Camping fever...

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Finally, the temperatures dropped and the humidity with it.  I put in a hard day at the farm and drove from there to the Morrow’s where I still had a dock to stain.  An hour later, I was headed for home and thinking about a bike ride since I had the time.

I was on the road by six with a goal of returning by eight.  A friend was coming over to borrow a tent and some camping gear for a weekend trip.  She had little experience camping or with gear as evidenced by a call she’d made to me earlier in the week.

“I’m looking on line at this tent for $50.  It says it sleeps two.  I need it for Olivia and me for the weekend,” she said.

“Look, Maria, I applaud your wanting to get a tent and do some camping, but you’re throwing your money away.  Anything that costs so little will be crap and only good for sleepovers…if it’s pitched in the living room,” I replied.

I convinced her not to spend the money and told her to come by and I’d show her how to set it up.  My gear sits in the attic between trips and better it is used by someone who will then become more interested in the activity and get into it themselves.  I still figure the more people camping, the better.  Backcountry land is protected because people like me want and need it and become advocates.  The more there are, the better the chances of its preservation.

The ride proved challenging because of the winds, which were blowing hard and out of whatever direction I seemed to be facing.  The course I typically take does put me into the wind over the last ten miles and is exhausting.  I returned home just as Maria arrived.  We pulled the tent, sleeping bags, and bedrolls from the attic and I showed her how to set it up.  “It’s really quite easy, but if you have any difficulty, I’m sure one of the 15 people you’re going with will know something about it.  Besides, you’ve seen the picture of Savannah and Heidi setting it up and they did it in ten minutes with no instruction.  And they were ten and eight at the time,” I said.

I made some French toast for us before she left and wrapped my heel in my ice pack for 45 minutes before settling down in front of the TV to watch a K2 climbing documentary.  I have watched several of these on the climbing of the world’s highest peaks and am still amazed at the determination of the people making the attempts.  K2 presents 50/50 odds of dying under some of the most brutal conditions on the planet.  Yet like moths to a candle, climbers are drawn to the world’s second highest, but most difficult climbing challenge.  God bless them.  Absolutely no interest here.

Bike duration:  Two hours.

Training Heart Rate:  120 bpm.

Calories burned during workout:  1700.