Camping Anyone?

Okay, bear with me while I wander down memory lane! We enjoyed our 10th Annual trip to Silver Creek Plunge this past summer and  I need to go back a few years to build on what my point is going to be.

I grew up camping, REALLY camping! If it didn't fit into a backpack and could not be carried into some remote lake then it did not make the trip. Then when we moved to Alaska, camping took on a whole new realm of possibilities. In summer months, there were white water rafting trips, where all the gear was strapped into boats therefore some luxuries comfortably came with us. Or, after crossing two trams and hiking into a pristinely preserved but abandoned copper mine where we had a cabin, aptly called the Dynamite Shack, we would be at the mercy of the wilderness and it's inhabitants. In winter, we had a Shepherd's tent set up where we mushed our dog teams into and then did loops from there, training ourselves and the dogs. Sleeping at night in North Face bags rated for -60 degrees. If gear could not fit into your sled and be hauled easily, it too was left behind. So you would think I would have all the camping ins and outs cased, right?!? Here is my confession:

My first solo trip, twelve years ago went like this...

Our firstborn son was 5 months old and weighed 24 lbs. This small fact will become important soon. My uncle, whom I had grown up with called to ask if we wanted to go with him and his young girls on a weekend camping trip. He clarified that we would be hiking only about 3 miles but fording a river a couple of times to get to our destination. Oh, I was in! I asked my husband, he agreed and asked me if I knew what I was getting into, since he had not done a lot of this sort of thing. I assured him that I had it covered, after all I was a CAMPER! So, we found a backpack, loaded it with the things I could think of, got in our car and headed to the wilderness.

After 5 hours in the car, we reached the pullout and began our trek. My uncle and cousins took the lead and we were off down the trail. I was so excited to show my husband all my backwoods skills, we crossed the river, climbed some hills, whacked at brush and arrived at the hot springs we were seeking. After months of inactivity and the gain of 42 lbs. from my pregnancy (not an ounce have I lost to this day) I was exhausted from carrying that 24 pound baby on my back for 2 hours while fording rivers and climbing MOUNTAINS. :) Paul sent me to nurse the baby while I dangled my legs in the hot pool. He set up the tent and came over to ask what we were sleeping in. I replied that I had brought a blanket. (yes, A BLANKET) I should have taken a clue from the frown that formed on his brow.

My uncle had set up his tent and started a fire. His girls were eating something he had brought and he wasn't hungry. Paul asked what we were eating. "Oh, I put some potatoes and tin foil in one of the pockets of the pack." Again, that furrowed brow. "And?" he asked me. So I stomped over to the fire, wrapped the potatoes in the foil and threw them in the fire, we ate some granola bars and waited. The temperature was dropping fast and I'm wondering about my t-shirt and shorts. If you are wondering about the baby, he was good, we brought 40 different things for him including all the cloth diapers he would need for the 2 days of camping (it didn't occur to me I would have to carry them out). After about an hour I checked the potatoes, ROCK HARD! Okay, now Paul's frown was beyond slight. He was mad. I was freezing, exhausted and starving! The baby was having the time of his life, he couldn't be happier. After all he was nursing and completely replete.

At ten o'clock my uncle and cousins crawled into bed and went to sleep. No, our potatoes were still not done, but we ate them anyway. Paul was gritting his teeth the entire time. We crawled into our tent and the temp was at about 50 degrees. I had completely forgot that in the mountains it gets cold AT NIGHT. Hey, it was 95 degrees when we left our house, who would have thought it would get COLD!!!! Our one worthless blanket was really lacking, so I got out of the tent and took the rain fly off and brought that in to cover us. Tristan, the baby was bundled up and snoring loudly with a happy baby look on his face. I had a raging headache, still starving and rapidly loosing all my body heat. By 2:30 am it was 40 degrees and I decided that I was best served keeping the fire going all night. I left my slumbering baby and shivering husband and started cutting wood to revive the fire.

When the sun crested the mountain horizon, I had cut wood ALL night long, was suffering a puking migraine and was convinced I would die sitting on that log before I walked another foot out of those mountains. As each of the campers crawled out of bed that morning I'm sure I was a scary site. I pulled Paul to the side and asked him to go get a helicopter to retrieve me, I could not move! The combination of a 24 pound baby, my extra 42 pounds and NO CALORIES in 24 hours had left me near death, I was sure. Paul finally rallied me, left his irritation in one of the hot pools and we walked out. I swore that day I would figure out what went wrong. I WAS A CAMPER! As God revealed on that trek back to the car, my family were campers, THEY took the necessary steps to ensure that our needs were met, and I was completely clueless other than the experiences given to me. I resolved to step into the hiking boots that they had walked in and show my kids someday the same joys my family had shown me.

So, now back to present with our 10th trip under our belt. My husband trusts that I will not leave one thing behind. You see, I am a camper, but not the backpacker type, or the dogmushing sort or the white water rafter variety. I am the kind of camper that wants to have the best time possible in the wilds of nature but with all the tools to make that experience comfortable. We do not bring electronics, or generators or motorized rec vehicles, but I do have 10 large totes of camping gear. We haul it in a trailer, along with 4 coolers, the bicycles, a cooks tent and board games. Over the years, we have stocked all the totes with yard sale finds, junk store treasures and little luxury extras. Each year we make a list as to what we should bring next year. Our improvements this year; a blow-up boat and sand toys for the creek, a toss-about ice cream maker from REI, (this is a must, it worked outstanding, thank you Dennis) and my 3 inch memory foam mattress pad from my bed for the top of the air-mattress. (That was glorious, let me tell YOU!) So our list for this year; a collapsible shelf for our cooks tent, wood mat to stand on when bathing, and a long narrow piece of steel from the recycler to lay over the fire instead of the metal grate that always falls in the fire pit.

My camping heritage is not lost and I am so glad that fateful trip 12 years ago did not discourage us from loving the outdoors and sharing it with our kids and grandkids to come. AND, I am most thankful that my husband was able to eventually trust my backwoods abilities and that my uncle never ribbed me for my ignorance. :)

Happy Camping! 

Photo Credit © Andy-kim Möller | Dreamstime.com