How should I begin this entry about my camping trip? With the beauty of the area we camped in? With the hilarity of the combination of people who went? With the concussion I gave myself? I don't think it really matters, so I'll start with none of those things.
The camping shenanigans began the day before we left, when I decided to combine the exhaustion of working a double, cleaning with my roomie while boozing, and packing for the trip. I had made myself a list of the things I intended to take with me while working my first shift of the day, which was very responsible and a good sign that I know how to prepare for a camping trip, right? I thought so. It's too bad that the list was used for about one-point-five minutes as my roomie read the items off rapid-fire while I simply replied "CHECK!" After each item, whether it was packed or not. Heck, I would've said "CHECK!" even if the item wasn't on the same planet. We were having fun though, so efficient packing went out the window.
The next day, I awoke to the fifteen alarms I had set the night before (drunk me knew that I'd need at least twelve, and went above and beyond), and immediately grabbed my pack to see what interesting and amusing things I had shoved in it. After removing various snacks and extra clothing (I must've packed to camp in Siberia for a week), I was satisfied and jumped in the shower.
Once I had showered and grabbed everything I'd need for the drive, I took everything outside to wait for my ride to arrive. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because while I was waiting outside, three people offered me help and/or condolences because they genuinely thought I was either having a bad day or had been kicked out of my apartment. I guess I did look a little homeless sitting on my pack in the middle of the sidewalk so early in the morning. How amusing. And how sweet for those people to stop to see what was up.
Anyhoo, back to the adventure! We planned to be on our way by nine, but finally hit the road at around eleven after taking care of a few last-minute errands and a breakfast of fried chicken in the parking lot of the grocery store.
It felt so good to get out of the city. Immediately. There's something about being in the mountains that makes me feel whole and pure, even when I'm full of a greasy breakfast, slightly hungover and dog-tired.
The drive was pretty standard, with amazing views and bad radio reception, but there was one thing that stood out about it that I have to mention. I shared a coconut popsicle with my girl that took me back to the island mentality as if I had never left it. I don't normally name names in this blog, but here's a shout-out to the amazing Mimii Duarte. All I could think of as I chewed the chunks of coconut from that popsicle was the day we sat in the grass in front of the warm pond eating the fresh coconut that our new friend chopped open for us with his machete. Good times, my friend, good times. And much love.
Sooooo. We arrived at the Cataract Campground with smiles on our faces and smiling friends and happy dogs to greet us. The place was gorgeous. Our campsite had a vista so incredible that we didn't bother to really zip the tent so that we could enjoy it all night and early in the morning too. I hung my hammock in a canopy of trees that made me think of the kind of hide-out only children dream of.
Here's where the details become less important, and all you need to know is that we were having a great time doing camping type things.
Here's what's hilarious: I gave myself a concussion by walking into a log. No, that's putting it mildly and vaguely. I was crossing a bridge made of criss-crossing logs, and because I was focusing on my feet (makes sense, I didn't want to fall in the water), I didn't see the log that was at face-level directly in front of me on shore. So, as I took my first step on solid ground, I stood upright to hike up the steep hill in front of me. I only stood up a short distance, and SLAMMED my head into the log. Hand to head. Curse words. Bloody hand. Seeing stars. Feeling dumb.
It was fine. My knight in shining armor assured me that I didn't need stitches, and we hiked back to the campsite. My head is still bruised as shit, and there's a lovely scabby area, but I'm ok. Just still feel dumb.
So we camped. We drank beers and made friends with the neighbor campers. I camped with my younger bro for the first time since we were too young to camp alone. We stayed an extra night and spent several hours trying to get home on the highway that resembled a parking lot more than a highway, but enjoyed it anyway. It was a fabulous trip.
