Blog Entry 1: Solo Camping Trip

I love camping and hiking, but have always had someone with me when I went. It's always nice to have someone to share the experience with; however, I've passed up many opportunities in the past to go, because no one else was available to come with me. After some purchases of new camping gear that I was very anxious to try, and some debate, I finally decided to go it alone.

I like the secluded, dispersed camping that seems to be harder and harder to find. There is a State Park not too far from where I live that offers some nice camp spots, but having to look at a calendar to see when you favorite spot is available, and then having to pay and reserve it weeks in advance can be an aggravation - especially when the weather turns out to be crap on the days you reserved the spot. Kids screaming and crying; car doors slamming in the middle of the night; loud, obnoxious singing and talking, and music coming from neighboring campsites is also not why I enjoy getting out into the woods.

I like the dispersed camping that the National Forests provide. Granted, it's usually first come, first served; so, if you have a favorite spot, there's no guarantee it'll be available when you get there (this can be a huge bummer, especially since my favorite spot is about a 5.5 hour drive away!). I also like getting out and away from other people (no, I'm not anti-social, just like getting away from it all, and enjoying the peace and quiet the woods provide ;) ).

So, decision made, gear packed, I took off on my first solo camping trip.

In an effort to get there early enough to hopefully secure my favorite spot, and to avoid the morning rush-hour traffic along the 4 hours of interstate driving through some major cities I'd have to do, I departed around 3am...coffee in hand. All went well, until about 3 hours in, where a wreck on the interstate brought traffic to a stand-still for about an hour.

Finally arriving at the destination around 9am, I turned onto the dirt road that would carry me to my campsite. The road is a 1.5 lane wide dirt road that rides along the ridge of a mountain. It contains many potholes, ruts, blind corners, and extreme inclines and declines. The only paved part of the road is a section that is so steep, that if it were gravel, you probably wouldn't be able to make it up.

There are about 20-some campsites along the apx. 14 mile road. Some are within shouting distance of one another, but quite a few are very secluded, being upwards of a mile from the nearest neighboring campsite. On the way to my favorite site, I passed numerous sites that were taken. I feared that my site would be too, but luckily, when I rounded the corner and crested the hill, it was vacant!

I backed in, and quickly went to work setting up camp. One of the new pieces of gear I'd purchased was an Oztent. This is an awesome tent, with a screened in porch and lots of room

The tent boasts a 30 second setup time, which is technically true if all you're counting is erecting the tent (which is great if it's raining and you need a quick shelter). There's another 20+ minutes of staking out the tent and setting up the porch, if you so desire. If you're interested in more info on this tent, let me know and I can do a review on it.

Another piece of kit I'd been wanting to test out is my Coleman Camp Kitchen.

I'd received the kitchen and lantern as a Christmas gift two years prior, and had never used it. The Coleman stove was my 10-year anniversary gift from work (which also hadn't been used yet).

An hour or so after I set it up, however, I realized that the pole the lantern was hanging from was probably better suited for a lighter weight lantern, as it was beginning to lean more and more as time went on. I removed the lantern to prevent breaking the pole on it's first outing.

Camp was set up.

I figured it'd be a good time to take a good photo of the new truck, in it's natural environment ;)

Next, it was finally time to relax. Hammock in the tree, it was nice enjoying the silence of the woods. So nice, that I recouped some of that sleep I'd lost getting up at 3am.

After a nice little nap, I quickly began to fear for my life. With a good breeze blowing, the acorns were falling from the trees like rocks. I'd hear them crashing down through the leaves, and would quickly cover my head, to have one land right next to me. Thankfully I was never hit, but had some close calls, landing inches from me.

Carrying on a "family tradition" of 4:00 "wine time", I fixed up one of my favorite camping drinks. Hot apple cider with rum

...which was almost taken out by an acorn

Afternoon snacks completed, and some more hammock time behind me, it was time for dinner. You CANNOT beat a steak cooked over a fire!

Grilled avacodo is pretty good too.

Belly full, it was time for another hot cider and rum, while enjoying the fire

One cool thing about the camp spot is, being on the top of a mountain, you can see for a LONG ways. It's neat looking out over the lights of the towns that are miles and miles away. Even watching airplanes take off and land from a large, international airport that is about 80 miles away (as the crow flies).

Drink gone, fire burning down, it was time to turn in.

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After a great nights sleep, I woke up early to get the coffee made in time to watch the sunrise over the distant horizon

Hard to beat a mountain sunrise.

Sun up and warming things up, it was time for breakfast and to try out this fancy new Coleman setup.

Southwest eggs with cheese, sausage, and coffee...in the mountains....is great!

...so great in fact that the bees loved the leftover coffee grounds and food crumbs haha

After cleaning up from breakfast, it was time to enjoy the hammock again

After some relaxing, I realized that I needed more firewood if I was going to have a fire that night.

Nice axe, and a good opportunity for some product placement ;)

One of the nice things about that Oztent are the panels that can be added to the front awning, creating an enclosed "porch". This is great for shade, to get out of the rain, or to use as a bathroom!

I'm not above digging a hole and leaning a tree, but when it's below freezing outside, it's nice to have a semi-warm and wind proof place to do your business.

The rest of the day included short bursts of energy to chop wood, followed by relaxing in the hammock.

While the fire was getting started, it was time for some more hot cider and rum. Dinner the second night was bratwurst, avocado, and pork skins! haha...don't judge!

...and included a nice view as the sun set, casting shadows on the neighboring mountain
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It was a sad realization that as the sun set, and the fire slowly died down, that tomorrow I'd be heading home.

Morning came after another good night of sleep. Leftover bratwurst, eggs , and coffee were on the menu as the sun rose over the neighboring mountain.

Camp broken down and packed up, I started on the long trip back to reality.

I realized that while I really enjoy having someone there to share the experience with, I can't let that hold me back from going out on my own when the desire hits. I fell like I miss out on a lot of opportunities cause I'm waiting for someone else to do them with me. There's definitely going to be more solo trips in my future!

Bonus story - On the road home, not far from the campsite, I was attacked by two turkeys! haha

Rounding the corner, I encountered two turkeys, each on either side of the road

Slowing down to a stop, to avoid hitting them, the one of the right walked out in front of my truck, and the one on the left walked up to the double yellow line and started staring at me. A couple cars in the oncoming lane slowed down to a stop the watch the show as well. as I inched forward, not wanting to hit the one that walked in front of me, she finally walked out to where I could see her. They both started staring at me...kinda freaking me out! haha I was waiting for them to pull out a donation bucket, and ask me for a donation to the National Wild Turkey Federation.