Marking One's Spot

In my youth I'd hike across Grand Canyon on my way to the River of No Return wilderness in Idaho; it got the winter kinks out.

Last summer, perzackly 50 years later, I found the same backpack in an animal humane thrift store in Hailey, Idaho, not far from my former hangout. (I've always carried my sleeping bag in front stuffed under my shirt.)

Then, in November, when in Albuquerque, I found a tent. The guy had bought it for a trip to Everest Base Camp, but a motorcycle accident intervened. The Kelty Orb 2 was of similar quality to the one I used in my mid-years. (I didn't need no stinkin' tent in my youth.)

First the ground sheet

Here, at the Mount Wrightson Wilderness, I decided I was ready for an overnighter. But as I loaded up I grew increasingly dubious. The whiplash from the accident is still pretty bad and as I added and hefted the doubt came creeping. Eventually I decided to just walk around for a while saying Poohisms such as "Sing ho for a bear" and "We're off on an Exposition."


(More quotes from Pooh)

The Tent

Whipple Observatory sits atop the middle peak.

Sure enough, the exercise exacerbated the injury and the pain kept me awake most of the night.



Two days later I decided to set up the tent. This was my first time. A Teutonic wet-dream, it has enough zipperrz, shnaps und guylines to zahdistfy das Most ANAL! It Vas ein Wunderschon 2.5 hours.

 Flyed Und Guyed

 

"New" shorts.

(Diff frm pic at top of blog)

But when I left to go into town for water, I felt confident of having laid claim. Of course, the tent might be gone, but probably not. And he'd assured me the setup would get easier.

Update August 15, 2020. If EVER anyone offers you one of these tents...thank them politely and kick them in the groin. Although it DID sneer at 50 mph winds, setup is a nightmare and, I would suggest, impossible except under the most advantageous of conditions. Even THEN it takes close to an hour.