Well, that was a total bust. I thought the weather would be good for camping. Let me describe my camping spot. First it takes 30 miles of paved road. Then turn onto a small paved(?) road for about 3 miles. Then on a dirt road for another 9 miles. The first three miles are ok but the next 6 miles are not vehicle friendly. Then I turn off the road and travel a little over a mile. Well into the mountains. Well beyond what normal people do. Surrounded by tall pine trees, no sign of people. I do set up early warning bear devices so I can sleep peacefully.
We arrive to my campsite. No one has been here since I was here last summer. I have a rock stove built so I got a fire going. I cleaned up the site, preparing the bedding area, digging it out, softening up the dirt, replacing the pine needles. It is open camping, no tent. Just throw a blanket onto the soft dirt and pine needles, then more blankets to sleep under. There is significant snowfall here in winter, so when the snow melts it just absorbs into the ground. The dirt is powder fine and my foot sinks about 3 inches into the dry ground.
We had a great afternoon, did some hiking up to a little lake, saw some deer and turkey. We came back to camp and started cooking dinner. Nice cool temperatures, slight breeze to keep bugs away, fantastic sunset. Just my wife and me.
It might be primitive camping but I do have a table built using twine and split logs. Also a couple chairs built the same way. We had a good dinner, watched the stars come out. We are far away from town so the night sky is bright. About 10 pm it is really cooling off so we head towards the sleeping area.
About 4am something woke me up. I open my eyes, bear gun in hands and scan the perimeter. I noticed the wind is really picking up. Then something hit my face, something cold and wet. Oh fudge. I sit up and see the lightning. The rain drops are few and far apart, but very large. Big rain drops mean big storm.
I jumped up, grabbed my wife and the blankets and head to the truck. The fire in the rock stove is almost out but being a good boy scout I dump water on it. The rain is getting pretty hard by now. I get the rest of our gear and throw it in the truck. It is a little over a mile to the road and I don't want to get stuck in the mud. It is a full downpour by now, with lightning really lighting up the area. I am not comfortable under the Pondarosa or Douglas pine trees. They are about 50-60 feet tall and from the scars down the trunks they must really attract lightening. Fortunately I had put on my off road tires before starting this adventure, and we make it to the road, but not without a lot of spinning and sliding.
The road is nothing more than two ruts, and that is where the water is running. At least it is down hill. But the mud takes over and we are stuck. I have a little tri-fold survival shovel, but I am smart enough to carry a full size shovel. I get out and start digging, because from experience I have learned that the truck will continue sinking even if I am not spinning the tires. I get enough flat rocks and logs into the rut to stop the tires from sinking. Then back into the truck to warm up and wait it out.
After about an hour the rain stops. The eastern sky is turning reddish. I wake my wife and we eat a cold breakfast. I get out to inspect the damage, and my foot sunk 8 inches into the mud. I start digging, trying to dig out enough mud to put more flat rocks down. I am finally satisfied that we now have a fighting chance. I start up, make sure the 4WD is engaged, and hit it. I get 15 feet. So, I start all over again. Digging, placing rocks, get in, hit it, 15 feet. And this is how I spent most of Sunday. Meanwhile, my loving and doting wife is on the rear seat asleep under all the blankets, snug as a bug in the rug.
After 12 hours I finally make it to the part of the road that will support the truck. I can finally drive more than 15 feet. We were at about 9500 in altitude. I live at 6500 feet so I am used to the altitude. However, I am not used to working a shovel all day. Combine the altitude and shovel and that is the work for young men.
All in all a good time was had. We got to spend some quality time together out in the mountains, something I dearly love. We got to battle the elements and we won, this time. This is monsoon season for us so I should have been better prepared in case of rain, but what's the fun of that?
