The campsite was about $25 after taxes and fees. It was really really really busy. We were expecting this but it was definitely solidifying our plans to become independent with backpacking so that we can get away from the masses. We had a nice spot right on the lake but we were surrounded by hill-billy's and attack dogs. Aaron made the fire with the wood we had collected and I prepared the dinner: ground beef, potatoes, onions, and mushrooms. I wrapped them in tin-foil and added some water (a trick I learned from Sarah Smart). The dinner cooked on the fire for about 20 minutes. We spent the night around the campfire listening to music and enjoying beer. The wind was incredible that night. There was a gust of wind that damn-near lasted an hour: it just didn't stop. This proved to be helpful when we went to bed because it drowned out our noisy neighbors.
The next morning, we made coffee and finished off the rest of the doughnuts. We stopped at the camp station to ask about nearby hiking. The woman working the desk didn't have a clue but she told us about a popular hike in the area. We decided to do that since we knew it would be open and we wouldn't run into more snow. Our hike was through the Breitenbush Gorge. This was a magical hike that lead us through a lush forest. We only passed a few other hikers, but we did make friends with an injured crow named Jorge (Spanish for George). We hiked a few miles into the gorge, then turned back the way we came. We decided to take a side trail toward the "Emerald Forest." The emerald forest did not disappoint. We crossed over a bridge formed by a large fallen tree. We hiked until we tired and decided to turn back.
- A note on camping in this area: don't camp at Detroit Lake unless you are planning on spending the day on the lake. You can rent kayaks there. It is extremely overcrowded. Instead, if you are prepared and don't mind not having bathrooms, camp somewhere along Breitenbush Road. There were a ton of places right along the river.
- There are also places that you could camp along the Breitenbush Gorge trail.