Date: 2011-02-13
To: Camping in early February
Miles today: 0.0

So what would you do on a windy Saturday with a high of 41 and an expected low in the 20's? Why, go camping of course!I dragged my friend, Hope, and my dog, Belle, along for a hike to Dragon's Tooth and then a night on Cove Mountain. We hiked up the Boy Scout trail and then took the AT to a campsite. Wearing my backpack felt so natural, as if it were like any other part of my body. It felt good to carry the weight up the mountain, it made me feel strong. I am looking forward to carrying that pack the 2100+ miles along the AT. Dragon's Tooth combines two of my favorite types of hiking: rock scrambles and ridge walking. Walking along ridges makes me extremely happy, I feel exposed and wild and free, it's liberating. Rock scrambles make me feel like a goat as I bounce from rock to rock. I was surprised to find that Belle was quite talented at traversing the rocks. I'm sure having four paws helped. We didn't stay long at the summit, there were people around and I had to hold on to Belle. Not to mention it was starting to get late and we needed to head back to camp to eat dinner.The rest of the evening was spent trying to boil water for pasta and mashed potatoes (my favorite food to eat on the trail) and then hanging our bear bag. Of course we had to do this in the dark while it was extremely windy. All I can say is thank goodness I used to play softball. I tried using the PCT bear bagging method but the rope would not stay in the carabiner so I ended up tying it to a tree and using a stick for some added complexity. We then retired to the tent where we played crazy 8's and war for hours and chatted about everything. We eventually fell asleep, only to wake up ever hour or less because of wind blowing the tent or simple from freezing our asses off. It was freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing! I pulled out my emergency space blanket which made me sound like a bag of potato chips every time I moved. It also reminded us of the poptarts we had hanging in a tree. On multiple occasions we debated going to get some but the wind kept us huddled in our sleeping bags. On a side note, I am going to have to buy a new sleeping bag. The one I have is old- I believe at least 8 years old though probably older. It is supposed to be a 20 degree bag but after years of use I don't think it can claim that anymore. I will have to start researching sleeping bags and looking for deals. I know the pros and cons of down versus synthetics but I am torn between the two. Any suggestions are appreciated.Back to the windy and cold night. Hope and I managed to get some sleep but whenever one of us would wake up it was usually followed by a string of curses and then both of us laughing at how cold we were. Belle, true to her nature, slept plaster to my side but at an awkward angle making it difficult for Hope and I to not touch the sides of the tent. At one point Hope complained about how I had shifted over in my sleep and was taking up a good portion of the tent. By morning we were both extremely exhausted and cold and the rising sun brought with it some semblance of warmth. We slept hard for another couple of hours and then finally packed up camp.Now, I should mention that I am not a morning person. Some coffee usually fixes this but not always. When I am camping I always wake up in a good mood, no matter how little sleep I get. The fresh air, the sounds of the birds, the sun illuminating the tent; all of this contributes to me waking up happy. Being in nature makes me so immensely happy. Hope was even surprised as to how chipper I was (I showed this to her by playfully kicking her through the tent several times to get her to wake up). After a breakfast of frozen pop tarts we headed back down to the car.Back at my apartment I showed Hope where we had hiked on a section map of the AT. I am an uber geek when it comes to maps, I can look at them for hours, studying the topography and trails. I even have a 4 foot long map of the AT on my bedroom wall that I received as a gift from an equally map savvy friend with the stipulation that I must attempt to thru-hike the AT. Only 12 months and 1.5 weeks until I leave for my trip. I can't wait.