6/18/2023 – 6/19/2023 Henry W. Coe State Park
I took my brother and nephews on their first backpacking trip. It was also my first non-solo trip. We originally planned on camping at Frog Lake but it was taken. So we headed to Ridge View Camp and walked to Bass Pond for some fishing. The next day, we hiked over to Frog Lake for some more fishing.
The wind was fierce. It probably got up to 25-30 MPH gusts during the night.
My collection of budget NatureHike tents came in handy. My oldest nephew used the Cloud Up 2. My brother and youngest nephew shared the navy blue Mongar 2. I used the Vik 1. None of extra guy lines were used. Not bad for around $300 total for all 3 tents.
I tried the Tyvek quilt cover again and it actually helped a lot with cutting the wind. With all the wind, there was zero condensation and I definitely didn’t overheat this time around. It was really cold in the morning. The boys said it was cold, but they didn’t really complain the entire trip.
I’m so happy they caught a fish.
Fishing was great. My youngest nephew caught a bass and the oldest caught some bluegill using Berkley Powerbait Power Tubes.
Bass fishing was a learning experience. I tried out the Zoom Super Fluke with a Texas Rig and was able to get a few bites but wasn’t able to hook them. At Frog Lake I was able to catch a nice bass with the Texas Rig using a Yamamoto Senko. I played around with a wacky rig a bit but wasn’t getting any bites.
The Tenkara Rod Co Sawtooth rod was super fun. I’m hooked. I caught maybe 3-4 bluegill using a 13 foot furled line and what looked like a standard Tenkara fly. It’s so addicting to cast a Tenkara rod. I like how the fly kind of floats just below the surface. Seeing a strike is way cool. My oldest nephew was able to learn how to cast right away.
My youngest nephew is a beast of a hiker. He led the pack on the way back from Frog Lake and gained a huge lead.
I hope they had a good time. I’m just glad they didn’t die.
AllTrails Recording (with pictures):
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/ridgeview-backpacking-trip-c4819d0
Good times! Beautiful video 👍👍👍
The heaviest bag wins!! lol Making some absolutely marvelous memories there! Perfect! Something the kids will remember and I can hear them now, "Do you remember when…"! Amazing! Hope your week has been going well…Bruce and Otis
Looked like a great time!
Those fish sure were biting! 👏🏻 Very cool first wildcamp for the lads there Rod, brilliant 👍🏻
How exciting! I've spent most of my life going out alone, but there is something pretty dang special (and somewhat nerve-racking 🙂 about taking others into the wilderness to be fully immersed in nature. Love your choice of music. Great video.