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Chrysanthemum and I went camping for the first time this year just the other weekend. We stayed at one of our favorite campsites in Bald Eagle State Forest from Friday April 11th through Tuesday April 15th. We had intended to stay until Wednesday the 16th, but unforeseen circumstances required that we leave a day early. Call us camping-freaks or enthusiasts or whatever, but it just doesn't seem like camping to us unless we go for close to a week, which still doesn't seem long enough.
As usual, we chose to go around or
during the full moon. We try to camp during the full moon for
several reasons: there is less need for artificial light at night;
such a time suits certain aspects of our nature-based spirituality;
the moonlight makes getting up in the middle of the night to go
"potty" much easier; and it's just so darn romantic.
One other reason why we chose to camp
during this time was because there was to be a total lunar eclipse
during the early morning hours of Tuesday April 15th, but
unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and it was heavily
overcast and raining during the time of the eclipse and into the
following day.
The weather was supposed to be somewhat
cold at night the first day, warm and sunny the following 3 days, and
then rainy, freezing cold and miserable the remaining days, so we
took an unusually large assortment of blankets to make up for the
fact it was to be so cold. Why blankets and bedding and not sleeping
bags? Good question! The answer is that Chrysanthemum does not have
an acceptable cold-weather mummy bag yet, nor have we purchased the
camp cots we want yet. So why do we desire cots and why all the need
for the fluff under our backs? Because we are both pushing forty and
it just seems that the ground gets harder each year.
Anyway, we crammed the car with all of
our gear, which was very difficult given all the extra bedding we
had, and we left for camp sometime in the late afternoon on Friday.
We were eager to camp, eager to be away from the hustle and bustle of
modern day society, and eager to try out the new gear we had bought
for the next six months of the camping season.
For the trip we had bought a two-burner
Northwest Territory propane camp stove and a small 14" BBQ-Pro
charcoal grill because campfires are not permitted in Pennsylvania
State Forests from March 1st thru May 25th due
to the increased danger of forest fires. Both items performed as
desired for the price we paid and I would recommend them so long as
they continue to function and serve their intended purpose for the
remainder of the year and into the following camping season (look for
reviews on these products in future posts).
We were also quite eager to try out the
Northwest Territory 14' x 12' Screen House we had invested in with
the anticipation that sooner or later we would be placing nice comfy
and cozy cots in it. It to performed quite well for its intended
purpose and if it holds up for several years I would recommend it as
well (also look for reviews on this product in future posts).
Now, there is a bit of a back story
behind the purchase of the screen house. We had wanted something
more open and airy and something larger that would allow us to stand
up inside of it as well as place cots in it once we were able to
purchase the folding camp cots we desired. We thought it through and
had wanted to buy a screen house that was at least 10' x 10',
screened in to control mosquitoes and other pests, something with
attachable walls to be used as a wind break and to protect us from
heavy rains, and if at all possible something with a clear roof to
make the entire experience even more open and airy. Well...we got
the screened walls and the large open area, but that is about all we
could find or afford.
We got to the campsite just a couple
hours before sundown and immediately went to work setting-up the
screen house. It took two of us – although I am fairly certain one
person could, in theory, do it – to set it up, which was
surprisingly not that difficult. There was one problem though –
the ground was wet and there was no floor in the screen house, so we
dug out some plastic sheeting and some tarps that we always keep
handy and slapped them on the ground.
Then while I wheeled our new Igloo
Quantum cooler (product review coming in the near-future) to the
campsite from the car and carried numerous other articles,
Chrysanthemum started to set-up our bedding. Our bedding is an
interesting little ingenious design the two of us created and I am
going to share it with you because it makes a huge difference when
tent camping:
We bought eight of these square foam
24" x 24" puzzle pieces which are about a quarter of an
inch thick. We lay them down on the ground, fit them together, and
then throw an opened sleeping bag and a comforter over them and it
makes a nice and reasonably comfortable sleeping area. This
makeshift bed provides great insulation from the ground and is very
noticeably different from the feeling one has when sleeping with
nothing between them and the ground but a sleeping bag.
So anyway, we got everything set-up and
then I strung some tarps around the outside of the screen house using
some para cord to provide some sort of wind break, and that was pretty
much the first night.
