My work schedule recently changed so that I now work the front end of the week. This also meant that I did not work on Thanksgiving. For most of you, this would probably be a good thing. For me, this was a thing to be dreaded. I do not like having holidays off. I would much rather work and have my coworkers who cherish holidays have that time off.
I was fretting as to what to do. I knew that I wanted to go camping to get away from society for a while. Camping is a time when I find solace in the world. Holidays have the opposite effect on me. Had I stayed home, I would have been by myself with little to do. Instead of this, I opted to spend my time better. To be outside and cherish the world around me.
I knew I did not want to head into the mountains to the north. I was going to be by myself in my Jeep plus a hyper wonderful female German shorthair pointer. I did not want to risk getting caught in snowy winter conditions in the mountains. So that narrowed it to the south. To the Owyhees! The problem with the Owyhees is that they are remote and little visited. Which, generally, for me, is a fantastic plan. And still held appeal for me. But when precipitation occurs in the Owyhees, you do not want to be driving on it. Slippery as snot comes to mind with that clay mud stuff.
I decided to set up base camp at Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park near Bruneau, ID. And then I would go explore Big Jacks Creek Wilderness. And if I had time, Little Jacks, too. I packed the Jeep the night before. Roommate took her older Pointer to a friend's house. After work on Wednesday, I picked up May dog and we set off on our adventure.
I monitored the piss out of the weather and saw that rain occurred on Wednesday morning, but was not forecast for the next few days. Yay! High in mid 50s and low of 29F. I got this shit! We arrived. Had the camp ground to ourselves. I decided to set up the tent in the shelter meant for the picnic table. I then blocked another side of the tent with the table and backed my Jeep up to the fourth side and voila! My tent was basically protected on all three sides. Bruneau is notorious for having strong winds...hence the stand alone sand dunes (420' tall, biggest ones in North America!). I put the lights on May and we went off hiking in the dark. We watched the sun set. We climbed a dune in the dark. We looked at an awe-inspiring starry sky. And we had the world to ourselves...minus the creatures that live there, and a travel trailer of people camped at a separate camp ground.
I layered up the floor of the tent with camping air mattresses side by side. Then piled on a bunch of folded blankets and woobies. Then my Elk Hunter -35F sleeping bag. And I set my ruck and back pack along the edges of the tent and my feather down sleeping bag around the head of my sleeping bag. I put May inside my bag and I stuffed myself in there, too. It was cramped. And hot. Oh so hot. I had to take off some of my layers. The coyotes sounded out in full force. So did the owls. And May was restless. I got very little sleep and was uncomfortable most of the night trying to share space with a shorthaired dog that I was not sure if was too hot or too cold, hahaha! And no way was I letting her outside with coyotes and 20sF.
We awoke. Watched the sun rise. Saw hunters shoot and get a few geese flying over head. We made Mountain House breakfast and French press coffee. Then we were off adventuring! I brought along my handy The Owyhee Canyonlands book by Steve Stuebner as a reference point and some printouts from websites that seemed informative:
I knew that I wanted to hike Parker Trail and Zeno Canyon. Both of which are in Big Jacks Creek. The directions were not super clear on how to get to Zeno. Luckily, there were BLM placards placed at "major" intersections. So I stopped to look at the map of the wilderness and took a photo of it. I decided that Parker Trail was easier to get to and that I would start there.
Easy drive. Well. If you have clearance on your vehicle. Beautiful scenery. And we were off on our hiking adventure! The trail was clearly marked. You start out on the top and walk toward a canyon where you eventually start going into the canyon, which is Big Jacks. You get to a barb wire fence with a wooden ladder thing built over it. I had to pick up May and place her on the big rocks next to the ladder so she could get over/through. And then, BAM! You see the canyon you're hiking into. And fuck all. It is goddamned gorgeous. I take pics. We hike all the way to the bottom of the canyon where there is a creek. May splashes in and drinks. I marvel at the world around me. And strip off some of the layers I am wearing. The clouds move through and the sun begins to shine when I make it to the bottom. Happiness.
We are utterly alone. No one around for miles and miles. Believe me, I know. I'd have seen the wheel tracks on the way in on Wickahoney Rd. We hike out. I stop at the Register and sign in. No one had signed in since 11/17/16. It was currently 11/14/16. I wished the page a Happy Thanksgiving...in my party of one. :-)
I popped open my beer that I brought along. A mango ale. Fuck yes it is good. Sockeye got that one right. Then we were back in the Jeep and time to find Zeno Canyon. Well. Let me tell you. Zeno Canyon is waaaaaaaaaay in there. And the directions for that trail head are even harder to understand. I ended up using the photo I took of the BLM placard map to figure out where I was. I kept driving and driving. The farther I drove, the more remote I was getting. I could see patches of thin snow on the ground. It was becoming more common place. I finally made it to the turn off for the road that would lead me to Zeno Canyon. Snow was everywhere in a thin layer. But remember what I said earlier? Precipitation in the Owyhees means slippery dangerous quagmire shit. I turned on to a desolate, rarely used two track road (Wickahoney Rd is a nice gravel road). The two track was covered in snow. I braked and slid all over. Damn. Common sense told me it was time to turn around. So I did. No sense risking an emergency situation and or injury for this adventure.
So we turned around. And drove back to Bruneau/base camp. And oh boy, the wind had picked up. I recalled the forecast said it would be 20-30mph winds that day. They were not kidding. We hiked the dunes. May decided she wanted to go for a swim. I was not pleased. This meant the vest and her are now all wet. Which in turn, means going in the tent is a no go. So we hiked a lot more to try to dry her out. We walked the dune ridge line. It was amazing. The sun was quickly setting. I was undecided what to do next. The direction of the wind meant that my shelter would not block it. And wind AND cold are a bad combo.
I start to set up dinner. I open the tent and in pops May. In her wet vest. On the sleeping bag. Yup. That just happened. It was an omen. I was tired. And not looking forward to a windy cold night. I decided to pack up camp and head home. I could eat my beef jerky and gummy worms for Thanksgiving dinner.
On my way home, a friend texted to invite me for dinner. So May and I headed to Eagle, ID and enjoyed the company of friends and food. May had a blast playing fetch with the kids and behaved herself very well. I was thankful to have such a good group of people that I know and call friends.
So, even though my goal was to avoid people and celebrating holidays, I really did get the best of both worlds. I got my outside solace and my people and food-filled enjoyment, too. :-)
This weekend has been a very good one. I am very happy. I teared up a bit on my drive back to base camp when I thought of Dad. I try not to think about him too much. Well. I do and I don't. I went into Barnes and Nobles today to pick up some gifts and use a coupon I got. I nearly lost my shit in there. I was at a loss. This is the first time in my life that I will not be getting Dad a gift from BN. Everything I looked at in that store reminds me of him. He adores books. And always had one with him. There are piles upon piles of them at home. His nose was always buried in a book. And there I was, surrounded by books. And everything in there, I saw him. I gulped back my sobs inside so as not to make a scene. I got my books. And left. I considered getting him a Star Wars graphic novel so he could at least look at the pictures. Then I had to remind myself, he cannot hold a pen, much less a graphic novel. He cannot read small print. And Mom says he sleeps at least 20h a day.
Oh what a world.
My next mission is to find a small poster for Star Wars or Game of Thrones. I must get Dad something for Christmas. Even if he does not make it to Christmas. I still must try. I must go through the motions. As long as he is alive, I will treat him as he is- alive.
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