Well, I made my reservation too late for this weekend so I was only able to go for 1 night. I opted for Friday instead of Sunday. On Thursday I purchased a new tent, and on Friday I stopped to pick up an airbed and some sheets. I already had a regular sleeping bag and a fleece sleeping bag.
I was doing stuff Friday morning and finally got on the road to the campground around 3 pm. I arrived at Hickory Run State Park a little before 5 pm. I was listening on the radio about chance of showers, and it was sprinkling a little. I hoped to be able to set up the tent without rain. The tent instructions said set up time of 10 minutes. Wrong! Anyway, I finally got it up except for the staking into the ground because I need to get a mallet, and Hickory Run has especially rocky ground. Then I had to wrangle the rain flap. I managed to get it moderately in the right place. Then I started my campfire. I love campfires! I purchased the makings of s'mores just for that very reason! I got the fire going and everything is going great. I threw my steak on the grill and waited for it to cook when suddenly the rain came. Oh noes!* One of the bad things about camping by yourself? There's no one to take a picture of you holding your umbrella over the fire so the flames don't go out, especially since your dinner hasn't finished cooking. Unfortunately, while I was successful in finishing dinner cooking, I was not successful in s'more having. Sob!
After I got tired of hanging out in the rain, I went and took a shower, and then brought a book to bed. I had a new Maglite torch so I could read. Which was good, because it was only 8 pm! I read for a while and then tried to sleep at 9:30. I wasn't entirely successful, partly because of the rain and partly because I was right across from that bathrooms and there was a lot of talking nearby. Finally I was able to sleep except for the 4 times I had to wake up and leave my tent to use said facilities. Also I got to see how much water was creeping into the tent. Wish I'd had that mallet to keep the tent staked out! I hate that dampness feeling that permeates everything, even if it's not actually wet.
Saturday morning dawns and I woke up to a lot of noise. I'm surprised I slept in as late as I did. It's 7:30 am and I couldn't be bothered to move. However, it's plenty light inside the tent so I could read! I had to get up to use the bathroom again so I went to the car afterwards to snag myself a lemon poppyseed muffin and then I went back to the tent to continue reading. For Saturday I had decided to swim and bike, possibly back to back, possibly separate. I put my swimsuit on and grabbed my wetsuit, thinking I would walk to the lake. Only I couldn't find the path so I went back to the car to drive it. I got to the lake around 10:30 am. I was the only one there. I put my wetsuit on and got in the water. Brr! Glad I had the wetsuit, actually! There are a couple of swimming areas roped off and I don't see protocol for which to use so I stuck to the middle section. (From google maps satellite image it looks like the middle section is 50 or 60 meters long.) I was in the lake for an hour, and then I got out for a break and also to go get my camera so I could document for you! Here's what I looked like for the swim (and taking this picture with the timer was hard to do!) I'm wearing my .5 mil neoprene skin suit, so not a full wetsuit but since my wetsuits are for scuba the sleeves aren't cut for swimming. I figured the thinner one would be easier to swim in than the thicker one. I did feel like my arms were being strangled, which was not fun, but I was able to freestyle a good bit. So I am hopeful that I can swim more of the race course freestyle.
I swam for about 1.5 hours and then I got bored so I went back to the campsite. I did not have to "check out" until 3 pm, so I decided to stoke up the fire and make the s'mores I couldn't do the day before. I got the fire going, and in between stoking it I started to take down the tent. Things were still wet, so I just shoved it in the car and will need to take it out to dry and refold later. I didn't really have lunch food, but I did have 3 small mozzarella balls left over from my tomato & mozz salad the night before so I ate that before I just ate sugar. I thought I might stop to get food before my bike ride (although that didn't work out) so I wasn't concerned with campground food. I read my book and ate roasted marshmallows and life was good. I didn't actually like the graham cracker or chocolate or something so the actual s'more didn't hit the spot, but I have huge love for melty marshmallows. Finally it was 3 pm and I had to scoot as the next people were there already. I just moved my car over to the washhouse to be out of their way. I then needed to oil my bike chain because it was rusty from the rain. I had taken my old bike, the super super heavy one, because I figured I wouldn't be horribly upset if someone stole it. Anyway, I oiled the chain and then went to the bathroom to wash my hands and change my clothes. I did not take the opportunity to fill my water bottles, and I didn't fill the brita pitcher either. I figured I'd just stop at a convenience store and pick up some nice cold water. I left the campground and went in search of a convenience store. Oops, it's farther away than I remembered. Oh well. I came upon a bunch of people pushing a van. "Do you need a jump?" No, they'd run out of gas. I needed to get out of the way of oncoming traffic so I scooted past them. When I got to the gas station I got a gallon of water, some beef jerky, and a container to fill a gallon of gas. The cashier took forever but finally I filled the gas can and headed back to the stranded car. They were still there, so I stopped and gave them the container. I can't imagine being stuck on the road, and they had a bunch of kids in the car. At least it was in the daylight, but still. Anyway, I left them with the container and headed off to the entrance to the Lehigh Gorge trail. (Which apparently wasn't quite the trailhead, but whatever.)
