1. Rex does not like headlamps.
2. Rex does not like tents, but he likes them more than he likes headlamps.
3. Rex really does not like to be tied to a tree.
4. The earlier we start, the better. It was getting dark by the time we made camp. No bueno.
5. Brad's outdoor culinary abilities are way above par. Best out-of-the-bag mashed potatoes I've ever had!
6. Brad cannot throw a bear bag as well as he can throw, say, a baseball or a football.
7. Rex likes Ramen.
8. I like Ramen.
9. You can eat oatmeal out of the pouch...rip it open, pour in some hot water, mush it around.
10. Severe thunderstorms are best experienced in the middle of nowhere late at night.
#10 may sound sarcastic, but it's not. Scout's honor. That thunderstorm was probably one of the coolest things I have ever experienced in the great outdoors, in part because it sounded just like a nature CD. Epic, right? Picture it: Brad and I fall asleep talking about thunderstorms, our favorite. A couple of hours later a loud noise awakens us and soon after a burst of lightning briefly illuminates our tent. Falling down in torrents, rain starts pelting the rain-fly, but the three of us (Brad, Rex, and me) stay perfectly dry (and warm) despite the weather's severity and the chilly temperatures. Every minute or so, we hear cracks of lightning interspersed by rolls of thunder, the noise seeming to resonate even more than usual because of our position deep down in the holler. All the while the biggest run in Shenandoah National Park flows just 20 yards away from our campsite. Think babbling brook on steroids.
This will probably surprise many, but I didn't even have to pee in the middle of the night. I purposefully cut off my water supply at 7:00PM-ish. I have no idea what time it really was because I may or may not have lost the watch at some point during the day's journey. Whoops.
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