Mid-May Backpack Into the Quehanna Wild Area

The weather looked like we'd have a clear stretch for a backpack into the Quehanna Wild Area, so on Wednesday morning, my husband and I packed up our gear and headed out. By early afternoon, we were in our favorite back-country campsite in the Valley of the Elk.

It started out sunny, but then we got some interesting big clouds that cooled things off. The high for the day would be about 55 degrees, but the overnight low turned out to be 27 degrees, and there would be hard frost in the morning in all the open places.

Above you may see my own tent and backpack at our back-country site. (My husband's gear is out of scene to the left.) My husband likens me to Mary Poppins. You should see all of the stuff that comes flying out of that pack!

The tent is a three-man deal (supposedly) but it basically fits one girl and all of her gear! Plus her friends T. Tiger and Alex the Alligator (and on this day mini RBG went along with us to get some fresh air). I hate to say it but the gnats were pretty annoying. I got at least two bites on my forehead and one on the nape of my neck.

At one point, Ruth (RBG) and I had had enough, and she began giving them judo chops (she may be little but she's fierce!). Between us, we slayed about 20 of them. I had to take shelter inside my tent for a few hours to evade them. My husband had brought a small tobacco pipe along and eventually, a few puffs of smoke helped keep them at bay.

We often see or hear elk, and almost always coyotes. But on this trip, everyone was silent. Things are pretty quiet in the Valley of the Elk. As evening (and the temperatures) began to fall, we sat listening to music and watching the last of the sun light up the tamaracks on the hill.

It is my custom to include a soundtrack tune, and this time, I'm including songs we were listening to on our adventure. We had the soundtrack for Into the Wild on, and I'm going to share with you my favorite song (Society) and my husband's (Guaranteed), by Eddie Vedder. They are grand to listen to in the woods.

Bonus: a winter version of this campsite, with an earlier tent.