This past weekend, I had a chance to get back out and enjoy nature again. This wasn't really a backcountry excursion, but it gave me another opportunity to practice some camping skills that will help make my Ouachita Trail through hike smoother.
As you have probably figured out from the title, I went to Lake Ouachita State Park. It's about an hour drive from where we live. Why Lake Ouachita? I recently purchased a pair of kayaks for myself and my wife. She wasn't able to come with me on this trip, but I wanted to paddle around on the lake. I will probably post an article on the kayaks we bought and why I chose them, but I will leave that for another article.
Regarding my planned through hike of the Ouachita Trail, I want to talk about three specific things this experience has helped me to be better prepared for my long trip this fall; proper pitching of my tent when a storm is expected, dialing in my sleep system, and meal preparation. After discussing those subjects that are relevant to my planned through hike, I will also share some general thoughts and stories about my experience camping at a state park in Arkansas in July.
Storm Preparedness
The importance of being storm ready is the biggest takeaway from this weekend by far. Until this weekend, all my camping has basically been fair weather. I have been in tents a few times with some light rain, but never in an actual thunderstorm. This is my tent on Friday night after setting it up.
In the state park, they have tent pads in designated camping sights. There is no dispersed camping allowed. The tent pads have pea gravel. It's great for water drainage and it makes for fairly level camping, but tent stakes don't hold very well, especially small lightweight backpacking stakes. I knew there was a chance of rain, but wasn't paying super close attention to the forecast. I pitched the four corners plus the vestibules/doors on either side of the tent. It was a quick and lazy pitch. It was hot and I was dripping sweat the whole time. I didn't put down any guy lines. I didn't think to do anything more to secure the stakes when I noticed a couple of them pulled out just from the tension of the lines.
I tossed and turned in the night wishing for a slight breeze to cool me off until around 11:30 pm. The thunder and lightning had been approaching, but the air had been completely still. When the storm front hit, the first winds that came through, blasted my tent and ripped out one stake from the corner near my head. This caused me to sit up. Seconds later, another 2 stakes were pulled out and the tent was completely collapsing around me.
With a trekking pole tent, the tent doesn't stand up on it's own. It must be staked out or it falls. That is the price you pay for the weight savings of a framed out construction.
What to do...?
I considered my options for a few minutes. It had already begun to rain a bit, though it wasn't pouring yet. I didn't know how long the storm would last, nor whether the windiest part was over or if it would continue. Option one, attempt to re-stake the tent and hope it holds, or hit the eject button. I wasn't sure re-staking the tent would work, or that I could even do it with the wind blowing. I didn't know if I could keep the inside of the tent dry. For all those reasons, I decided to zip the tent with all my gear inside, pull up the rest of the pegs, and carry the whole thing 30 feet to my car. I was there with my wife's small SUV. I threw everything in the back, then doubled back with my headlamp and poncho to gather any items I may have dropped. I didn't do too bad, but recovered one shoe and a couple of stakes.
I tried sleeping in my car for a while, but after an hour with no sleep, I finally gave up. I figured, if I drive home, in an hour I can sleep in my own bed and actually get some rest, regroup and come back. That's what I did.
What I learned
That experience was immensely beneficial for me. On the trail, I won't likely have ground that is as loose as that pea gravel, but I now know that if the stakes are pulling out with just the tension from the tent itself, they aren't going to hold with winds. I should have used rocks in addition to the stakes or possibly instead of the stakes. Here is an image from one of the Durston tent forums where a person pitched in a sandy location.
They anchored the corners with small rocks (because smaller rocks allow you to wrap lines around them), then put large rocks on top of the lines to keep them from moving. Also, if there is any chance of a storm or winds, using guy lines is a must. Here is a close-up of what that setup looks like. To do it, you need to add extra line to your tent corner lines, but that isn't too hard.
I also learned the importance of keeping an eye on the forecast. I didn't think there was much of a chance for severe weather, but if I had bothered to look, I may have taken a bit more care to secure my tent.
I am no worse for the wear and I learned from the experience. This was a great lesson. I am very glad that I learned this at a local state park, camping next to my car and not 100 miles from home on the Ouachita Trail with nowhere to retreat to.
Sleep System
Sleeping pads
I've learned more about my sleep system. I have tried the Nemo Tensor, which is very popular and the Nemo Quasar 3D sleeping pads. The Tensor is lightweight and has a relatively high insulation value. The Quasar weighs more and has a lower insulation rating. But every time I try to sleep on the Tensor, my back hurts in the morning. My Quasar is a wide pad, but it's regular length. I could use the extra length of the long, especially when I'm sleeping on my stomach. I sleep on my back, sides, and stomach. I toss and turn in my sleep. The Quasar just feels more comfortable to me and I actually get some good sleep on it (when my tent isn't collapsing and people aren't shining their headlights at my campsite ...but we'll get to that later).
Pillows
That's right, plural. I've kind of settled on 2 types of pillow. I have an inflatable pillow made by Hikenture and a compressible pillow by Therm-a-rest. The inflatable Hikenture pillow comes with a pad strap that is supposed to help keep it on the sleeping pad. When I use the Tensor sleeping pad, that works fine, but with the Quasar pad, the additional circumference at the head (because it's raised up) put too much tension on the elastic and stitching that held the strap to the pillow. The stitching gave way.
 |
| The detached label and snap in the photo came off the pillow where the stitching is slightly pulled apart. |
I was annoyed by this, but I reported it on an Amazon review and Hikenture sent me a replacement. I have also continued to use the broken one and I have found that I don't really need the strap anyway.
