Hungry for Adventurez

 The Apostle Islands National Lake Shore is a fantastic travel destination for almost anyone, from families with children to the most adventurous explorers, foodies, and beach bums. Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular activities in the Bayfield Penisula in northern Wisconsin. I will break down these activities into summer and winter seasons, so you can navigate to the more appropriate list based on when you will be traveling.  This article is a follow-up to my last post about where to stay while visiting Apostle Islands National Lake Shore. While that article is not exclusively for campers, I made sure to summaries all the amenities that would be most important for car camping folks to figure out where to stay.  NOTE: Due to changes in staffing and funding in 2025, please check with any NPS or National Forest sites you plan on visiting to confirm that campgrounds and amenities are still open. Summer in and around Apostle Islands Hiking The Bayfield Peninsula ...

Aldi is my absolute favorite grocery store, especially for cheap and lazy camping food. It’s easy to put together shelf stable meals that are actually pretty healthy and require almost no prep work. As an added bonus, Aldi also has decent outdoors equipment in the “Aldi Finds” aisle, but we will save that for a different post. For this post I will be assuming you have a camp stove , such as a jet boil, available.  Lazy Camping Food #1: Favorite Cheese, Fruit, and Crackers No cooking necessary, yet somehow super luxurious. I like to get a wheel of Cammebert or Brie, which I slice up and eat cold with strawberries, peaches or apples, and a sleeve of crackers. It's perfect for a mid hike meal or snack. It's the ultimate lazy food, but also kind of feels luxurious. Plus, rich cheeses are a great food for when you are are on longer, active trips. This is because cheese contains calorie-dense fats.  Camembert cheese, 7 oz: $4.19 Strawberries, 1 lb: $2.19 Crackers, 7 oz: $2.55 (...

 I recently visited Yellow River State Forest and stayed at Little Paint Campground. This park is expansive, more so than any Iowa State Park or forest I have visited so far. Let's talk about what activities are available here, and who should pay Yellow River State Forest a visit.  The view from the lookout point near the fire tower The Layout of Yellow River State Forest By Iowa standards, Yellow River State Forest is a massive park. It is north of Marquette and south of Harper’s Ferry. Combined with neighboring Effigy Mounds National Monument, Pikes Peak State Park, and Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the area is an unofficial national park (in my opinion).  Yellow River State Forest is not one contiguous park. It is made of several smaller units. The largest one is called the Paint Creek Unit, which has multiple campgrounds.  The main road of Paint Creek is State Forest Road. It offers some fantastic views as you drive through the park....

  A few weeks ago I finished a short camping trip in Ledges State Park, in Boone Iowa. We had a great time, and I wanted to pass on what we learned about this gem of a park.  Basic information about Ledges State Park Campground What are the campsites like at Ledges State Park? There are several types of campsites, some with water and electricity, and some without. There are also a few hike-in campsites. We chose a basic site without any utilities, and camped in our RAV 4. Our site had woods on two sides, making it very nice and somewhat private. Our site had a picnic table and a fire ring with a grill. The driveway was gravel. It stayed pleasantly quiet all night, and the campsite was clean and free of any garbage.  What about the bathrooms? Are there showers at Ledges State Park Campground? The bathrooms are pretty average for an Iowa state park- nothing fancy, just modern toilet stalls and concrete. There are showers here! (my partner only camps at venues with showers.)...

Have you ever had hiker trash pad thai? It's not actually pad thai in any traditional sense of the word, but rather a sort of peanut and noodle concoction designed for ultra-easy preparation while camping and backpacking. It usually consists of noodles that can be quickly cooked with a jet-boil or pocket rocket, plus soy sauce, peanut butter powder, and also optionally seasonings, dried vegetables, peanuts, and fish or meat from a pouch. It is probably the most common recipe I see for backpacking and minimalist camping , probably because it packs a good amount of carbs and protein without a lot of weight. The term “ hiker trash ” refers to backpacking, especially to those trekking over a long enough time that they temporarily lose touch with which mannerisms are appropriate for normal life, and which are appropriate only for the trail. I decided to test the best ways to make hiker trash pad thai. I experimented with cooking methods, noodle type, and pouched fish to see how each com...