Yeah I finally made it up to the trailhead last weekend and it was absolutely worth the drive. The weather was perfect not too hot and the leaves are just starting to turn which made for some amazing views from the ridge. We took the longer loop about 8 miles total and found this little stream halfway through where we stopped for lunch. I'm already looking at maps for next month maybe something in the southern part of the state since the colors peak later down there. Let me know if you want to join I can send you the details. Also I picked up a new water filter that worked great so I'm feeling much more confident about longer backcountry trips now. The guys at the outdoor shop recommended it and so far so good. We're thinking of making it an overnight next time so I need to sort out the tent situation before then. I also grabbed a new lightweight stove that boils water in under two minutes which should make mornings much easier. The whole setup is coming together nicely and I'm really excited to get out there again soon.

I tried that pasta recipe you sent me last week and it turned out way better than I expected. I was a little nervous about the sauce since I've never made it from scratch before but it came together really nicely. I added a bit more garlic than called for and used fresh basil from the pot on my windowsill which made a big difference. Next time I might try it with some mushrooms thrown in just to see how it works. Let me know if you have any other recipes you'd recommend I'm on a bit of a cooking kick lately and want to try more homemade stuff. The prep took about forty minutes but the actual cooking was pretty quick so it's definitely doable on a weeknight. I served it with a simple side salad and some crusty bread and it felt like a proper restaurant meal. I'm thinking of attempting a homemade pizza next weekend any tips would be great. I found a good dough recipe online that uses a slow rise in the fridge overnight so I'm hoping that gives it a nice texture and flavor.