When I retire for the night, I frequently lie in bed to read until I begin to nod off. At home when I read, I prop myself up against the headboard of our bed with two large pillows behind me. As I settle in, I slide down into an increasingly reclined position. In my tent, I try to replicate this using the Hikenture pillow under the Therm-a-rest pillow. The Hikenture pillow is firm. The Therm-a-rest pillow is soft. It's not the same as being at home in my bed with a headboard, but it's about as close as I can probably expect in the woods.
From there, I often start sleeping on my back. On my back, the Hikenture pillow is best for me. When I roll to my sides and/or stomach, the Hikenture pillow is too high, because I usually have my arm under my head as well. When that happens, I switch pillows and I use the Therm-a-rest under my head and put the Hikenture under my other arm as a cuddle pillow.
Figuring out what works for me with regard to pillows and sleeping pads has been a lengthy process. I literally tossed the pillows from my bed for a week or two at home to figure out what would work for me or not with these pillows. I also used both sleeping pads instead of a bed when we went to visit family last month. I slept inside their house on the floor on my sleeping pads. This is when it because very apparent to me that the Tensor was not working for me.
If I'm going to have to rely on these things for more than a week on the trail, I want to be sure I will be able to sleep comfortably.
Food and Cooking
Gear
For Father's Day, my kids got me a couple of backpacking food related items. One son bought me a long handle titanium spoon. The other son bought me a BRS 2000 stove. I was able to use both on this trip. The BRS stove cuts my stove weight by more than half. The spoon actually weighs a tiny bit more than the plastic spoon I have been using, but the extra long handle makes it easier to cook and eat.
My specific spoon is the Toaks long handle spoon with polished bowl. Neither the spoon nor the stove will break your bank.
Menu/Cooking
I cooked twice while I was at Lake Ouachita. My evening meal on Saturday was a Spanish rice with chicken that I prepped from a grocery store mix. I took a Knorr brand rice mix and split it into two portions at home. I put it into a ziplock bag. In a separate small bag, I put some freeze-dried corn and black beans. I also had a packet of pre-cooked chicken and some Taco Bell sauce packets.
In previous attempts at using recipes that included dried black beans, they always turned out crunchy and never reconstituted well. This time, because I was trying to boil off excess water for way longer than the food really needed to cook, the beans actually hydrated okay. In the future, I will throw the beans in before anything else and maybe throw the corn in with the rice. Corn rehydrates quickly and easily.
I'm not sure if in the process of splitting the rice mix ingredients more of the seasoning got mixed in with the other half or what, but the mix was a little bland. I was very glad to have the Taco Bell sauce packets. I also carry a small container with Creole seasoning with me in my cook kit. Creole seasoning has a bit of salt and a bit of spice. I enjoy it on a variety of food.
I had spent almost 3 hours on the lake paddling in my kayak that day in noontime sun. I was doing my best to drink water while I was out on the lake, but I don't think I drank enough. My meal was a little soupy, but that was okay.
This is a meal I would do again. If I prep something like this for my long trip, I might also include a sealed cheese snack for some extra flavor variety.
For breakfast, I prepared a very simple freeze-dried Mountain House brand "Breakfast Skillet". You can find these at most outdoor retailers and even Walmart and other big box stores.
This was quick, easy, and pretty tasty. This is what I ate on Sunday morning. I boiled the water, poured it into the packet, mixed it up, then sealed it as the instructions recommend. I worked on packing up my tent and gear while the food rehydrated. I set a timer on my watch so I would know when to stir again, and then when to eat. I added Creole seasoning to this meal as well. It was okay without the extra seasoning, but the seasoning added to my enjoyment. A ketchup packet would have been another enjoyable condiment to add to this, but I didn't have one. In any case, I recommend this. I could also see myself eating this for dinner on the trail. I would wager some people also pack tortillas and make egg skillet burritos or tacos. Not sure if that's for me, but it doesn't sound horrible.
Drinks
I drink way too much soda when I'm at home. On the trail, and in the woods, I probably drink too much water without electrolytes. I've been trying to do better by mixing in some Propel drink mixes. I like them. They have a berry flavor and a pink lemonade flavor that I enjoy. It's nice to have a little something on the trail besides water.
State Park People
People at state parks can be rowdy. There was a couple that rolled in late on Saturday night. They were up late making noise and their car was parked facing my campsite. Everytime they got into their car, the headlights were beaming right at my tent. I go to bed around 9pm almost every day. They were shining their lights on my past 10pm. It woke me up several times. The same people were up at 4am and headlights on my tent again! Good grief. They were also running a generator in the night. It wasn't super loud, but it's extra noise. I'm not a fan. Shhh
Another interesting person at the campsite was an older gentleman who was there with family. He had a long white beard and white hair, and he liked to play a song or two on his recorder or flute of some kind or other. It was a little odd when he played a couple of songs in the evening on Saturday, but it was even stranger at 6am on Sunday morning. I'm very glad his songs were few and relatively short.
I was just going to upload the audiofile of a recording of the flute guy's song from my phone, but Blogger doesn't like audio only files, so I turned it into a short video with a handful of photos I took on my trip.
Thanks for stopping by. I know it's been a while. We've had a lot going on. Not sure when my next post will be, but I'll be posting more as I have time and things to say.
Cheers,
Gavagai
Loved the video!
ReplyDelete