Northern Dancer
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-----> If I'm out for two weeks or more I tend to do the extra because I can. When we are tripping we have gone one pack per person only and no duplication of any equipment. We actually weighed packs to make sure we carried the same load. Food recipes are made at home to get rid of packaging, cans, and bottles. I've learned to make great one-pot meals. I have three perks - one super large [25 cups] to a regular 6 cups and I have one that makes 2 cups. I just love this stuff. Sad to say I have recorded my experience as "Lost Summer of 2020 - the year if COVID 19"Great camp for long term set up. It is a lot of work for short trips. I have lived in a wall tent for up to a month at a time running tree planting crews.
-----> I sort of had that kind of attitude once. We would get up in the wee hours in the morning, drive for miles, get into the canoe a paddle-like crazy, and arrived at our first site tired, bitchy, and a tad exhausted. We were sitting around the campfire deliberately silent when I said, "From now on we are booking space for a base camp. We are going to get up at a reasonable hour and we are going to take our time to drive up. Then we are going to have a good night's sleep AND then we are going to start our trip happy, relaxed, and joyful!" We have done that ever since.ND,
Experienced people learn to adjust their equipment to the trip. I like deluxe equipment.
I like your line at the end. "I have learned to savor the moment and just let things be." The camping mantra made popular by people like Nessmuk, Horace Kephart, and Sig Olsen.
Today on a forum a guy was talking about getting a fast start in the morning when backpacking. His new idea is to put instant coffee in with his oatmeal, add hot water and take off down the trail. I cannot relate at all. If you are in a hurry, why go out there?
-----> ...but the memories?Being up at sunrise is a great thing in the outdoors. All hunters and fishermen know that.
In the fall the days are shorter, which makes it easier to be up at sunrise. Hunting trips are about the only time I used to try to launch fast to be out at first light. Once in awhile on a canoe trip you get a weather opening and need to act fast.
The vast majority of the time, I am in no hurry. I really like layover days on boat trips and backpacking trips. I like to take naps now in the afternoon.
Sometimes I just take a walk in the woods with my dog. We find a nice spot and lie down for an hour. I have woken up after naps surrounded by elk, flocks of turkeys and staring at various large deer and fawns.
Now I am 70, and the trips keep having a slower pace. It does not take anything away from being out there. I can remember being young and full of energy, and getting off work on a Friday. I packed my truck, went to the grocery store, loaded two canoes on the roof and headed for a friend's house in Idaho at midnight. I got there at 0700 and we headed down the Snake River. Those days are long gone.