Alan in Reflections
There is the pleasant anticipation of tea beckoning and it is time to start looking for a place to pitch our tents for the coming night. We are assessing where the sun will rise/set, sources of water and whether the selected site will be safe should a sudden storm strike. Today we are in luck as there is a small stream flowing into a lake and despite our high location we are relatively sheltered by the surrounding peaks. However even in this apparent safe location there is a reminder of the inherent danger of the outdoors with a lonely blackened and splintered tree, previously struck by lightening, only 50ft away from our selected site.
In deciding on our site we need to be bear aware and ensure that our cooking area is well away from our sleeping area and that anything that might have food odour is not stored in the tents. Bears have very sensitive noses and have been know to rip backpacks apart to eat toothpaste left within. Likewise any water used in washing up must be disposed off safely away from the site. Any rubbish that cannot be burnt on the camp fire, we must pack out for disposal and this must be stored well away from where we sleep.
I carefully check my chosen pitch removing any visible stone and twigs – my tent only has a very thin groundsheet and I fear it could be easily pierced. I suppose I should be grateful as its one loaned to me by the holiday organisers and is roomy – officially a two man, but at 8lb it adds to my burdens. My travelling companions have much lighter (and smaller) tents. So far it has withstood the elements efficiently, but one thing that has occurred to me is that the inner tent must be erected before the fly sheet can be attached. Not a problem today, but if it were raining I would have a wet inner tent before attaching the fly.
Whilst the air is still, this evening we are lucky as there is an absence of mosquitoes and horse flies. On other evenings despite liberal use of DEET it has been all but intolerable and my legs and back bear witness to the ferocity of the assaults even through my clothing. The horse flies are particularly gross – unlike normal flies they are easily swatted but if not swiftly removed they leave a red smear on my leg – my blood that they have ingested.
Having set up camp and located our water sources its time for one of the hi-light of the day – dinner.
It’s almost impossible to describe how obsessive one becomes about food in the back country. The food we eat is very basic and is cooked by re-hydrating and heating on a stove that we carry (not all areas allow camp fires). For some reason as the altitude increases your sense of taste seems to decrease, so food with a strong flavour is to be welcomed. Tonight our dinner is macaroni cheese with pasta and even in a plastic bowl it tastes delicious. This finished we have a further treat in store for afters – a couple of biscuits each.
There is a saying “Absence makes the heart grow stronger” well an absence of “goodies” make you appreciate them all the more when you have some. Consequently all food is to be savoured and slowly chewed to ensure that the flavour is appreciated.
Our eating bowls cleaned using the residual hot water boiled for our instant coffee, its time to carefully re-bag all the food and look for suitable tree to hang it safely away. To the observer this in itself can be highly entertaining as occasionally the rope unexpectedly snags or the chosen branch is unable to sustain the combined 50lb weight of the separate dinner, lunch and breakfast bags which hurtle back to terra firma.
Dinner over there is an opportunity for reflection on the day and a chance to update the journal that I have been carefully keeping.
With the coming of evening the light starts to fade and the warmth of the day falls away. This is a magical time of day and marks the difference between being out for a days walking and trekking. As the temperature drops the only option is to add more layers of clothing.
The sun may blaze at first, but slowly the reds and yellows deepen and darken, their brightness fading as they merge with the deepening blue of the sky. The previous clarity and clearness of mountain, lake and trees become monochrome and indistinct.
As the sky fades from blue to black the first stars appear and as night falls it is as if a switch has been thrown as more stars and even planets become visible. So bright and many are the stars it is easy to become overwhelmed by the wonder and beauty of it all.
By now it is completely dark and time to retreat to the comfort of my tent. Whilst it is not yet 9pm the routines of the back country are considerably different to those of the urban environment and governed by sunrise and sunset. After a day of vigorous exercise, as I wrap myself in the warm cocoon of my sleeping bag, sleep comes easily as by now attuned and comfortable with the outside sounds of nature I am no longer disturbed.
I wake during the night. Whilst my sleeping mat is comfortable the ground despite my best efforts in selecting my site is not flat and I find myself sliding off my mat. Constricted in my bag squirming like a worm I move myself back onto my mat. My mouth is dry and in the dark I free an arm and feel for my camelbak’s tube carefully sited near my head, following the trail back to the mouthpiece and valve, where I greedily suck on the cool water quenching my thirst for the first of many times during the night.
This all comes at a price and eventually the call of nature insistent and persistent can be postponed no longer. Unwillingly I unzip my bag and wriggle out of my warm oasis, feeling blindly around the tent floor for my head torch and glasses. Even though it is anticipated the brightness of the light still comes as a shock to my eyes. Sandals located in the quietness of the night the noise of the unzipping inner tent door seems almost deafening.
Opening the outer fly door the cool night’s air floods in and unsteadily I stand. The light from my head torch cuts a path through the blackness but there is still a wall of darkness to either side of wherever I look. Carefully picking my way past the tent guys I move across uneven ground a short distance to find a suitable spot and the deed is done. It is still the night and having briefly extinguishing my torch the stars shine as brightly as ever. Looking up I am almost overwhelmed by the number which seem to fill the night sky from horizon to horizon and I feel very small and insignificant..
Torch back on I head swiftly back to my tent closing the doors and returning to the still lingering warmth of my bag. Comfort restored sleep comes rapidly.
To be continued