Enter Saturday the 12th...
I got up the following morning and made
coffee, went off into the woods and found a nice spot to hang our
Coleman Solar Shower (look for that product review too), then made a
rig with a long piece of clothesline rope and a heavy steel hook. I
tossed the hook over a branch and lowered it, then used some nylon
rope to fasten the handle of the solar shower to the hook, which I
was then able to raise or lower by pulling on the rope or letting it
loosen, then tying the rope to a nearby tree.
I then went about setting up the rest
of camp and awoke Chrysanthemum for breakfast. We later went off
into the woods to fill the solar shower and set-up a series of tarps
and more clothesline in order to provide a privacy wall from any
passing vehicles on the nearby road. I spent the rest of the day
doing camp chores and drinking a whole lot of alcohol before crashing
out around sunset that night. We had intended to watch a rather
provocative movie on my laptop that night, but unfortunately I did
not make it very far into the movie Pirates, unlike
Chrysanthemum, who made it all the way through the movie – quite
happily.
Once again I awoke first. It was
Sunday morning, April 13th, and the day was bright and
sunny. I quickly discovered that the prior day had provided me with
a lovely sunburn on the top of my head and that Chrysanthemum looked
much worse than me with sunburn on her chest, shoulders, and back.
We had coffee and breakfast and finally managed to settle in to our
camp with little cares left in the world.
That night was a trip, I mean we had a
REAL trip. It all started at about 7pm that night and it just got
better and better as the night went on. I went off into the woods to
go potty and came back pantsless (my preferred state), which just had
Chrysanthemum rolling! We sat there half naked most of the night
under the light of the full moon and next to the glowing embers of
the charcoal grill which had just helped us make a yummy dish of
chicken Alfredo. It was a really beautiful night and one which I
will not likely forget.
We retired to bed around midnight and
took another shot at watching Pirates, then had ourselves a
rather hot and steamy night until sometime after 3 in the morning.
The next day was Monday the 14th,
and it too was to be a day I will never forget. We did the usual
routine, but then set out to put together some plastic sheeting we
had acquired in order to prepare for a heavy rainstorm we were
expecting on Tuesday. We laid the sheeting out and duck taped it
together – it was truly much easier than I had imagined it would
be. Later, we got a phone call which was very unpleasant and called
for my immediate attention, which would also prove to be the reason
we left early.
Immediately after I got the phone call
I was visited by the daughter of one of my ex-girlfriends, a girl
whom I had helped to raise for many years, which was quite pleasant,
but then I was forced to leave camp and head home for a bit, leaving
Chrysanthemum to finish our project with the tarps.
I returned after nightfall to find that
Chrysanthemum had pretty much built a fort around our screen house
(it looked a lot like a pirate ship), and I dare say I was pleasantly
surprised with both the progress she made and her abilities at
construction.
We grilled some pork tenderloin and
some baked potatoes and had a small feast before going on yet another
bit of a trip into the wild and crazy night. We were awaiting the
eclipse and hoping it wouldn't rain. Once again I headed off to the
potty and came back without pants – why does that always seem to
happen? It was set to be another great night, but then the rain came
and we had to go into our "pirate ship" for the night.
Funny, but the rain seemed to arrive
right as the eclipse was due and we never did get to see the thing.
It got pitch black and inside our makeshift tent it was even darker,
if that is possible. You see, the plastic we had used was black
sheeting, 3.5 mil thick, and our tent was a regular sensory
deprivation chamber!
Anyway, we decided we needed to bathe,
so I convinced Chrysanthemum to take a late night rain shower with
me, so we took off our clothes, grabbed so wash clothes and soap, and
went out into the cold rain to take a bath. It was one of the
greatest experiences of my life and I am very glad I did it. I
actually look forward to doing it again someday.
Well, we had another hot steamy night
after that and we both drifted off to sleep (probably around 5
o'clock in the morning). The next day we got up and hurried out of
camp, and so went our first camping trip this season.
Stay tuned for our next camping and/or
hiking adventure and look for some product reviews as we continue to
live our lives "happy as a camper!"
Peace & Happiness,
Alraune
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