I’m going back up my mountain today. I say mountain in singular but there’s quite a few up there. Hawksbill, Table Rock (the other one), Shortoff, the Chimneys to name a few. Where I camp you can see at least one of them usually I’m staring down Table Rock across the gorge.

Quite the sight.

It’s the zen est of my zens

Last time I camped up here it was September 23rd. Easy to remember because three days later the largest hurricane to ever hit this region would stop by for a visit. The first and only time I’d ever visited Boone. I’m going back up there to support if all goes to plan. I’ve had some weird circumstances that’s kept me from camping the last three months and I’ve accepted them as necessary diversions. I’ve accomplished quite of bit of work projects staying home and I feel pretty damn rested after 6 months of some old familiar work load.

Perspective

Balance is key. I think I was more unbalanced trying to force the free time through a tiny hole in the fence. Not every day off has to be an adventure. Each time I tried to push it the forces of nature had their final say and I’ve stayed home.

I woke up Saturday morning and my instincts gave me the green light. I had good vibes thinking on it but oof shit it’s gonna be cold. My camping area is on it’s own weather system. I take the average temperatures of Nebo and Linville and sort of meet them in the middle when checking for low temps. Tonight will be between 25°- 29°. That’s not terrible. Not ideal either but not terrible. The wind will be the deciding factor. 10mph winds exposed on the face of a ridge will make that feel a tad colder. I don’t use any heating source other than a firepit. No heaters in my tent I’d rather not go to sleep and never wake up.

Tent gets cold. It’s a thick tent with better insulation than your regular ground tent and I’m elevated which helps a little but it also exposes me more to the elements. 30° sleeping bag and a big ass old Costco blanket will be my bedding this evening. I’ll be head to toe sweats for jammies with some smartwool. On cold mornings I’ll remote start my truck so I can go from tent to truck to warm my hands before I make breakfast.

It’s not cozy or comfortable. Sometimes it’s downright shitty.

Character building? Sure maybe or just maybe you come back feeling a little more alive. And sometimes a good story can develop out of it and that’s what I’m here for.

I try to throw my hard earned money around to local businesses for coffee, food, shopping, firewood and last minute camping accessories. It’s how I support. Not any different from you fab folk who bring materials for the homeless up there. I’m just trying to keep everyone employed.

I used to hate to drive through Asheville due to the traffic on I-26. Unfortunately there’s not that much traffic when Ive gone up there the last few times. That’s the biggest economic impact I see aside from the obvious carnage. Man if I won the lottery..

My meals will be MREs I don’t mess with multi-plating meals when it’s this cold. Also my favorite grill I use is butane and it would take me 4 hours to grill a steak up there in higher altitude and freezing cold. Jetboil will heat my dried up food in 90 seconds I don’t even take it out of the bag. Ever washed crockery in 25° weather? Say goodbye to your fingers for the evening.

Tonight I’ll be express camping. All that means is my trailer stays home with most of my camping toys left behind. Essentials only. Most of my gear is unnecessary for trips shorter than two days anyways but I bought them to enjoy them. Change of underwear, jetboil, gallon of water, firewood, matches (forget about a bic working up here), MRE’s, extra blanket, two camping pillows and my headphones 🎧. Oh and maybe a book. If you’ve never camped in the freezing cold there’s one thing you have to do is keep active. Sure a campfire is great for heating one side of your body but you get cold if you sit still. I do a lot of pacing before bed to stay warm around the fire and keep my circulation going. For bed I may boil some water for my Nalgene bottle to have some heat next to me or roll a hot fired up stone in a towel and put it in my sleeping bag. Real easy way of burning a hole in your set up if you’re not careful. I usually rely on multiple layers. If I were to camp in sub zero weather there would be a diesel heater involved. My bones aren’t as warm as they used to be.

If I manage to get some sleep I’ll get a hike in, man it’s been too long. Weather forecast looks like clouds all night so I may not get my sun but it ain’t always rainbows and sunrises so it’s fine.

Time to pack up

Cheers