In This Episode

Our Campsite
Fathers Day gift!
Rained Heavily
Topaz Mountain—so close!
Borrowed Vehicle
New Food
New Gear
People
Mishaps
Good Things Happen Too
MYOG
What We Learned

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Our Campsite

Simpson Springs Campground: $5 per night

When we arrived, all looked good and the weather was very nice. Little did I know, when we were choosing a spot to set up camp, the site Carrie and Zoe chose was the one with the most trees. I of course was clueless to their cause. However, when we set-up camp they brought out my Fathers day gift.

Fathers Day gift!

Two person Armadillo hammock. My family is awesome! Thanks Carrie, Zoe, and Xayne! I love it.

Zoe seemed to get more use out of it than I did. I guess we will be making another purchase

Rained Heavily

Saturday night I tried sleeping in my new Armadillo hammock—and then the rain came. I woke up with a start, when I must have moved my pillow (link), and the hammock filled with water! Agh! As I climbed out, I found Carrie running around chasing Xayne at 1:30 am. Damn. She was so frustrated. I felt pretty bad. I thought I went to bed after all activity. Guess not.

Sleeping in the hammock while it rained would have worked though with the rain fly designed for it. Just one addition and I am set for my solo backpacking trip next week (plus a new fuel pump for my Dragonfly stove ). These hammocks make great companions for backpacking without a tent. And it only weighs a little more than a pound.

From late Saturday night, It rained and rained. Didn’t stop until late Sunday evening, when we were packed and ready to go. I don’t mind the rain while camping, however, it can be a bother though with kids, and especially if you don’t have the right clothing for it. Along with Zoe, Carrie is not so fond if either, I was informed. We knew it might rain on Sunday, but we had no idea it would be that bad. Xayne was miserable, not because of the weather—we wouldn’t let him play in it. After being sick multiple times this summer, we were not about tho allow him run amuck in this weather. We did, however, let him loose to terrorize the landscape just a few times during the onslaught of rain. Thats one stubborn boy, and he loves being outside, despite the cold and wetness. I love him, that’s my boy.

Zoe and I tried to hike down to a very old mail house. We were so close to it. The rain almost washed us away before we ran back to camp. I couldn’t get a photo of it, for fear of my camera (that I tucked under my shirt) being damaged.

Topaz Mountain—so close!

I could almost smell the crystals…well, maybe that was the rain. Next time, I guess. Carrie swears she not camp out here again. Next time is a day trip only.

Borrowed vehicle

My brother bought a Jeep Cherokee. He lives in Southern Cali, so I had to register it for him since it will be sitting at our sister, Mindy’s house on the street until he is able to get here and get it. Since the Jeep was in my name, I added it to my insurance and off we went. Thanks Jeff for letting us use it! What a great family I have! It was a great, and I don’t think we would have made it without.

New Food

Mountain House Chicken Teriyaki w/ Rice. I recommend it. Zoe even liked it, which says a lot! This dish serves 2 and seems to be plenty. It was very filling as well. Probably a good idea to take out the Oxygen Absorber Packet before adding hot water…. Just a thought.

New Gear

• Fortunately, I had the chance to use our new REI Ti Wear Nonstick Titanium Cookset on this short-lived trip. They work great! comes with two pots and two pans. Great for family backpacking too.
• CamelBak tube replacement from REI
• Water Purifier: Sawyer Water Treatment System—4L capacity (@ REI). I didn’t get a chance to use it on this trip, but I will update when I do.
• Green Armadillo 2 person hammock Made with parachute nylon, has 3X stitching, and holds 400 lbs (see their blog).
• New child carrier for Xayne: We sold our Kelty pack (didn’t fit very well) and bought the Sherpani Rumba Superlight. Fits amazingly. We love the switch!

People

A neighbor lady came to ask for help. John and his family were parked less than a mile away, outside of the camp in there motorhome. The motor home had broken down and John, drove a 4-wheeler down the road to try and get service in the rain. It proved to be too cold and he returned freezing. I jumped in the jeep and took John back down the road where he could make some calls to get help. He’s a really nice guy, and I have to say, the man has some good friends that were willing to drive two plus hours one way to get John and his family where they needed.

When we returned, I tried to move him with the Jeep, but the motorhome wouldn’t budge. He gave me some gas, which would have been very helpful if we had actually been able to go rockhounding…. Overall it was a great experience to help someone in need, and I learned that the 4 wheel drive works on the Jeep! Further more, if we had not had the Jeep on this trip, there is no way I could have helped John, with the condition of the road. Pretty much a mud bog.

Mishaps

• Car troubles with the Honda Civic before we left. It was towed due to the fact that I parked too close to someones driveway late at night, while trying to get ready. Oops! And to add injury to insult, someone jammed a stick into the valve stem and let the air out of one of my tires, then replaced the cap to cover it up! At least it wasn’t slashed. That bit cost us an extra $79, because it had to be towed on a dolly. Thanks to whomever—sorry for my mistake. Cost: $250! That right there should have canceled out trip. But we are stubborn people, so we went anyways, on a dollar and a dime (so to speak). I think we have about $13 for the rest of the month.
• The latch to the back hatch on our jeep stopped working before we even left the valley. I had to strap it down with tie-downs, which I forgot in my car that was sitting at my Mindy’s house. Thanks to my awesome sister for delivering them to me, I was able to strap the back hatch down and also have a tow rope (that she also brought) to try and help our neighbor, John.
• Key hole on the drivers side door of the Jeep broke.
• All of the bouncing around somehow bent the fuel control rod on my MSR Dragonfly stove. Bad packing job on my part. Need to buy a new fuel pump. Bummer.
• Our double mantle lantern sprung a leak near the fuel feed. Carrie went to light it and the whole thing caught on fire, tank and all. Luckily she was able to contain the flames before any harm was caused. The propane canister was damaged and I put it in a bag to discard. When leaving we drove out 10 miles before I realized I had it in the jeep under my feet while driving! It took me that long to realize what the stink was coming from.
• The zipper on the Mountain Hardwear rain fly (Room With A View), finally gave out. Too much tripping over it I guess when zipping down from the top, instead of up from the bottom.

Good Things Happen Too

• Found a pile of wood at the campsite!
• We were able to help a fellow camper
• I got a kick-ass present
• At least I could see Topaz Mountain from the campsite

MYOG

A fellow tweeter TrailSavvy, introduced me to MYOG (make your own gear). I love the idea, and I want to try something of my own. I want to make a tent and camera bag attachments, but I think that is reaching beyond my current capabilities. Maybe with some practice though I think I will start with fixing my tent zipper.

What We Learned

• Jeeps don’t pull motorhomes.
• Too much rain with a little squirt proves to be a bit overwhelming (maybe more than a bit). Too much bad weather while camping can be very taxing on family relations.
• Hammocks rule! A good hammock is a great purchase and worth the money.
• Be careful to pack fragile gear.
• Our Honda Civic has an amazing amount of room, compared to the Jeep Cherokee!
• If sooo many things go wrong before the trip, maybe its a good idea to reconsider.
• Brought one bin, yet still not organized enough!
• We need better rain gear! And so does my camera.
• Apparently I can’t write clearly while making notes for the blog, standing in a downpour.
• Don’t let kids pack their own bag without double checking for warm clothing. However, Zoe did pack it, it just didn’t make it out of her room So she wore one of my shirts and jacket. She looked pretty funny.
• GSI Compact Scraper: (@ REI) (for cleaning pots) is still Awesome!
• I did pretty good packing this time… except for checking on Zoe’s gear…
• Always check and double check fuel canisters and lanterns/stoves.