So ... my grand sense of adventure got a much needed kick-in-the-butt during a conversation with the girl who cuts my hair. She's goofy, crazy, and does the most fun stuff. She tells me all about her camping, ATVing, and partying adventures in West Virginia. It sounds like so much fun. I've always wanted to try camping. But it's always been "one day". Well, I'm running out of "one day"s.
So on that particular Thursday, I decided "one day" had arrived. "One day" was "NOW!"
That evening I did an eentsy bit of research and selected Greenridge State Forest for my first adventure. I had mountain biked there; so it was somewhat familiar. (Uhh, yeah - that was like two decades ago.) And it was far enough away to count as an *Adventure*.
On Friday, I headed to REI to buy some supplies. Well, ... like a tent. ... And a sleeping bag. I wasn't going to let the fact that I didn't own any camping gear stop me; or the fact that I knew nothing about camping.
Hardly able to sleep, early Saturday morning I packed my car with my new camping gear; filled a cooler with cold foods and snacks; and off I went.
I ended up with a campsite that was beautiful, definitely in the woods!, fairly isolated but on a dirt road that ran through the park so periodically other people would drive by (comforting). Down the road just a bit lived a family who, on Sunday, showed me pictures of a bear mama wandering on the property [aagh!]
Saturday
I spent the first day walking around the park a bit, reading while sitting on the back of my car, and eating snacks. And I easily got the tent set up -- well, it had been only a few hours ago that I had learned how to assemble it.
The rangers on each shift came by a few times. One insisted that I should learn how to make a campfire. But I was so tired, all I wanted to do was sleep - not work on a fire.
Nighttime: what a fabulous experience!
1) I didn't hear a thing. Nothing. The night was so still. No critters. No bears :0. Not even wind through the trees.
2) Did I mention that I embarked on this adventure during the second week of April? It was an unseasonably warm day when I left, in the 60s. But at night, the temps dropped to the 30s. I wasn't quite prepared for the cold [understatement] ... About 3:00am, I bailed on the tent and got in my car to warm up. That's when I saw ..
3) The STARS! Oh my gosh, the sky was peppered with glitter! Seeing the dark shadowy shapes of the tall, tall, pine trees with the diamond sparkles sprinkled amongst them - what a gorgeous sight! I was hooked. (That is, after I warmed up. I was marveling at the stars in the comfort of my running, heated car. Note to Self: always fill up the gas tank before settling into the campground. )
Warmed up, I eventually crawled back into the tent and slept the next few hours, only to be awakened by NOISE. All the noise that didn't happen during the night -- happened pre-dawn. I think every bird in the universe was waking up, flying overhead, and cawing to their friends. But experiencing the sunrise, early morning mist, and the solitude of nature was an amazing experience.
Sunday
On Sunday, I took a hike; one that the trailhead was near my site. I sorta got lost, but carefully reviewing my park map, I realized I was on a fire road that would take me back to a "main" road in the park. So I got my way back. On the way back to my site is when I met the family who showed me all the bear pictures.
In the afternoon, I packed up and headed home.
Merit Badge/Skill: Setting Up a Tent
Well, it was pretty easy to get the tent up. And the fly. But I had no idea what the other item in the little tote bag was - What is a "Footprint"??? So I didn't use it. Apparently the footprint should go down first, and lies under the tent. It protects damaging the fabric of the tent from the rocks etc but also provides a layer of protection from the cold of the ground. Maybe I would've been warmer if I had used that; doubt it though .... And later on in time, I learned about air mats. I didn't have one of those on this trip either.
Safely Back At Home
It wasn't til I was safe & warm at home & in my own bed, that I thought: WHAT DID I JUST DO???
Looking back, I realized some of the things that could've gone wrong simply because I didn't know better:
- If a bear had come by, I knew I should make a lot of noise. But really, when I was in my tent, I didn't have anything to make any noise with ..
- Hiking by myself with no one else around - I could've got seriously hurt. I had no supplies with me to last in the woods until I was found. I guess the rangers may have figured out what trail I was on, but I hadn't told anyone
- I really didn't have enough safety stuff, gear, knowledge.
- Maybe there really is something to what I've heard: "It's the other people you need to worry about." And here I was just randomly sleeping by myself in the middle of the woods, next to a dirt road.
But I survived. More than survived. I had a ball. It felt so good to have an adventure. The experience of such immense solitude in nature, the beauty of the sky and woods, and the sounds of the real world, was incomparable. And addicting. And I loved getting away quickly, with just the bare essentials.
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My Gear List
Minimalism? or Clueless-ness?
- Shelter: tent, fly. And that footprint thing that I didn't know what it was.
- Bed: sleeping bag
- Other Essentials: headlamp (newly purchased); a flashlight from home; mini-compass/whistle; map of the park
- Bathroom: learned to make a cat-hole; used the great outdoors. Brought toilet paper and a garden spade for digging potty hole.
- Personal Care: since this was a quick, overnight trip, I don't think I brought anything else ...
- First Aid: band-aids
- Food: sandwich-type supplies; yogurt; fruit and nut snack stuff. On Sunday morning, I was really wishing for a cup of coffee ... Brought a jug or two of water.
- Clothing: the basic hiking/outdoor stuff and outerwear
- Hiking Gear: hiking shoes; camelbak
- Downtime Amusement: my Kindle
Comments:
- Loved the headlamp! Especially in my tent as well as in the middle of the night for "bathroom" excursion.
- The Kindle was super-handy to have; tons of reading material without packing a lot of stuff.
- Need to work on sleeping arrangements; since I got so cold.
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