Open Pond Camp – Part 1

Open Pond Camp – Part 1 [01/18/2015]  Back in December, I started planning for some primitive camping and some hiking – hopefully together. This week-long trip was to be in the car as I was pretty certain it would be too cold to ride the bike. This meant that I could take food that needed storage (cooler) and dine in style. Hey, roughing it is not just when you do without cable and internet – it is having the optional cooler and cold foods that make eating a pleasure. As a type-2 diabetic, I am more conscious of what/when/if I eat. A couple years ago I’d just take some peanut butter, bread, and Ra…noodles and call it done. Those days are done!

 I’d packed the car the day before, and so left right after church on Sunday. On the way I stopped at W-land and got a few supplies of course. Since I was hammock camping again, setup would be minimal. Good for me because I got to the park an hour before dark! I rigged for rain but didn’t expect any until the 5^th day.

So just what was this trip to be about? I’d camped when it was cold and did OK. Been rained on. Been wet. It was all of it. Supposed to be even colder this time but I was determined it would work itself out – and it did. The trip was mainly about how I would respond to hiking AND camping. Not technically backpacking because I’d do the hiking separately. Still – how would my flat feet hold out? Would anything break? How would I handle that?

 Monday morning I checked the day bag I’d be taking on the first of several hikes. I had a decent (IMHO) first aid kit, an emergency bag (poncho, rope, stuff, etc.), a liter of water and some snacks. According to the book I’d brought, Hiking Alabama, the trail near the park was 5.8 miles and was in a loop. There was an additional loop less than 3 miles long as well but I wouldn’t be doing that today. Supposed to take about 3 hours. Supposed to be easy walking. So I left about 11am – thinking the margin for error was in my favor.

No idea what to expect in the way of conditions on these trails. OK – I admit to watching lots of tube videos. Guilty… Still – I would be pleasantly surprised by the end of the week to find there was not much variation in trail condition from one section to the next. Some ups and downs, a little water, some mud, but mostly doable by lots of folks. And it was beautiful! Standing large and then small pines, hardwoods, tunnel areas – very nice overall.

So – after nearly 3 hours, I got to the creek at the halfway point. No idea how fast I was walking so I just did some head work on it. About 2.5′ a step, 5280 feet in a mile for 2112 steps @ 1 mile an hour. In 60 seconds I did 50-60 steps and it was continuous until I hit the creek. I should be almost home by now and it was right at 2pm. Hmmm. Still, it was a neat area back at the creek!  Quiet and no bugs. Right – even in LA (Lower Alabama)! Looking at the creek, I couldn’t help but wonder if the water was anywhere near safe to drink. I’d heard from some of the folks back in camp that all the water in the forest was bad: farming, animals, people. Don’t think I’ll ever pee in a stream again.

The walk back was in a rush. If it was another 3 hours back, it would be after dark when I got to camp. And I was unfamiliar with the area – and with hiking. So I took a break and checked the map in my Hiking book. Assuming that the map was close to proportion, I decided where my exit point would be from the trail, and took a compass reading to verify what that would look like. And then I walked. At what must have been the right spot, I left the trail and headed due west toward the park. An hour later I was on a dirt road that T’d into a paved road. That wasn’t supposed to be there! Looked at the map again and again. I had done it right according to the map – yet here I was. Decided to take the road north until I found a live human that knew where the park was. Funny thing is, the entrance was only another 100 yards around the next curve. Cannot be! So I walked the last part back to camp, recognizing that my book of trail maps could not be trusted. Hissss.

 Missed lunch today to I popped a can of beans into a pan and put a steak over the coals. It was a great way to finish out the day IMHO. It was already getting cold so I stoked the fire and waited until the hammock called and called it a night. Usually that signal’d a good night’s sleep, but not this night. I woke up cold and shivering about 2-3am. Apparently the weather front flipped or flopped and I missed it. BTW, there is no cell service where I was… It was the sleeping bag – a summer weight 40 degree bag about 8 years old.

