Reflections on a Favorite Pond in Sproul

When my husband and I saw the weather forecast for the week, it included two warm and relatively clear days for Monday and Tuesday. We talked about going backpacking, but we just didn't get organized enough, quickly enough, to do it.

So Monday morning did NOT find us packing up our backpacks to head to Sproul. Instead, we packed up daysacks and chairs and a cooler, and went there for a day hike.

We didn't get started until late morning, and around 1 p.m., there we were, parked in the parking lot that we could not even get INTO the last time we went there, watching the tundra swans migrating in a V formation in a blue sky overhead.

Our goal for the day was to hike back into the campsite that we call Pine Glen, to check out conditions there. A sub-goal was to see how I did with it, as I've had some problems with my right knee and foot for the past few months, and we wanted to assess whether I was up to backpacking yet.

We walked in the long, hard way around, stepping over many fallen trees and branches that littered the trail. There is a little pond not far from our campsite that we visited first. You may see it in the photo above. It is a fine place for wildlife to come for a drink. It will also be chock full of amphibians a bit later in the season, but not yet.

We sat by the pond in the sun for about 90 minutes, enjoying the fine reflections and the water level. I walked all around; took pictures of the extra water puddling everywhere in the woods. If you go, wear something waterproof on your feet, as it is quite damp out there in spots!

Then we walked to our campsite itself, and spent our remaining time there, listening to music. We had not been there in months (see pics from our last backpack trip to that campsite here and here), and the ground was littered with pine cones. I spent the first ten to fifteen minutes clearing ground; making things easier for my future self, when we come back here to actually camp; then cleaned pine sap off my hands.

As the light started to fade, we packed up our stuff and walked back out, the easy way, directly to the dirt road, and back out to our car, parked by the main road. In minutes, we had changed out of our boots, packed up the car, and were headed for home, watching the sunset all the way.

It was good to be back in the big woods, and by the end of the day, we had put in about 4 to 5 miles. That might be one of the biggest walks I've had since late November, when I hurt my right knee. All told, I think it went pretty well, though I was exhausted by the end of it. 

As we got home, around 6 p.m., I got out of the car, gathered up my stuff, traipsed up the stairs, dropped my gear, and planted myself, face-first, onto towels I'd had airing out outdoors all day, shoes still on. I could have fallen asleep right there!

I have one photo so here's a soundtrack song: Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, with Roll Me Away.