I fought nature…

and nature won.

So over the past year or so I’ve taken up backcountry backpack camping, and yesterday I decided that I was ready to move past what State Parks had to offer and go tackle a mountain, Emory Peak in Big Bend N.P. to be specific. This was a bad idea for a multitude of reasons, which I will all cover in this post.

So my first mistake of the trip turned out to be going to Big Bend to begin with when I only had two days off of work. It’s pretty far away from Waco, and when I say pretty far I mean like the same distance as Mississippi. So after a long day of driving I roll into the park at about 5:30 and make my way to the Chisos Mtn. Basin. Once there I am quick to realize my second mistake, I forgot my boots. If this were one of my normal trips out to the hill country, then I would just realize that going backpacking without boots is a bad idea and head home, but at this point I am approximately 500 miles from home, so I decide that my sneakers will have to do.

So after getting all my stuff together I take off on the trail. This is mistake #3, not so much taking off on the trail but thinking that it would be a good idea for my flabby self to choose to camp at the top of the tallest mountain in Big Bend, when up to this I had never even driven up a mountain much less climbed one. Anyway, so about a quarter of a mile into the trail, there is a long steep climb. Now I have yet to mention it, but it becomes immediately relevant that I haven’t eaten in quite some time, which combined with my utter out-of-shapeness left my completely spent after taking on this first hill on the path up the mountain.

Now if I wasn’t a stubborn fool I would have quickly realized that I should probably just go back down and car camp, then day hike Emory Peak. But, as everyone should know by now, I’m a stubborn fool so I decide to press on. Now fast forward three hours of me struggling to lag my huge backpack up a mountain, and I have finally made it to the top. I am dead tired, damp from hiking through clouds/wearing a cotton overshirt, and in a completely desparate mindset. Despite all of these things, I was pretty optimistic about setting up camp and getting some sleep.

At this point it’s actually looking like I could win my fight with nature, as I was able to set up my tent quickly and get some warm dinner. Then disaster strikes. Mistake #4 comes in the form of the cold weather sleeping bag I bought two days ago, specifically my deciding not to give it a test run before I took it out into the field. The zipper broke. I tried to fix it, but to no avail. I tried to just use it in combination to cover up with, but it was too cold for that. At this point, I made the mental transition from rugged manly man to desparate cold camper on top of a mountain. In this anguished mental stat, I made a rash decision. I grabbed my camera gear, my flashlight and just headed down the mountain as fast as I could. Yes, that means I left all of my gear on the mountain, and yes I realized that it is a pretty horrible thing to do from the perspective of an outdorr enthusiast, but at the time I didn’t care.

So upon making my way down the mountain I got to my car and tried to sleep, which didn’t work out so well. At just about midnight, a mere six hours after I had entered the park, I fled. Just after getting out of the park on Highway 385, I got stopped by border patrol, nothing really happened but I thought I would share. Ultimately the drive home was a long one full of barely concious confusion. Fortunately I was able to find an open store in Ozona where I could get some refreshing cold beverages to wake myself up, which combined with listening exclusively to music which I could sing along to fueled my conciousness for the long drive home.

In the end, I fought nature, and nature won.

P.S. Just a random aside, I was able to pick up 1660 KRZI in Big Bend. It was interesting to listen to Tom, Butch and Intern over 500 miles from Waco.

Winter wonderland?

The maintenance crew…

Originally uploaded by athrasher.

This picture was taken up at Baylor as the maintenance crew braved the cold temperatures and ice to do their job.

A new year, and a look back…

So it appears that yet another transformation from December to January has snuck up on me. Seriously, the past couple of months have just gone by in one quick blur. It really feels to me like Thanksgiving was just a week or two ago, and now here we are just 10 days from my 20th birthday.

20. I specifically remember years back pondering about what turning 20 would be like, and looking forward to being able to distinguish myself from being a “teenager”. But now, the difference to me seems negligible, and in fact the approaching milestone in my life seems to be as terrifying as any I’ve faced up to this point as I have accomplished nothing aside from dropping out of college (though I still have myself convinced that I will go back) and becoming a spirited advocate of raising minimum wage, because it would give me a raise. Fortunately, I have a moral obligation to put things in perspective, which forces me to know that I have plenty of time to turn my life around. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel that way.

Anyway, this year promises to offer some big changes in my life, which I will both welcome with open arms and a sense of apprehension. The old adage “the first day of the rest of my life” could be very appropriately applied to me, for this year really will be the first in what promises to be an interesting(if nothing else) life.