[NoMoIke]

1/20/13

If you took all of those fellows, picked their heaviest and bluntest sponsored camping gear, and smashed them together, they’d still be better campers than I am. They do, however, have the benefit of experience.

It was a glorious day for riding, the temperature was perfect in the sixties, the sun was not threatened by a single cloud, and my Zumo seemed to be picking the roads with the most curves and least amount of traffic. I’ve heard that some find Corbin seats to be a bit too firm, but I find mine perfect and I just didn’t want to get out of it today. 198 miles just didn’t seem to be enough!

Another 200 miles wouldn’t have been out of the question, but seeing as I was in a really positive frame of mind I decided to break my camping cherry. After a quick run through of REI’s Half Dome 2 Plus instructions and 15 minutes of orientation my home for the night was secure and standing on its own. Not quite Bob Vila building a twin to the Biltmore out of reclaimed barn wood and a sharpened spoon, but I’m pretty proud.

There were a few hiccups at that point. I didn’t bring any water. The fire pit was enticing, but is going unused because I neglected to bring anything to cut up any wood or any form of kindling. If Tom Hanks could do it on a deserted island, I’m sure I could manage to get a fire going if my life depended on it, but my life doesn’t depend on it and I wanted to finish my day relaxing. I’ll be sure to remedy these shortcomings before my next night in the sticks.


A proud family.


My Campground Greeter


Glad I bought these MSR bottles. I really need to pay more attention to my fuel gauge!


Most of the comforts...


The river near my single serving home


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