Camp was pea soup this morning with fog. Headlamps give you an intimate breakdown of fog, it’s hard to focus on the horizon point when thousands of tiny specs of water are streaming in front of your lamp. It’s like wet gnats. I sacrificed a good night’s sleep to get some outdoor and camping time. Got in some miles in the wilderness. Actually squeezed in an extra mile. Half mile up the mountain my Tacoma app informed me my driver side door had opened up which meant someone was in my truck without proper admission. I turned around and ran the half mile back half expecting to see my driver side window busted. I don’t keep much in my truck if it’s worth a shit you’ll have to break open some harder to reach areas in my camper. Luckily my app was drunk but I wasn’t exactly primed to sprint a half mile down a mountain. Leg cramps in the back of a truck are fun. I got to see my vistas and get some much needed sun on my shoulders. That first half mile is straight up and down. It sapped my energy going back up. I took a long break from running to heal repair my knees.

There’s not much sleep to be had when you’re laying down in an aluminum shell in the rain. It’s like living inside a snare drum being dive bombed by yellow jackets. I usually have my tent on top to insulate the rain. Some hail made it even better. I could hear some critters sniffing around my truck but couldn’t find any tracks which isn’t surprising since it’s still raining. If I had known it was going to rain this much I might’ve chosen a different site. I’m still a little weezy about mud slides and deadfall up here. I’m 10 feet from the ridge. I might’ve gotten three hours sleep.

I had no intention of journaling this morning but I can’t leave the mountain until the fog clears a little this isn’t a road you want to drive with limited sight lines trust me I don’t want to get to the bottom of the mountain that fast. Drove for about a half mile. Going to wait until the white out is clear. Literally can’t see 6 feet in front of me. My current layover must be right on top of a dead or a pissed off skunk. I don’t intend to find out. The top of the mountain resembles a scene from Silent Hill. Fog is finally starting to break.

Went old school with the camping I didn’t see any point in bringing the trailer for an overnighter or put my tent back on my truck. Would’ve liked the tent though the camper has zero insulation I got a little chilly last night as I listened to the rain drops at terminal velocity play Rock it on my roof. Brought my trail camera but never turned it on. Would’ve loved to have seen who or what was splashing around my truck.

This mountain can be wild at night sometimes.

Opted out of the Super Bowl I had one teeny tiny bar of Internet so I checked in. Football is slowly sliding away from me. I’m perfectly fine with that. It has nothing to do with anything it just doesn’t do anything for me anymore.

Still foggy 45 minutes later. I know this road fairly well. Probably better than most but I can’t be certain the next car I may pass can say the same. It’s a tight fit on the ridge.

I had a 10 foot grazing table in north TR so I had to pickup up all my boards and accessories. Rather than drive 30 minutes back home to unload I chose to bring them along. Probably not the wisest thing to bring a bunch of food stained platters covered in honey, fruit and meat to bear country but I didn’t feel like driving back. Also multiple crates of wood, glass and stainless accessories makes for quite a crunchy off road experience. Not the hertz you want to drive in the mountains too.

Most of my trips are for decompression and to sign out for a bit. Others are for fueling some need for calorie burn and exploring and that’s what this one was meant to be. Hunting island was geared to be a short vacay while Linville was an overnight adventure and I’d say it was a success. It’s hard to describe the satisfaction it isn’t felt immediately I don’t enjoy lying in an aluminum coffin with hailing rain next to where a mudslide took half the cliff away 4 months ago.

But

I made it through the night. I wasn’t wearing a party hat by any means but I’m already reflecting on the therapy of being outside my comfort zone and that’s a healthy perspective. Camping experience I’d give it a 3 out of 10, hiking if you take away the half mile sprint a solid 8 and the fog was a stupendous 10. Two hours with feet propped up by a campfire on a mountain ridge balances it all and that’s all I had intended.

Goal achieved.