Next morning I found a 10 degree bag at a good price and swapped out the 8-year bag. Never got cold again during the week! So back at camp, I decided to do the other couple of miles near the park – also on the Conechuh trail. I’d go past three ponds on this trip: Buck Pond, Ditch Pond (no idea about that naming), and Alligator Pond.  All the while looking for rattle snakes. So it is said, they are abundant here – so be aware! Glad I didn’t see any since I HATE snakes. Dead ones are OK, but the rest? Once to Alligator Pond I was wary for the bigger critters but saw none. In all likelihood, they observed me. Makes for a good, cheap horror flick, right?

 When I got to the end of my planned loop out, there was a sign for a couple of destinations – one I had done yesterday and a new one that I hadn’t considered. %12% It was a neat “Y” in the trail and I decided to do the additional 6 miles out and back tomorrow. That would make a total of about 8 miles to and from camp. Took my break here and headed back. Along the way, I found a huge pine cone! See? I’m noticing things! Walking continues… My day pack would need some rework as well as my new boots. My feet were complaining today of toes tight down in the socks. Wouldn’t be until I got home and researched it that I could have prevented this with a different lacing technique – heel lock was what I needed. Another day…

Watered myself well when I got back and got out of those pinchie-socks! Good supper and then hung out with some of the other campers. Speaking of which – were all nice, interesting folks. The man with the best primitive site (IMHO) was an older fellow, 78 I think he said, from somewhere in Tennessee. (His not-real-name is Chuck.) He comes here to camp in the winter because its warmer, uncrowded, and a really nice park. In the spring and summer, he goes to the Tennessee mountains and camps. That’s what he does. I think he was a really neat guy. Oh yes, he likes to cut stuff with his double-bladed axe. No problem. Just saying.

Next was a woman (40’s I think) camping by herself. At night we’d all sit by the fire and talk about stuff. She used to use tents, but they tore up in no time. Seems they weren’t of enough quality for full-time use. I think she said she got them from W-something. Your milage may vary… What she has now is a ground duck blind. Sorry I didn’t get a pic, but it seemed a bit awkward so I didn’t ask or try it… She has it all figured out I think. Uses those foil-looking windshield screen protectors (for your car) around the insides and bottom of her “tent”. Has a tarp over the top of it all so she stays pretty warm.

She shared that if she gets cold, she has a bottle of gas in her “tent” for the portable propane heater in her tent! I said, “Yeah – we use one on my grill at home” – I commented that I was glad she was not dead from fumes. She said it only takes a minute and then she turns it off. Wow. People learn to get by, don’t they? Not certain if I would ever have tried that one, but then living in a tent changes lots of things.

I asked (we’ll call her “M”) how she got to be living in the park – camping full-time. It was quite a story. She has a family here in Alabama somewhere, a car, income… She just chooses to live like this – not unlike some people we call “homeless” – which she is not. Now before anyone feels sorry for her – don’t. This was a thoughtful choice. Seems she has rheumatoid arthritis and had been on intense meds for pain for many years. Don’t know what happened, but she is certain that God had His hand on her life and that this was not the life she was supposed to be living.

So she “lit out”. Use a metaphor if you like – got some camping gear and left home, family, friends, and all her prescription drugs behind. That was a year and a half ago. I was really surprised to hear this because it isn’t obvious that she is crippled or in pain. In fact, she is mostly pain-free today. All I can say is “Praise the Lord!” – which I did. Still tires easily, but is careful, lives in a tent, is outside always, is drug free, and has everything she needs to live a simple life. Oh yes, no computer, laptop, or cell phone. She eats as chemical-free as is reasonably possible and is technology free as well.

Her family doesn’t see this as viable, although I cannot see why after a year and a half. I guess we sometimes tag-and-bag folks because of a momentary situation, while the facts may move somewhere else? Really got me to thinking about how we live these days. If I stay away from tech and the stuff I surround myself with, I come back like an addict to drugs I think. Anything wrong with that picture? Yep. Think so. Maybe she is on to something? Don’t think I am ready (or willing) to cut ties with the family tree or stop taking my meds, but living out under the stars like this and walking through the forest alone really has me wondering if there are healing properties to a life of simplicity.

[Continued in part 2]