My Unexpectedly Brief Trip to Forbes State Forest

     Howdy Ya'll!

     I just wanted to share my recent trip to Forbes State Forest. Forbes is separated into 15 tracts of land, with the one I explored being in Southwest Pennsylvania. It offers lots of opportunities: hunting, fishing, trapping, primitive camping, and fires are allowed during appropriate times.

     I had planned on arriving around 7:45 am and hiking for 2 hours or so, before setting up camp to lounge for a few hours. The forecast called for a 20 percent chance of rain, so I assumed I had a good shot at several hours of woods time.

     This is what greeted me when I arrived. Coal used to be huge in this area, and there are old iron furnaces like this scattered around. They're quite large and double as an emergency rain shelter, which is an important fact later in our adventure.



     

     An old sign at the start of the "trail." This shows how historical this area is. Also, by trail, I mean a slight opening in the trees that lasted for 10 yards. After that, it turned into a jungle.




    

     After about 45 minutes of bush whacking, I found a suitable place to lay my pack, and set up my lounging area for the next few hours. 


     

     Basic fire prep. I prepared my match sized, pencil sized, thumb sized kindling and some fuel wood. My Mora Companion made short work of the dead wood. In short order, I had my fire going, ready to have a well deserved cup of coffee. I took out my phone to snap a photo of the fire... and thunder. 
     Ok, no big deal. I am always prepared. I knew I could get my tarp shelter set up and be fine. In the 5 seconds it took me to figure out where to set up, it started drizzling. Within the 2 minutes it took me to take out my poncho and decide if I should stay or go, the rain started pouring. 

     The 45 minute hike in turned into a miserable hour long, soaking wet hike out. I stopped at the furnace for about 15 minutes to dry off before heading to my car. I drove home, wet, chilly and with no shoes because the were soaked. But I loved it. You just gotta get out, brother.

Thanks for reading guys! And if you enjoyed my writing, check out my new book:

Budget Bushcraft & Camping