january down

you both know i like to have a project.

i decided recently that this year i would like to go camping in every month, and i was running out of january.

i had been going to just toss up my tarp somewhere in camel's hump state forest not too far from the parking, but my team (#ingressresistance) became aware of a problem portal, so i went there instead.

i was nervous about it, because hurricane mountain, or at least the trail to it and the campsite under it is pretty far out of cell reception so my usual safety protocols just weren't possible.

i worry a lot about safety protocols because i do most of my camping and adventuring alone and although most of the time you'll be just fine, you're an idiot if you don't pay extra attention to your safety gear and your safety plan.

in winter things can go sideways fast.

in winter i bring more gear, and redundant safety gear. if i plan to stay on a summit to farm keys, i bring extra clothes for the summit. if i'm going to take a long time on the down side or am camping, i bring a full change of dry clothes that are not the same as my summit clothes, because your summit clothes may be damp from sweat later when you need them to be dry.

i bring enough food to live on for an extra day, and enough firemaking supplies to be able to survive in case i am hurt and my safety team calls out a rescue but i have to wait a few hours or even overnight for it.

it can make the difference between a rescue and a recovery.

nobody likes a recovery.

there was another reason i was nervous about hurricane mountain, but that was a psychological nervousness based on history that i will tell you about later.

anyway, it was warm and pleasant for a hike.

i went up to the shelter and pitched camp at the already occupied gulf brook leanto. i like my solitude, but often when camping i like to have neighbors. the gentlemen at the leanto were welcoming and polite and offfered to share their beer.

they went on their hike; i went on mine. we all returned to camp at about the same time.

left alone i would have just eaten dinner and gone to bed, but they made a toasty fire.

it was the best night's sleep i'd had in a long time.

in the morning they had made too much delicious hot oatmeal and so gave me a hot breakfast. we all packed up and went home.