I filled my water bottle, hurriedly ate some jerky, grabbed some snacks and my camera and off I went! It was turning out to be a much prettier day than it had started. I was mostly alone on the trail. It runs right by the river so I was once again on a river trail! It was nice to have a change of scenery though. The trail was heading downhill ever so slowly, which meant I would have to pedal uphill to come back; not the ideal way to do it. Anyway, I figured I would bike for an hour and a half and then turn around and come back so I wouldn't get stuck in the dark. I met this couple from Maryland on the trail. We stopped at the waterfall to take a picture.
In the 1.5 hours one way I rode 15 miles. On the way back, I ate my 2 packs of Gel Blasts and drank all my water. I wasn't in the mood for my luna moons or shot bloks. I think if I'd had a normal lunch it might not have been so bad, but the last 8 miles of the return trip were hard! I kept in my head the "spinning spinning spinning" chant S used during the irongirl tri. I didn't bonk, per se, but I was really glad to make it back to my car and chow down on another lemon poppyseed muffin. I had a hard time getting the silly bike back on my car rack because it is so heavy and I was so tired. I succeeded. I was covered with bugs and sweat so I decided to stop and get some real food and change into more comfortable clothing. I stopped at an A&W store and got a burger and rootbeer! The drive home was unremarkable.
I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of the weekend. It's going to be beautiful! Maybe run if I can get my leg to feel better! What are you going to do with Labor Day weekend?
*What's with me and new tents and rain? I went camping in 2001, 2004, and 2008 and every single time I've been in a new tent being used for the first time it rains.
I was doing stuff Friday morning and finally got on the road to the campground around 3 pm. I arrived at Hickory Run State Park a little before 5 pm. I was listening on the radio about chance of showers, and it was sprinkling a little. I hoped to be able to set up the tent without rain. The tent instructions said set up time of 10 minutes. Wrong! Anyway, I finally got it up except for the staking into the ground because I need to get a mallet, and Hickory Run has especially rocky ground. Then I had to wrangle the rain flap. I managed to get it moderately in the right place. Then I started my campfire. I love campfires! I purchased the makings of s'mores just for that very reason! I got the fire going and everything is going great. I threw my steak on the grill and waited for it to cook when suddenly the rain came. Oh noes!* One of the bad things about camping by yourself? There's no one to take a picture of you holding your umbrella over the fire so the flames don't go out, especially since your dinner hasn't finished cooking. Unfortunately, while I was successful in finishing dinner cooking, I was not successful in s'more having. Sob!
After I got tired of hanging out in the rain, I went and took a shower, and then brought a book to bed. I had a new Maglite torch so I could read. Which was good, because it was only 8 pm! I read for a while and then tried to sleep at 9:30. I wasn't entirely successful, partly because of the rain and partly because I was right across from that bathrooms and there was a lot of talking nearby. Finally I was able to sleep except for the 4 times I had to wake up and leave my tent to use said facilities. Also I got to see how much water was creeping into the tent. Wish I'd had that mallet to keep the tent staked out! I hate that dampness feeling that permeates everything, even if it's not actually wet.
Saturday morning dawns and I woke up to a lot of noise. I'm surprised I slept in as late as I did. It's 7:30 am and I couldn't be bothered to move. However, it's plenty light inside the tent so I could read! I had to get up to use the bathroom again so I went to the car afterwards to snag myself a lemon poppyseed muffin and then I went back to the tent to continue reading. For Saturday I had decided to swim and bike, possibly back to back, possibly separate. I put my swimsuit on and grabbed my wetsuit, thinking I would walk to the lake. Only I couldn't find the path so I went back to the car to drive it. I got to the lake around 10:30 am. I was the only one there. I put my wetsuit on and got in the water. Brr! Glad I had the wetsuit, actually! There are a couple of swimming areas roped off and I don't see protocol for which to use so I stuck to the middle section. (From google maps satellite image it looks like the middle section is 50 or 60 meters long.) I was in the lake for an hour, and then I got out for a break and also to go get my camera so I could document for you! Here's what I looked like for the swim (and taking this picture with the timer was hard to do!) I'm wearing my .5 mil neoprene skin suit, so not a full wetsuit but since my wetsuits are for scuba the sleeves aren't cut for swimming. I figured the thinner one would be easier to swim in than the thicker one. I did feel like my arms were being strangled, which was not fun, but I was able to freestyle a good bit. So I am hopeful that I can swim more of the race course freestyle.
