A Camping Trip.... And Stuff

Hey!
I took a couple of days to get my head together. I went camping in the Jersy Pines.
The Jersey Pines.
Land of the Jersey Devil. A place where a plethora of unique species abound. Where the many rivers and lakes have what is called 'cedar water'. The water is brownish red. The flora is unique to the area. Pitcher plants, ferns, endless miles of Pine trees, white sand under foot where you can find sea shells left from the time when this area was under water many thousands of years ago. MANY will tell you this is a haunted area. For good reason. Hiking will find an abundance of abandonded houses which are very 'Blair Witch' like. I live for this.
I brought next to nothing with me. A couple survival tools, a tent, and my laptop. My laptop. What the hell is wrong with me?
Anyway, I park my car, pack my gear and set off. I get to the Batsto River, and follow her upstream. After half a day I make camp. Surrounding me is the voice of nature. The soothing sound of the flowing water. A multitude of birds calling into the crisp air. Several yards away from camp I can track deer, raccoons, and a ton of other animals. Black snakes hang in the branches waiting for prey to walk beneath them. I set up my tent, dig a fire pit line it with rocks, gather some fire wood, and dig a latrine.
Overhead a hawk is floating on the breeze offered up from the earth. Wow. Mesmerizing. I am so lucky. I'm not sure who trained me better, my Dad, or Sarge.
Getting kind of hungry. Allrighty, fire time. Tinder is easy to find, and within minutes, I have a perfect little blaze going. The water is off color, but very clean. I fill my canteen and boil it for a bit. Time to get something to eat while the water cools. There are a ton of long sticks. Sharpen one end, and you have a nice spear. Fish in the river are abundant, you just need to outsmart them. Pickeral are big and fast. I find a pool off the flow of the river, and dam it off. My prey is quarantined. After a LOT longer than I wished I had dinner on a stick. Fellin' better already, and stuff! Darkness has settled, the stars are a veritable movie screen above me. I hear the crackle of the fire, crickets, and the occassional hoot of an owl. I am so glad to be alive! The fish is done. Oh man! Filet Mignon, and Dom Perignon don't compare at all to this meal!
I spend a couple days in the rough - but being the geek I am, I checked my email a couple times a day. Wireless modems - what a concept!
I skipped a plethora of stones. Oh yeah, I had a 14 skipper! (My personal record)
I sat and just absorbed the beauty around me. So often I, like most, worry about BS. My home. My car. Work related BS. Relationship BS.,
Perspective.
I have a solid perspective. 8 years cancer clean, I know my time clock is ticking, and one day the alarm will go off. I truly live every 5 minutes as though they are my last.

Anyway..... after a couple days I call it mission accomplished. I break up camp. You'd never even know I was there. I hike back to the car, and head to Virginia. I visit my Dads grave, then head back to Jersey.
I'm tired as heck, but my head is back.
Life is good!

God bless you man, what a journy.

That is alive.

Originally posted by TKainZero
God bless you man, what a journy.

That is alive.

Indeed. Sometimes it takes the bare basics to feel truly alive. It's all good.

Wonderfully written. Sometimes it takes the simple things to help us heal. You've had a wonderful experience. To be frank, I'm a trifle jealous. Haven't been camping since I was a kid. Now I want to go.

MAN that is so cool. Funny enough, the last time i actually camped properly was when i was in the US back in 1999/2000. It was absolutely fantastic.

Somewhere in Ohio it was. in SA you have to go to a proper camping place or you may just get hijacked, robbed and murdered if you just go into the "wilderness".

Ah well, memories are great LOL... thanks for the GREAT read lombozo!!