Despite the searing climate change heat, I made my way back to Buzzard Swamp to do another solo camping trip and an 8-mile trek around the wildlife management area. It was crazy hot, and those placid green ponds that looked so cool and inviting when I last visited? They looked downright murderous and poisoned this time around, as if they concealed evil water creatures whose sole intent is to lurk unseen and cause solitary backpackers to wonder if they made the right decision in coming here. Such heat can distort anything. But any day in the woods is better than a day in town.
But the butterflies were magnificent, and the wildflowers were such a delight to the eyes and nose: white clover, purple clover, these majestic-looking thistles, and wild daisies, and heal-all, and what are those yellow flowers called? Trefoil? This time around, I took the lesser-traveled path up toward the smaller, more northerly ponds.
A small flock of deer was feeding in the pond closest to my campsite, which is the same spot where I camped last weekend. Surprisingly, I met up with a young couple hauling canoes into the pond on a bicycle-cart, a band of about six young adults waking the trails together, and a family with two dogs. I, however, was the only person spending the night.
Any trip to the Allegheny National Forest is good. But the heat made this one a little less good than some others. I’m beginning to fear for the trek that I’m planning next summer. I’m hoping to hike the entire breadth of the ANF on the North Country Trail—which meanders through the forest for about 100 miles from the southern end to the New York State line. My plan had been to eat nothing on that trip except Huel, which is a powdered “nutritionally complete food,” just add water. No prep. No need to pack a stove, or pot, or heavier food items... It was the perfect plan. By I tried the Huel-only thing on a recent trip to Dolly Sods, and found it a little gag-worthy.
Here’s a closeup of the deer grazing in the pond.
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