, so were
the bacon hot dogs his dad got us. Oh and Momma Chuck thank you so much for
coming by and bringing us all the things your son and I forgot to pack in all
our excitement to get out there.

We tried to get Brody to be a water dog, but it appears he
would much rather be sitting in the boat than in the water, so maybe he will be
a good fisher dog instead.

And sorry some of these pictures are fuzzy blogger is giving me issues again. I jsut don’t understand it!

An Afternoon Stroll in the Woods

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Last weekend we went to Shelving Rock Falls; a beautiful spot near Lake George. The 3.4 mile (round trip) hike, took us roughly 2.5 hours, including a long rest on the lakeside, while I took numerous pictures of the ducks, and the mountains. The trail itself could hardly be called strenuous, though finding it may have been. Not that it’s difficult to find, it’s just rather far off the beaten path. It’s the perfect hike for small children, and families, the beautiful lakeside spot makes for a perfect picnic location. I was even able to find some really beautiful stones that I can polish up and make jewelry out of. Spending time in the outdoors even if is just an afternoon fills me with so much happiness, and inspiration. I mean the world we live in is really a beautiful place. Have you stopped to take note of it lately?

Traveling Meatloaf

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Meatloaf is one of Chuck’s favorite things ever. As he says it’s because “it’s like a whole loaf of meat! What could be wrong with that?” When I told him I had found a way to bring it camping he was very excited indeed.

I made this recipe on our trip to Challis Pond for Memorial Day weekend. And it was a mega hit! We both absolutely loved it, so of course I have to share it here with you!

Traveling Meatloaf
½ lb lean ground beef
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
4 large onions
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp Worchester sauce
½ tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 egg
Combine all ingredients, except onions in a large bowl with hands until well blended. Remove papery shell from onions, and slice in half. Remove all but the remaining outer piece. Pack a ball of meat mixture into the onion half and “close” with remaining half. Wrap in tin foil. Cook in the fire for roughly 20 minutes or until the center is no longer pink, turning often. Serve warm. Once wrapped meatloaf can be frozen in order to travel.
I realize that you will have quite a bit of onion leftover after this, but that’s ok. I chopped up the centers for several of the other meals we made, such as Hobo Stew, and Foil Potato Packets. Still having some leftover I simply minced them up and tossed them in a jar with oil. The oil will infuse some of the onion flavor and help preserve the onion so I can use it up in my cooking when we get back from camping.

Also I want to mention some lessons learned. The main thing being that grease drips out and will catch the foil on fire so be sure to wrap them more than once. And use more than one onion shell. The outside onion burned, but we like to eat the onion, so I think having more than one layer would be good so you can enjoy the onion. And yes I put a chunk of garlic in the middle. It was the best idea ever!

Hiking Cascade & Porter

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Recently Chuck and I ventured up a couple of the Adirondacks High Peaks, Cascade & Porter.
View of Cascade from the car
The hike in total was roughly 6.2 miles, 2.1 miles to the trailhead to Porter .7 to the peak of porter, then back and .3 to the peak of Cascade and back. The terrain was, rocky, and most of it was just like walking up stairs. Even though these are considered two of the easiest peaks in the 46, they can still be quite tiring. Be sure to bring lots of water.

We went to Porter first, which I definitely suggest. The views there are good, but next to Cascade it really isn’t exceptional. I think hitting this one first allow you to enjoy it for what it is without being overshadowed. I honestly think that the .7 miles there and back were probably the easiest of the entire hike up to the trail head, which was a nice break.

 

Cascade was rather beautiful. It had a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and lake placid. We could not have asked for a better day on the top of the mountain; perfectly blue and nearly cloudless skies. The .3 miles from the trailhead were nothing to write home about, and most of it was just a little scramble on the bald rocky summit, which in itself was really rather simple.
We did take note of the rock paths everywhere and a sign that thanks those who are willing to carry up a rock. The rocks are used to outline a pathway for visitors to walk without disturbing the little foliage that is on the top. This helps curb erosion control, and is an excellent way to help preserve the mountains natural beauty. I only wish I had known to carry up a stone at the bottom.
Cascade from Porter
Top of Porter
Top of Porter
Overall it was an easy hike that I suggest everyone attempt, as it is totally worth it for the views. And don’t forget to bring up a rock!