Camping Trip - June 2017

North Bend State Park - a jewel in North Central West Virginia

Life has been busy and stressful since I last posted here.  I started a new job in November and then, to maintain my hours and paycheck, I started working in two locations for this company each week, and to top it all off, the continuing saga of being shoved out of my husband's life like a tick being extracted from a dog is ongoing.  I'm still looking for an afordable place to live.  God has this.

In an effort to mitigate the stress, dear daughter and I went camping the weekend after Memorial day.  It was a lovely overnight trip and we stayed at North Bend's River Run campground.  Our spot was right on the river and we hung our hammocks before meeting up with Ranger Ken and two other campers for a nature hike.

Pinecones abound

Two more campters enjoying the trail

Pretty!

If you ever get to the chance to go to this amazing State Park, do so.  it's well worth your time and they have so many awesome programs!  The staff is super friendly and always accomodating.  Park rangers like Ken, Kathy and Steve make the experience special.

North Bend State Park Ranger Ken talking about trees and invasive species

White pine, hemlock, oak and maple trees soared over our heads as Ken talked about forest growth progression and invasive species.

Japanese Barberry - an invasive species

Garlic mustard, Japanese stilt grass and autumn olive are crowding out native plants at an alarming rate.  People, just say no to non-native ornamentals in your gardens!  They might look pretty, but it's like Jurrasic Park.  These things have a way of getting away from you..

Pawpaws in season

I was pleased to discover what PawPaw looks like and found out that North Bend allows campers to harvest them during Pawpaw season for their own use.

HONK HONK!

Bebeh Gooses!

 We returned to our campsite after the hike to find it had been taken over by a wandering flock of geese.  The honkers were quite funny to watch as they pecked at bugs in the grass.  hotdogs.  They sell this awesome firestarter candle they make in the park.  Using a 3 oz. paper souffle cup, sawdust, wax and a candle wick, they sell them for a dollar in the campground office.  I like one match campfires!  Oh yeah - remind me to get another lighter for my car camping kit.  Thank God for well stocked campground offices!

When the geese had wandered off, dear daughter and I got a fire going in the fire pit and roasted hotdogs for supper.  The campground office and store sold these really great fire starters that worked wonderfully.  Using a 3 oz. paper souffle cup, a candle wick, sawdust and wax, we only needed ONE match to get a cheery blaze going.  The best part - these firestarters cost less than a dollar and the profits help support the park!  I love that it only took a single match to get things going, too.  Thanks North Bend!!

Add sawdust, a candle wick and wax - voila!

After supper dear daughter and talked for a while and made smores, then got ready for bed.  I had the dubious pleasure of grounding when one of my hammock straps failed - not once, but twice!  At least the weather was great and I didn't have to meddle around fixing my hang in the rain.  Dear daughter got to test out my new underquilt with a light weight, thin sleeping bag as an overquilt.  I used a 0 degree bag and we were comfortable into the low 50's over night.  We ended our trip the next morning, heading home with another fistfull of memories.  Now to plan the next trip  :)

Going camping soon.  Soon as I have 3 days off in a row and nothing that I HAVE to do on those days off.  I've got my car camping stuff in the trunk.  Just need to get a decent soft sided cooler for food and drink and decide what day trails I want access to for a weekend.

Writing stories for fun, not so much profit

When I was in high school, one of my goals in life was to become a science fiction writer.  I had good scenes in my head, and I could write them descriptively and well .... but I had not cohesive story, so I would abandon the effort.

Well, about a year or so ago, I began playing a video game called The Witcher III:The Wild Hunt.  Amazing game with beautiful graphics and intense game play!  But it was the story that captured my interest and I started reading the books the game was based off of.  Andrzej Sapkowski created a rich and diverse fictional world for Geralt of Rivia, Triss Merigold, Yennifer of Vengeborg, Dandilion and many other characters to live in.  Their stories are wound around a world in which magic, politics and otherworldly creatures vye for prominence against the backdrop of war.  Through it all, Geralt of Rivia walks, a Witcher, a professional monster slayer for hire, holding to his own code of chivalry and honor.

So, I had this story set in this world bouncing around in my head for the last year and I finally started putting it down in words.  Fan Fiction is a great outlet for creativity.  I don't intend to ever publish it for money, there are a lot of legalities that surround that.  But I did find a place I can put it up for other writers to critique.

If you want to read it, The Last Manticore is up on FanFiction.net.  I hope you enjoy it  :)

Testing a theory ...

