Girl, Camping!

I woke up in the middle of the woods of Moshannon State Forest in a tent, with a very strange and unpleasant taste in my mouth. I must say I do not recommend tooth brushing with Dr. Sheffield's anti-itch cream. No, in fact, I say stay away from that stuff; it tastes nasty!

I had had the good sense to bring my backpack and boots into the tent overnight. This put my gear out of the range of both woodrats and porcupines; a square deal, indeed.

The middle of the night had found me awake and cold at our low of 30 degrees F, but I'd snuggled down into my sleeping bag and mummied up to keep warm. It seemed like forever that I was awake. Roll to the left. Roll to the right.

And then suddenly, it was 7:30 in the morning, with the golden sun peeping along the horizon. There are no curtains on this villa, so believe you me, when the sun comes up, unless you put a hat on over your eyes, you are UP.

A wood thrush sang on a branch far overhead, and a second one came down closer. It sat on a branch, hopped around on the log by my tent, the same log that the porcupine ran past on that one time. (Yes, backpackers, there are porcupines in these woods. And they are HUNGRY for your gear! Plan accordingly!)

Morning is a great time to hang out in the tent and play house. And so that is exactly what I do! I have a fold-up chair that I can sit on inside the tent, and that is where I begin my day. I had just brushed my hair and started to take a few things out of the tent. My husband asked to take a picture of me in my tent, so above is one of those shots. This is me, GirlWithACamera, in my home away from home!

I typically get to lollygag in the tent for a few hours before we have some lunch and pack up our gear and walk back out. Anyone who has ever made a fort out of blankets and chairs in the living room will appreciate some good tent time. (My husband, on the other hand, takes his tent down instantly, as soon as he gets up in the morning.)

But by about 10:30, I spread out the blue half-groundsheet you see in front of me, place all my stuff on it, and take the tent down. My husband puts up a clothes line where we can dry out any damp gear. Everything airs out for an hour or two before it gets packed up.

And so it was that everything that went into the tent the afternoon before came back OUT: two thin blankets on the floor, two flat sleeping pads, the green blow-up pad named Big Agnes, my fleece bag, sleeping bag, bamboo pillow, and all the rest of my clothing, stuffed animals, etc. And in this case, backpack and boots too!

It was about an hour's walk back to the car after we said farewell to our backpack site in the Moshannon State Forest, and then we were on our way home: toward food and drink, a nice hot shower, and all of the entertainments of civilization. And happy, of course, with the first backpack trip of the season under our belts!

I'm picking this song to go with our night in a forest: John Denver, with Annie's Song.