Archive - 2018

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Green falls is opened this year!!
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Upgrade a Sawyer Mini filter.

Green falls is opened this year!!

July 4th 2016 marked the last operating day for some state run campgrounds in Connecticut, one of those being Green falls campground in Pachaug state forest.
Open space for saleThe closures were to save money for the states side of the operation costs of the parks ($18mil a year).
This year (2018) the State implemented the “Passport to the parks” fee on vehicle registration which means a $10 fee on the registration of a vehicle in CT and an extra $14 mil for the general fund slated for the state operated parks!

A few places in Connecticut bring memories of my childhood but Green falls is the place we went camping regularly. With our forest green canvas cabin tent that weighed, what felt like, 50 pounds and had gigantic aluminum poles all fit into an equally large canvas bag that smelled deliciously of oiled canvas and military surplus. We piled into the Zephyr and rolled into the camping area hoping to find a spot with regular success. now we use Reserve America to reserve spots!
I am a creature of tradition Bring your own kitchenand still to this day love Green falls for the amount to do and focus on nature. Unlike many campgrounds today Green Falls stays primitive with a maintained swimming area,  composting privies, and many miles of trails as their main offering.
April Friday the 13th 2018 we went to Green falls for opening day to celebrate a (once again available) tradition. The weather was slated to be the best yet this year and we wanted to take advantage of it!

Green fallsAll of the advantage of tailgate camping, seats, a full kitchen, roomy tents and air mattresses! We had all of the amenities and enjoyed them fully!
We had wood with us but, from the looks of things, the last few storms with the crazy winds we have had of late left us with quite a bit of trees that were cut up in preparation for opening day so there was plenty of wood laying around.
We had a wonderful fire and the nights got chilly! Thankfully we were prepared (for the most part) for that.

Green Falls Fire

To be sure we would stay prepared the girls wanted to make fires too… practice fires so practice size!

  • Cora's mini fire

After fire practice we did walk around the pond and the views were, as usual, fantastic..
view from Green falls Dam
From both sides of the fence apparently! =D

  • Girls on the wrong side of the fence Green Falls Dam

It all ended in a Dance party.. It was a great time, I am glad to see that the state saw fit to find a way to open the park again!

Upgrade a Sawyer Mini filter.

I made video on a gear upgrade I really enjoy. This video adds a gravity option for the Sawyer Mini squeeze that I got a couple years ago. I didn’t like having to rely on the water bags that are difficult to fill and are notorious for delaminating which leads to leaks and such so I looked at other options and decided on an easy upgrade for my existing filter.
The stuff I got to upgrade it are;
Platypus Big Zip 3l
Sawyer fast fill adapter kit X2
Some zip ties
The rest is just simply plug and play. Here is the build video. Give it a gander!

Created by BackpackingConnecticut.com