And with that Lesson 1: If you gut tells you something feels off, it probably is, and you should leave. Twice on this trip my gut told me to leave and both times I did.
The first time was night 3, I was at a mixed use camp site/motel in Copalis WA. I want to make very clear that this issue was not with the camp ground itself or the staff. They were lovely and I would be happy to stay at the motel or stay here in an RV, but in the tent space I was left exposed to people who made me feel unsafe. The way the site is set up is that the Motel is in the front, followed by the RV sites with all of the camp ground amenities and then the tent sites in the back. I was the ONLY tent camper so no one had any reason to be anywhere near my site or my car. It had been a really windy day and rainy night and I had been unable set up my tent, so I slept in my car. On several instances people shined their lights into my car, knocked on my car and were being loud past quiet hours and into the wee hours of the morning, so I left that site at 2am and drove down to Long Beach, WA were I was actually able to get a few hours sleep in my car- under a street lamp with no interruptions.
The 2nd time was what should have been night 4. I had booked a camp site on hipcamp and it was supposed to have river view tubs and a bath house, the person who ran the site was out of town but gave me information. When I got there the tubs were filled with spider webs and animal feces, and the shower looked like someone had been murdered in it- finger prints on the walls and all. So I canceled my stay on the spot and drove home. This had already been a really long day, after not sleeping much the night before and doing A LOT of driving, but I felt unsafe, and lied to about the site and it's not worth it. I wouldn't have been able to sleep any way.
Lesson 2: Maybe State and National Park Camp Grounds aren't so bad after all. For as much as the state park camp ground had it's draw backs of a lot of people, I felt safer there, so this was a good set of lessons to learn, I think with limited exceptions I will stick with more established park sites.
Lesson 3: Rain Gear. I have a really great rain jacket that I love and it definitely got used this trip. My first hike was up Hurricane Hill at the Hurricane Ridge section of the Olympic National Park. I hiked over 3 miles and 50 flights of stairs only to be greeted by no view (Fog and Clouds) and freezing rain. My sweatshirt and rain jacket kept my core warm, but being in shorts meant my legs felt all of the pelting frozen rain pellets. It hurt so I will be looking into rain pants or at least long hiking pants for future outings.
Lesson 4: Making a list and checking it twice is great, but don't expect your 4:00am brain to remember things. Whenever possible get EVERYTHING packet into the car the night before. I again forgot my pillow and worse yet I forget the camping pillow- so I stopped at a Walmart and got myself a cheap pillow but it certainly was not what I was hoping to have.
Lesson 5: Having a base camp. I'd had the most enjoyable time when I had a base camp to come back to and didn't have to worry about packing up and setting up later. I'd like to try another trip where I have a base site in the middle of a lot of things and come back to that every night rather than picking up a moving, as that in and of itself is draining and stressful.
Lesson 6: I don't have to cook every meal for myself. There are some wonderful restaurants and bakeries in small town across America, why not enjoy them?
Lesson 7: I really understand the appeal of a van or trailer that has some form of bathroom in it, and know that it would open up more options for me as someone traveling with IBS and an ever expanding list of allergies.
Lesson 8: The Ocean has restorative properties. I knew this already, but after my night 3 fiasco, walking onto Cannon Beach in the morning, was instantly restorative. I felt made anew.
Lesson 9: Pace yourself. (Flights of stairs are based on elevation changes experienced) My first day I did over 7 miles and 58 flights of stairs. Day 2 I did 5 miles and 9 flights of stairs, Day 3 I did 2 miles and 13 flights of stairs, Day 4 I did 4 miles and 2 flights of stairs. I was sore after day 1 and really sore after day 2. As I plan for long trips I think it's important that I plan grace days. Days where I explore in nearby towns, or do simple things in order to not burn myself out.
Lesson 10: I can do hard things. That's this summer's motto and I plan do do at least 1 more camping trip this summer continuing to take the lessons that I've learned and seeing more amazing things across the Pacific Northwest.
Signing off for now
C
No comments:
Post a Comment