Boring Post Part 2/2

I arrived at my father's property in Buffalo, MN at 3 pm to camp for the weekend. I strapped on my new lightweight 50-liter pack and tied my mid-high hiking boots tight. I went for a short 1 mile hike around the parameter looking for both a campsite and places to set snare wire traps. Once found, I established my campsite by setting up my tent under a cut-out of pine branches. My two-man, lightweight tent was a perfect fit under the pines. Next, I started a fire using a new fire starter. I left my site to set small-game snares. Once finding what I thought were trails, I set three traps according to my knowledge, found another place, and set two more.  During this time, I was taking inventory of the wildlife. Given the time of the year, I was expecting fewer animals out and about, but I didn't think I would see only ONE squirrel and a handful of birds.

The day followed with teaching my nieces and nephew some skills while I was in the midst of doing them myself. Later in the day, I went over to the Brady's campfire, since they were roasting Marshmallows. I didn't eat any because I was trying to limit my trip to 1000 calories. I spent the night chatting with Bob, then headed to my tent for the night.

I ate my granola bar, which was my only food for the remainder of the day. Shortly after that, I went to sleep on my lightweight blow-up mattress. At the start of the night, I was warm, but my 40-degree bag was not warm enough for a 45-degree night—all part of the gear-testing experience. Using earplugs got me through the night without any disturbances, not to mention my soft pillow (I’m all about a good night sleep).

I woke up and got to work checking traps—nothing. I decided to eat a freeze dried meal and use some new camping toiletries. Shortly thereafter, my father and nephew showed up to make fires using different methods. It took awhile, but we were successful using just a magnifying glass. We then tried using different methods using a battery, Vaseline, and hand sanitizer. Yes, the last two work great if you have a way to create a spark. Both are quite flammable by themselves.

After awhile, my father and I decided to use some new pellet guns of his to try and find some small game. We did find the one squirrel as mentioned earlier. I took aim and hit the thing, but it still had the energy to run to a nearby hollow tree. We had fun trying to get at it. I even climbed the tree to get a better shot, but he ended up getting away even after another hit—quite annoying. We did find an apple tree. Now that's what I call edible plants. Sure beats the pine needles I tried later in the day.

I spent the rest of the day disinfecting water to drink using three methods: I boiled water, used chemicals, and also used a filter. I used all three, even though using only one would work in the USA. I just wanted to use my new water filter and experiment with the other two methods.

Well, the night came soon, and at that time, I was by myself. Things were getting pretty boring after eating my final meal. Not having my iPhone for the entire trip increased the boredom. Also, having the big buildings around didn’t help. It was like having a bag of M&Ms at a fat camp . . .  just a little distracting. I ended up going inside my father's Toy Box and watching three movies in a row just to kill time . . . ha-ha. No, they were not Surviorman videos.

Afterward, I went to bed, this time bringing along my hand held thermometer to double check the temperature in the tent. I wasn’t sure if it got colder than predicted, but low and behold, it only got down to 45 degrees and I was still freezing in my 40 degree bag—very misleading. I was even wearing three layers of clothing.

I left the next day and was sad to leave. When daytime hits, the enjoyment starts. Nighttime by oneself in the spooky woods is strange. There was one occasion when I took a corner in the woods and heard this loud snort and a bolt. It was a deer that must have gotten spooked.

All in all, I learned this:

If going camping by yourself bring plenty of reading material, maybe a musical instrument and for sure, plenty of food to distract you.

I will be going again shortly with a new set of skills and at least one other person.

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