I think I will hang my hammock out tomorrow and test out if my 0 degree bag will keep me warm tomorrow night.  It's a heavy bag, with a 1 inch memory foam cushion built in to it.  If it will do the job, I may not need to get an underquilt till things get really cold.

Honestly, the next piece of gear I NEED to buy is a bear proof canister.  But I need to set aside the $60 for that piece of equipment and likely won't have it for some time.  I would love to go trekking up in Dolly Sods, but not without that little piece of prevention.

I would also like to get dear daughter a back pack so she can go with me.  Not that we'll be doing an exorbitant amount of hiking, but it would be nice to be geared up for it when we have time to do so.

Taking over the world and other fun stuff ...

Pinky: Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?

Brain: The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!

So, I haven't been plotting to take over the world, but I have been plotting to return to college and get a second Bachelor's, and maybe even a Master's degree.  WVU has an Applied Environmental Microbiology major that really fits what I want to do.  Finally!  I'm 50 and I know what I want to be when I grow up .... I want to be an environmental scientist who hikes around the wilderness, collects samples from field and stream, marches them back to the lab, does experiments and studies on them, writes it all up and gets paid to do it!

Wish I had understood I needed to do this with my life 30 years ago ... would have made things MUCH simpler.  And I would be that much further along in taking over the world :P


Brain: The irony of it all, Pinky. Years of trying to take over the world, and all I had to do was say "moo".

Hot and Muggy leads to a lazy hiker

I've been so lazy.  Of course, I am still recovering from the worst sunburn of my life.  My legs still look burned, but the pain factor is way down.  I am guessing at least one more major peel is in the works before it's fully healed.

I want to get out and test some new gear I have purchased.  I really like the Amazon Review Trader site as I've received some very deep discounts on great camping gear.  In exchange for the discounts, I have to write a review of the product on Amazon.  Currently, I have about 7 items I need to review.  Too bad I don't get paid to do this LOL  Wouldn't that be a blast!

So, back to things.  I'm lazy.  The summer is hot and humid.  Karate starts back in exactly 2 weeks.  As one of the instructors, this means I have to get somewhat ready to teach Little Dragons again.  I hope we have a good crop of them this year, kids who will love the sport and want to stick with it for years.  We don't charge a lot - just $20 a month so we can cover facility rental, but I feel we give an amazing value for that fee.  I admit I have not practiced all summer.  Between all the usual craziness of summer and getting that sunburn, I just haven't made much time to do kata or technique drills like I should have.

If you remember, the last post I made was all about long term goals and what I aim to accomplish by the time I am 100 years old.  Here are my short term, 1 year goals ....


Learn Bosai Dai
Learn Cat 2
Learn Tsai Kata
Learn Chuck Kata 2
Improve flexibility, strength and endurance


And of course, amidst learning all that, I am going to take out time to go hiking.  I am thinking of planning a 1 day hike along North Bend Rail Trail from West Union to the Salem IGA, maybe in Mid October.  Things are much cooler then, more comfortable, and I should have everything assembled for a day or two on the trail.

My next significant purchase is going to be a Bear Canister - this is a bear proof plastic container to store food and other bear attractive stuff over night.  It is pretty much a requirement just about anywhere in this state.  Not only because of the possibility of bears in any given area, but because of coyotes, raccoons, bobcats, rats, mice and other critters who might want to get in to your food cache.

After getting the Bear Can, I will be figuring out what I need to make my hammock 4 season compatible without spending a 2 week paycheck on an under-quilt and over-quilt.  If I can manage to make my own bottom insulator, then I can use a sleeping bag for a top insulator.  Except for Mid November through the beginning of March, I can get away with a 3 season bag and a fleece bag liner ... so long as I can insulate the backside correctly.

I used to do a lot of winter sports in Wyoming.  I am going to start doing some of that again, here in West Virginia.  Gearing up is just a slow process.  Take my advice, don't get rid of your kit just because you think you will never get back in the wilds.  Just don't do it, it's a trap!

When I am 100

When I am 100, I will .....

Free climb the Salthe Wall in Yosemitie

Be a Fourteener

Shoot the hardest rapids in a white water kayak 

 

 

 

 

 

Do a start to finish through hike of the AT South to North

And the PCT, North to South

And the ADT, East to West

I better get training.  I'm 50 and time flies.  Maybe I'll die before I fulfill these goals .... but I'm going to work on fulfilling them.  I have a lot of work to do to get fit for the pinnacle of performance, developing strength, flexibility and stamina.  One step, one day hike, one boulder scramble at a time.  no day is wasted when spent in the pursuit of God's glory in His creation.