Campground Review

The chilly mid-April weekend still saw a good amount of campers at this clean, well maintained campground. The campsites provide the basics: a fire pit, picnic table, lantern hook, and flat gravel area for tents. The campground also offers vault toilets and a water spigot, don't expect electric hook ups or a shower in the summer time. The St. Francis river runs through the area, making it a popular spot to whitewater kayak. We got to see a few kayakers while we were there.

We did find ourselves wishing there was a map of available trails in the area. We couldn't find one anywhere in the park. Basically, you have to stumble across a trail head. The THs have a sign that just tells you the destination, no distances or terrain info. Because of this set up, we didn't get to see the actually Silver Mine there; we never could find the appropriate trail.

Advanced reservations for campsites are available through the us forestry website. If you do not pay online in advanced, make sure to bring cash or check with you. It is needed for the day use fee or camping fee.

Product Review

As a Dyrt Ranger I get to review gear from time to time and on this trip I got the opportunity to try out Mountain House's new Turkey Dinner meal. I'm a big fan of Mountain House meals. They are my go-to for all my backpacking trips. You can always count on them to be a good freeze dried meal after a long hike. The Turkey dinner meal has a good amount of vegetables in it, which I was very happy to see. Frequently good nutrition is sacrificed in freeze dried meals and on the trail in general. The Turkey dinner was just fine, in my opinion. I'll probably try it again, but it doesn't feel like it stacks up to the awesomeness of MH's other newer meal (Spicy Southwest Breakfast Hash) which I want to eat even when I'm not on the trail. I think the name Homestyle Turkey Dinner evokes ideas of Thanksgiving dinner, then when you're not eating grandma's turkey out in the woods, you're a little disappointed. However, like I said, I'll probably try it again, with my expectations tempered a bit. Probably in the fall, after I've just hiked 10 miles while carrying 35lbs, my brain will tell me this is better than grandma's turkey could have ever dreamed to have been.