Thread: Camping
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Old 08-22-2018, 09:36 AM   #323
bbro
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 2,182
I have returned. I camped, I didn't get bit, instead something in the plants attacked me. I have red, hurty, itchy bumps on one arm and a small spot on my leg. These two spots would have never come in contact with each other.

My campsite was awesome. The pictures (of course) were misleading. They were probably taken YEARS ago when it was first built. Still, the site (as told by the front desk lady) is the most coveted site in the park. I could see why

The site is situated directly next to the river. I think it was James Fork River, but none of the maps say what it is. There was a small dam that was crazy loud at night. All you could hear was the river. No way to stop and listen to see if an unknown animal was getting into the tent. It was creepier the second night because almost everyone left. I had no people around me. Either the wind made the tent vent flap or something was trying to get in. I have no idea. I didn't look. Too scared. I didn't see any evidence of animals the next morning, so if was probably the wind. It didn't help that you could hear the horses from the equestrian camp grounds. Brought to mind a particular horror story I read about a horse head. *shudder* When I first heard them, I thought it was kids screaming. Nope. Horses.

I did get pretty creative with the tarp this time. It only rained the one day, but it was brilliant if I do say so myself. I'll have pics soon.

The hammock was set up right next to the river. It had a great view when the rainfly was up. River started to smell a bit when it wasn't raining. But I figure that's kind of normal. Kind of creeped me out how many people were swimming in it. Luckily, not by the camp sites. The family next to me did take a walk in the river with the kids falling constantly and finding deep holes that the stumbled into. Real smart. One kid kicked a rock. Poor thing - none of the parents seemed to give a shit.

I got some hiking in, but after the first day, it never rained completely, just drizzled now and then to make the humidity almost unbearable. I need to go back to see the waterfall. I didn't want to go after my other hike even though it was a short distance because of all the people there. It really was a popular park.

It amazes me how many people start out on a hike with no map, no idea of how hard the trail is, how long the trail is, etc. Even if I didn't hike as much as I do, I still would get a map before going. The maps have all that information on them. So many dumbass people in inappropriate shoes with a single 12oz bottle of water on a hard 5+ mile hike. Not just this park, but all of them. I get stopped so much be people wanting to know how much longer a trail is.

For the food, I only took a camp stove and pre-packaged food. Some of it was stuff from the grocery stores that I mixed. Some of it was dehydrated food. I can say with certainty that the food from the grocery store was better (obviously). I'll have a better write up of that when I finish my post for my food people. Also, I still don't like oatmeal. And my regular cooler sucked in keeping cool for the entire weekend. Even with 2 48 hour cold packs in it. I will still probably take my good cooler even with just a few items. Nothing like cold water in the humidity.

My next trip is in one and a half weeks. I am going to peruse my backpacking cookbooks and get some ideas. While having a grill is fun, it's kind of a pain in the ass when it's just me. When I get a fire going, I can cook over that, too. And use my hot dog fork!!

Also, I really need to do something about sleeping. The sleeping pad isn't working. I'm debating skipping the cot and going straight to an airbed. If I return my sleeping pad and get this, I'm actually saving money, sadly.

Pictures coming soon!!
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