Evening hike with my buddy

Got out the other night with my buddy.  We went on a hike down a simple trail where I thought we might get lucky and see some deer and enjoy some hot chocolate.  Here we are just getting started on the trail.

making our way through the thick woods

One of bel's favorite things to do when we're out is look for deer "footprints".  Here we found a doe track

next we came across this little buck

we continued a long and on the backside of a hill we came to a track of snow that hadn't melted yet.  So of course we had to play there a bit

after that we decided it was time for the hot chocolate.  So we found a suitable spot to setup and got things going.  I also got to get a little feel for the summit pack.

 
I also got to try out my Littlbug Jr. stove.  It worked great.  I'm going to really like this little stove.

filled it up

I used some fatwood, though it probably wasn't necessary but if there's one thing I've learned taking a kid out is to not spend half an hour getting the fire going.  So this ensured a quick fire :)

Bel got quite the kick out of helping feed the stove some twigs

now the agonizing 5 minute wait for the water to boil.  This is the look of tired anticipation right here

well soon enough we were sharing a hot cup together

after that we set out down the trail to try and spot some deer as the sun was setting, here's another pack shot

well we did jump a deer. It was a ways away but we saw it bounding off.  Bel sounds like a freight train coming through the woods so sneaking up on one was out of the question

we did come across a scrape that was really getting worked over.

Well after that we made our way back out.  We had fun and she already wants to go out again so I know I did good :) 

well as luck would have it we got to the car and there were a couple deer around the clearing where we parked.  So here's a few parting shots of them

thanks for looking