I swam for about 1.5 hours and then I got bored so I went back to the campsite. I did not have to "check out" until 3 pm, so I decided to stoke up the fire and make the s'mores I couldn't do the day before. I got the fire going, and in between stoking it I started to take down the tent. Things were still wet, so I just shoved it in the car and will need to take it out to dry and refold later. I didn't really have lunch food, but I did have 3 small mozzarella balls left over from my tomato & mozz salad the night before so I ate that before I just ate sugar. I thought I might stop to get food before my bike ride (although that didn't work out) so I wasn't concerned with campground food. I read my book and ate roasted marshmallows and life was good. I didn't actually like the graham cracker or chocolate or something so the actual s'more didn't hit the spot, but I have huge love for melty marshmallows. Finally it was 3 pm and I had to scoot as the next people were there already. I just moved my car over to the washhouse to be out of their way. I then needed to oil my bike chain because it was rusty from the rain. I had taken my old bike, the super super heavy one, because I figured I wouldn't be horribly upset if someone stole it. Anyway, I oiled the chain and then went to the bathroom to wash my hands and change my clothes. I did not take the opportunity to fill my water bottles, and I didn't fill the brita pitcher either. I figured I'd just stop at a convenience store and pick up some nice cold water. I left the campground and went in search of a convenience store. Oops, it's farther away than I remembered. Oh well. I came upon a bunch of people pushing a van. "Do you need a jump?" No, they'd run out of gas. I needed to get out of the way of oncoming traffic so I scooted past them. When I got to the gas station I got a gallon of water, some beef jerky, and a container to fill a gallon of gas. The cashier took forever but finally I filled the gas can and headed back to the stranded car. They were still there, so I stopped and gave them the container. I can't imagine being stuck on the road, and they had a bunch of kids in the car. At least it was in the daylight, but still. Anyway, I left them with the container and headed off to the entrance to the Lehigh Gorge trail. (Which apparently wasn't quite the trailhead, but whatever.)
I filled my water bottle, hurriedly ate some jerky, grabbed some snacks and my camera and off I went! It was turning out to be a much prettier day than it had started. I was mostly alone on the trail. It runs right by the river so I was once again on a river trail! It was nice to have a change of scenery though. The trail was heading downhill ever so slowly, which meant I would have to pedal uphill to come back; not the ideal way to do it. Anyway, I figured I would bike for an hour and a half and then turn around and come back so I wouldn't get stuck in the dark. I met this couple from Maryland on the trail. We stopped at the waterfall to take a picture.
In the 1.5 hours one way I rode 15 miles. On the way back, I ate my 2 packs of Gel Blasts and drank all my water. I wasn't in the mood for my luna moons or shot bloks. I think if I'd had a normal lunch it might not have been so bad, but the last 8 miles of the return trip were hard! I kept in my head the "spinning spinning spinning" chant S used during the irongirl tri. I didn't bonk, per se, but I was really glad to make it back to my car and chow down on another lemon poppyseed muffin. I had a hard time getting the silly bike back on my car rack because it is so heavy and I was so tired. I succeeded. I was covered with bugs and sweat so I decided to stop and get some real food and change into more comfortable clothing. I stopped at an A&W store and got a burger and rootbeer! The drive home was unremarkable.
I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of the weekend. It's going to be beautiful! Maybe run if I can get my leg to feel better! What are you going to do with Labor Day weekend?
*What's with me and new tents and rain? I went camping in 2001, 2004, and 2008 and every single time I've been in a new tent being used for the first time it rains.
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2 comments:
If it doesn't rain while you tent camp, then you aren't camping!
Your waterfall looked lovely.
S'mores aren't really fun past the first one once you aren't a kid anymore. Burnt to a crisp marshmallows are divine, however. Who besides your dad has patience to slowly brown them? How boring.
Nice you helped the out-of-gas family. Somebody must have brought you up very correctly.
If it doesn't rain while you tent camp, then you aren't camping!
I was very grateful I was not in Scotland. The rain, the wet sheep, the icky camping conditions... that's something I only need to experience once! [Take note, gentle readers; when in Scotland, choose Bed & Breakfasts or Hostels or something with a roof!]
I did not have the patience to slowly brown my marshmallows. I tried, but was not successful. They were still delicious.
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